AP Bio Ecology (Unit 8)

Organisms are constantly …. with their environments

interacting

Organisms. must adjust their behavior to gather the … … while using the …. ….. and reproducing as EFFICIENTLY as possible

most energy, least energy

Larger animals have a … .. … per unit mass than smaller animals

slower metabolic rate

When animals have excess energy, they … and … energy

grow and store

When animals are deficient of energy, they … … their …. and lose mass and eventually die

use up their stores

Endotherms are animals that … their own … …. through metabolism

generate their own body heat

Ectotherms lack an … …. to control … ….

internal mechanism, body temperature

Behavior is how animals … with their ….

cope with their environments

An instinct is an …, …. behavior

inborn, unlearn

Learning is the change in behavior brought forth by an ….

experience

When baby animals accept FIRST MOVING OBJECT they see as their mother – known as …..

imprinting

Habituation is a form of learning when an animal learns … .. …. to a stimulus (ex. smelly hallway)

not to respond

The internal clocks and cycles within plants and animals are known as …

circadian rhythms

… …. are one of the most common forms of communications among animals

chemical signals

Chemical signals between members of the SAME SPCIES that stimulate smell and affect ….

behavior

…. signals also play an important role in behavior observed in members of species (ex. fireflies)

Visual

…. …. is aggressive behavior that occurs as a result for COMPETITION for food and other resources

agonistic behavior

… …. occur when members in a group ESTABLISH which members are most DOMINANT(leader of group)

dominance hierarchies

….. is when a member of species protect their TERRITORY – happens as a result of short supply of food and nesting sites

Territoriality

… …. is courageous and martyr-like behavior by an organism for the species to advance GENES of a group (squirrel making noise to signal predator, risking his own life by making noise)

Altruistic behavior

Many organisms/specimen coexist in a a relationship, called a … relationship

symbiotic

When both organisms win or gain benefits in a relationship – called …..

mutualism

When an organism benefits off another (host) organism with no harm done to it – called ….

Commensalism

When an organism harms its host organism … called – 

parasitism

Plants flower in response to changes in amount of daylight and darkness they receive

Photoperiodism

In plants, a … is a turning in response to stimulus

tropism

Tropism is the … in … to stimulus in plants

turning in response

The way plants respond to LIGHT (ex. bending sunflowers)

phototropism

The way plants respond to GRAVITY (ex. stems grow against gravity)

gravitropism

The way plants respond to TOUCH (ex. ivy growing in response to touch)

thigmotropism

Auxins are … … … that trigger tropism

major plant hormones

Gibberellins are plant hormones that promote … …

stem elongation

Cytokinins promote … … and ….

cell division and differentiation

Ethylene induces .. … and … …

leaf abscission and fruit ripening

Abscisic acid INHIBITS … .. and promotes … …

leaf abscission and bud dormancy

Auxins promote .. … and …

plant growth and phototropism

Study of interactions between living things and their ….. is known as …

environments, ecology

The entire part of Earth where living things EXIST

Biosphere

Interactions between LIVING and NONLIVING things

Ecosystem

Group of populations LIVING IN THE SAME AREA

Community

Group of individuals belonging to SAME SPECIES and are interbreeding

Population

Biomes are massive areas classified by their … and … …

climates and plant life

Biomes are large regions of the ….

Biosphere

Ecosystems are …-… … that have both LIVING and NONLIVING factors (ex. lake, surrounding forest, atmosphere above it, all organisms in the lake)

self-contained regions

Living factors are called … factors

biotic

Nonliving factors are called … factors (ex. water, humidity, temperature)

abiotic

Carbon flows through ecosystems – this is called the … …

carbon cycle

A community refers to a group of interacting .. and …. WITHIN an ecosystem

plants and animals

Each organism has it’s own niche – which is its …. in the community

function

Two organisms occupying the same niche will mean … of ….

competition of resources

If a species occupy an unoccupied niche, it will ….. … …

thrive without competition

Producers … … ….

make their food

Producers are also known as…

autotrophs

The rate at which autotrophs convert light energy into CHEMICAL energy is known as … ….

primary productivity

Consumers are also known as …..

heterotrophs

Consumers find energy sources in the … …

outside world

Primary consumers are organisms that directly … .. …

feed on producers

Primary consumers are also known as ….

herbivores

Primary consumers make up the … trophic level

second

Decomposers are organisms that .. … … … into … ..

break down organic matter into simple products

Decomposers are the “.. …” of environment

garbage collectors

The most important species in an environment is called the … ..

keystone species

If a keystone species is removed, the … …. in the ecosystem can be undone very quickly

whole balance

In a food chain, only about …% of the energy is passed on from one trophic level to another

10

Other 90% of energy not passed on his used for things like …, …, ….

respiration, digestion, reproduction

The energy flow of members within a ecosystem can be represented with a … …

ecological pyramid

Toxins can be passed between any levels of the pyramid, and toxins most affect those at the top – because of an ….. … of toxins as it gets passed to top (Ex. mosquito spray that kills not just mosquitos but whatever eats it)

increased concentration

A ….. community is more likely to withstand extreme events

diverse

Many things can disrupt the … in the economy (ex. geological changes, new species

balance

Population ecology is the study of how …. ….

populations change

Population growth is represented by number of …. minus number of …. divided by size of ….

births, deaths, population

Each population has a … … – maximum individuals of a species a habitat can SUPPORT

carrying capacity

Most populations never reach the carrying capacity because of …. …

limiting factors

…-… … affect population REGARDLESS of density of population (ex. storms. extreme climates)

density-independent factors

…-… … affect population according to density of population (resource depletion, competition) – makes the effects more intense with higher pop dens

density-dependent factors

Exponential growth occurs when a population is in an … … - growth is UNRESTRICTED because there are lots of resources, space, etc.

ideal environment

However, as exponential growth continues, population begin competing with one another for resources, and the population reaches its carrying capacity – curve … …

levels off

Logistic growth is when the population becomes … … … because **not enough resources (the ending point of exponential growth)**

restricted in asize

Populations that thrive in BARREN/UNINHABITED AREAS are called ….-….. (bacteria, weeds)

r-strategists

Populations that thrive in stable environments are known as ….-…. (ex. elephants, other large animals)

k-strategists

Ecological succession is the pattern of the … in ….. over time

change in communities

Ecological succession when no previous organisms has existed is known as …

primary succession

A new habitat of bare rocks turns into a forest by beginning with a community of ….

lichen

lichen turn rocks into ….

soil

After the stage is set by lichen, lichen are then replaced by a variety of things leading up to the ….. …

deciduous trees

The process of the primary succession is known as a ….

sere

The final resulting community is the most stable – it is also called the … community

climax

When a community is destroyed by a disaster or disrupted and a new community develops, this is called …. succession

SECONDARY

Greenhouse effect is … … resulting from CO2 rising in concentration from burning fossil fuels

higher temperatures

Ozone depletion occurs due to pollution, which is very bad because the ozone layer protects us from …. … … (could lead to prevalence of cancer)

excessive ultraviolet radiation

Burning fossil fuels produce pollutants such as .. … and …., which goes up to the clouds and comes down to the other as….

sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, acid rain

Acid rain also lowers the …., which damages soil and water systems and plants

pH

Formation of deserts after land is OVERGRAZED by animals

desertification

Humans cause … to the environment in many ways

pollution

Humans reduce ….. after many different habitats are destroyed and plants/animals become extinct

biodiversity

Humans travel and disrupt habitats and bring … with them

disease