ecology ap bio

Instinct

inborn, unlearned behavior that occurs in response to specific stimuli

releasers

enviormental signals that trigger instinctive behavior

imprinting

form of learning that occurs during the critical period, resulting in long lasting behavioral changes

agonostic behavior

aggressive behavior that occurs as a result of competiton for food or other resources

dominance hieraches

members of a group establish which members are the most dominant. Dominant male will become the leader and usually have best food. once established, competition within the group is reduced.

territoriality

behavior of establishing and defending a specific area, often called a home range. Common when food and nesting sites are in short supply

altrustic behavior

unselfish behavior that benefits another organisim in the group at the individuals expense

mutualisim

both organisims win

commensalisim

in which one organisim lives off another with no harm to the host

parasitisim

organisim usually harms the host

photoperiodisim

the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night, influencing growth, reproduction, and behavior.

tropisim

turning in response to stimulis

phototropisim

the way plants respond to sunlight, ex: bending toward light

gravitropisim

the way plants respond to gravity. Ex: stems have negative gravitropisim as they grow up away from the pull of gravity, and roots are positive, grow down into the earth

thigmotropisim

the way plants respond to touch. Ex: ivy growing around a lamp post

auxins

plant hormonesthat regulate growth, including elongation and response to stimuli. Usually located in the tip of the plant

gibberellins

promote stem elongation, espically in dwarf plants

cytokinins

promote cell divison and differentiation

ethylene

leaf abscission and fruit rippening

abscisic acid

stops leaf abscission and promotes bud and seed dormacy

biosphere

entire part of earth where living things exist

population

group of individuals that belong to the same species and that are interbreeding

community

group of populations interacting in the same area

aibotic factors

nonliving, include water, humidity, tempature

autotrophs

producers that can produce their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.

biomass

total weight of all organisims in the area

hetrotrophs

consumers that obtain their energy by consuming other organisms.

primary consumers

directly feed on producers, aka herbivores

decomposers

organisms that break down dead organic material and recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem.

secondary consumers

eat producers and primary consumers, carnivores and omnivores

tertiary consumer

eat producers, primary and secondary consumers

10% rule

only 10% of energy is transfered from one level to the next in the food chain, the other 90% is used for things like respiration, digestion, etc.

bioaccumilation

the accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other chemicals, in an organism's tissues over time, often leading to higher concentrations at higher trophic levels.

biomagnification

the process by which toxic substances, like heavy metals or pesticides, increase in concentration in the food chain

exponential growth

occurs when a population is in an ideal enviorment, growth is unrestricted. J shaped curve

ecological succession

predictable changes in species composition in an area over time, often following a disturbance.

primary succession

the gradual colonization of a barren habitat by the first organisms, typically starting with pioneer species like lichens and mosses.

greenhouse effect

the warming of Earth's surface due to the trapping of heat by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

ozone depletion

the thinning of the ozone layer in the Earth's stratosphere caused by chemicals such as CFCs, leading to increased UV radiation reaching the Earth's surface.

desertification

the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or overgrazing by animals. Reduces avalible habitats for organisims

random sampling

a method used to make sure each individual has an equal chance of being chosen. This technique helps to ensure that the sample is representative of the population.

nonparametric data

often has large outliers and does not fit normal distribution

independent variable

a variable that is manipulated or changed in an experiment to test its effects on the dependent variable.

controlled variable

a variable that is kept constant throughout an experiment to ensure that any changes in the dependent variable are solely due to the manipulation of the independent variable.

product rule

probability of independent events occuring together is the product of their seperate probabilites

when is the p value considered signifigant?

when it is less than or equal to 0.05, indicating strong evidence against the null hypothesis.

null hypothesis

A statement that there is no effect or no difference, used as a starting point for statistical testing in experiments.

chi square

test used to determine if there is a significant association between categorical variables, comparing observed and expected frequencies.