Bio unit 2 flashcards

Antagonistic interactions

interactions in which one individual or species benefits, while the other individual or species is harmed.

Competition

Competition is an interaction between organisms or species in which both require one or more resources that are in limited supply (such as food, water, or territory).

Intraspecific Competition

An ecological interaction where members of the same species compete for limited resources like food, water, space, or mates

Interspecific competition

An ecological interaction where individuals of different species compete for the same limited shared resources in an ecosystem

Competitive exclusion

An ecological rule stating that two species with the exact same needs cannot live together in the same place if resources are limited

Resource partitioning

An ecological process where competing species use limiting resources differently to reduce competition and coexist in the same habitat

Predation

a biological interaction where one organism (the predator) kills and consumes another organism (the prey) for energy and survival

Parasites

living organisms that survive on or inside a host organism, getting food at the host's expense and causing harm.

Herbivory

Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs [6] such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria.

Commensal interaction

Commensalism is a biological interaction where one species benefits while the other is completely unaffected—neither helped nor harmed

Parasitic interaction

Parasitism is a biological interaction where one species benefits at the expense of it’s host.

Mutualistic relationship

An ecological interaction between two or more species where every participant benefits

Antagonistic relationship

an interaction between organisms where one organism benefits at the expense of another, like herbivory or predation.

Competitive relationship

A relationship between organisms or species where both require a shared resource that is in limited supply, resulting in a negative impact on the fitness, growth, or survival of at least one participant

Keystone species

An organism that has a massive, crucial impact on its ecosystem relative to its low population or abundance, usually divided into predators, ecosystem engineers, or mutualists.

ecological disturbance

Any relatively discrete event in time and space that disrupts the structure of an ecosystem, community, or population, and changes resource availability or the physical environmen

Hectares

A hectare is a metric unit of land area equal to 10,000 square meters

population density

The number of individuals of a species living per unit of land, usually calculated by total population over total land area.

logistic growth equation

The logistic growth differential equation models population growth that slows down and levels off as it reaches a maximum.

latitudinal diversity gradient

The pattern of having lots of species at the equator with diversity dwindling off towards the poles is known as the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient

First law of thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another

Second law of thermodynamics

The entropy (disorder) of an isolated system always increases over time during any spontaneous process

Third law of thermodynamics

The entropy of a system approaches a constant minimum as its temperature approaches absolute zero

Nitrogen cycle

Heterotrophs

A heterotroph is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly matter from other organisms.

Autotrophs

An autotroph is an organism that can convert abiotic sources of energy into stored energy in organic compounds

Early successional species

The first hardy plants and animals that colonize barren or freshly disturbed land, initiating the process of ecological succession.

Late successional species

organisms that dominate an ecosystem during the final, stable stages of ecological succession.

species eveness

The relative abundance and distribution of individuals among the different species. 

phosphorous cycle

Liebig's law of the minimum

Plant growth and crop yield are dictated by the scarcest limiting resource—such as an essential nutrient or water—rather than by the total amount of available resources

latitudinal diversity gradient

Biodiversity is highest at the equator and lowest at the poles

Fundamental niche

A fundamental niche is the full range of environmental conditions that a viable population of species could occupy and theoretically use

Realized niche

The realized habitat a species or population occupies, always smaller than the fundamental niche due to exterior factors.

aerobic respiration

the process where cells use oxygen to break down glucose and turn it into usable energy

chemical reservoirs

Things like the ocean, the ground, ect that stores chemicals like nitrogen or carbon

Bacteria and archaea

Increase biodiversity, converts biologically unusable Nitrogen to N2, can make up both primary producer and consumer in harsh environments.

commensalism

One species benefits and another is neutral

Continuous Exponential Growth

If no outside force acts upon a population and demands are met, then a population would theoretically increase exponentially