BIOL 1407 Lecture Exam 2 (Overview)

Parasitism

A type of interaction where a disease-causing bacterium lives in and does not consume its host.

Commensalism

An interaction where one organism benefits while the other is not significantly affected, as seen when orchids require tree limbs for support without harming the trees.

Microparasite

A type of parasite, such as the malarial parasite, which lives within the host.

Macroparasite

A type of parasite, such as the mosquito, which lives on the host.

Chemical defense

A strategy used by organisms, such as the monarch butterfly and milkweed, where toxic chemicals deter predators.

Resource partitioning

A mechanism that allows several species, like lizards of the genus Anolis, to coexist by feeding in different areas of the habitat.

Fundamental niche

All the resources required by an organism to maintain its physiological needs.

Mutualism

An interaction where both species benefit, exemplified by hummingbirds transporting pollen while feeding.

Species diversity

The measure of species number and evenness in a recovering forest.

Omnivore

An organism that consumes a variety of food sources, including mice, birds, insects, worms, snails, berries, seeds, grass, and leaves.

Resource-mediated coexistence

A scenario where two species compete for a resource, and one species declines, allowing the other to increase.

Biotic factor

A living component that affects community structure, as opposed to abiotic factors like hurricanes.

Negative effect on elk

The impact observed when wolves were removed from Yellowstone, leading to an increase in elk population.

Viruses

Entities that some biologists do not consider alive because they depend on cellular organisms for basic life functions.

Chemoautotrophs

Prokaryotes that obtain energy by oxidizing inorganic substances like ammonia and sulfur.

Photoheterotrophs

Organisms that obtain energy from light and carbon from organic compounds made by other organisms.

Human microbiome

A community of microorganisms living in the human body, where most bacterial species are not human pathogens.

Dinoflagellates

Organisms that live endosymbiotically in corals because they photosynthesize.

Plasmodium

The malaria-causing parasite acquired by humans through bites by the female Anopheles mosquito.

Spore

A reproductive structure that produces a new multicellular organism through mitotic division.

Diploid protists

Protists that have two sets of chromosomes, where some, like paramecia, undergo conjugation.

Clone

Nearly identical individuals created by asexual reproduction.

Foraminiferans

Organisms that can be visible to the naked eye.

Diatoms

A group of algae that are not endosymbiotic with corals.

Fungi

Organisms that do not function as primary producers in natural ecosystems.

Basidiomycota

The fungal group that includes gill-forming mushrooms.

Ascomycota

The fungal group that includes almost half of the species in mutualistic lichens.

Karyogamy

A fungal process that contributes to genetic diversity.

Mycorrhizae

Mutualistic symbiotic associations of fungi with plant roots.

Lichens

Symbiotic associations of a fungus with an alga or a bacterium.

Commensalism (bird and cherry seeds)

An interaction where a bird aids in the germination of cherry seeds by excreting them elsewhere.

Fruit feature

A characteristic of fruit, such as thick skin, that is least likely to attract a frugivore.

Mutualism (beetle and fungus)

The relationship between pine bark beetles and blue stain fungus.

Parasitism (beetle and tree)

The relationship between pine bark beetles and trees.

Photosynthetic prokaryotes

Organisms that include cyanobacteria and use chlorophyll a.

Marine microbial eukaryotes

Organisms used in dating sedimentary rocks, such as foraminiferans.

Red tides

Phenomena caused by toxic species of dinoflagellates that kill fish.