APES vocab 4

Developing country

A country that is at a relatively early stage in the process of economic development

Developed country

A country that has progressed relatively far along a continuum of development.

Species evenness

the relative proportion of different species in a given area

Subduction

The process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle at a convergent plate boundary.

Total fertility rate

The average number of children born to a woman during her childbearing years.

Niche generalist

a species that can live under a wide range of abiotic or biotic conditions

Niche specialist

a species that is specialized to live in a specific habitat or to feed on a small group of species

Carrying capacity

Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support

Limiting resource

a resource that a population cannot live without and that occurs in quantities lower than the population would require to increase in size

Type 1 survivorship curve

a pattern of survival over time in which there is high survival throughout most of the life span, but then individuals start to die in large numbers as they approach old age

Type 2 survivorship curve

a pattern of survival over time in which there is a relatively constant decline in survivorship throughout most of the life span

Type 3 survivorship curve

a pattern of survival over time in which there is low survivorship early in life with few individuals reaching adulthood

Resource partitioning

The division of environmental resources by coexisting species such that the niche of each species differs by one or more significant factors from the niches of all coexisting species

theory of island biogeography

a theory that demonstrates the dual importance of habitat size and distance in determining species richness

Transform plate boundary

Boundary between two plates that are sliding past each other.