BIO - Final Exam

altruis

unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others.

associative learning

learning that occurs when two stimuli are paired together.

fixed action pattern

a sequence of unlearned acts that are essentially unchangeable and usually carried to completion.

game theory

a method of evaluating alternative strategies in situations where the outcome depends not only on each individual's strategy but also on the strategies of other individuals.  

habituation

a decrease in responsiveness to a stimulus that conveys little or no new information.

imprinting

a type of behavior that includes both learning and innate components and is generally irreversible; in this behavior, the young offspring can be taught to follow something other than the parent.

kinesis

a simple change in activity in response to some stimulus.

learning

the modification of behavior as a result of specific experiences.

mate choice copying

when individuals in a population copy the mate choice of others instead of some generally preferred type.

monogamous

a type of relationship that involves one male mating with one female.

optimal foraging theory

views feeding behavior as a compromise between the benefits of nutrition and the costs (risks) of obtaining food.

pheromones

chemical substances important in animal communication.

polyandry

a relationship involving one female and many males.

polygamous

a type of relationship that involves an individual of one sex mating with several of another sex.

polygyny

a relationship involving one male and many females.

proximate causation

these questions focus on the environmental stimuli that trigger a behavior and the genetic/physiological/anatomical mechanisms that govern the behavior.

spatial learning

a type of learning in which behavior is modified based on experience with the physical structure of the environment.

tactile communication

a method of animal communication that involves touch.

taxis

a more or less automatic, oriented movement toward or away from some stimulus.

ultimate causation

these questions address the evolutionary significance of behavioral responses.

abiotic

Non-living components of an environment, such as temperature, light, water, and nutrients.

aphotic

Deprived of light; the zone of a body of water where sunlight does not penetrate.

benthic

Pertaining to the bottom of a body of water.

biosphere ecology

The study of the sum of all the planet's ecosystems.

biotic

Living components of an environment, such as plants, animals, and microorganisms.

chaparral

A biome characterized by scrubby vegetation, mild, wet winters, and hot, dry summers.

climograph

A graphical representation of a region's climate, showing seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation.

community ecology

The study of the interactions between different species within a community.

desert

A biome characterized by low precipitation and extreme temperatures.

dispersal

The movement of individuals away from centers of high population density or area of origin.

distribution

The geographic range of a species.

ecosystem

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

ecology

The scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environment.

ecotone

A transition area between two different ecosystems.

equinox

The time of year when the sun crosses the celestial equator, resulting in equal day and night lengths.

estuaries

Transition areas between rivers and seas, characterized by complex flow patterns.

intertidal

The area of the shoreline that is alternately exposed and submerged by tides.

lakes

Bodies of standing water, ranging from small ponds to large lakes.

landscape ecology

The study of the pattern and process at the landscape scale.

marine benthic zone

The seafloor below the surface waters.

oceanic pelagic zone

The vast realm of open blue water, constantly mixed.

organismal ecology

The study of how an organism's structure, physiology, and behavior meet environmental challenges.

photic

Pertaining to the zone of a body of water where sunlight penetrates.

population ecology

The study of factors affecting how many individuals of a particular species live in an area.

savanna

A biome characterized by grassland with scattered trees and shrubs.

solstice

The time of year when the sun reaches its greatest distance north or south of the equator.

streams and rivers

Flowing bodies of water that move downhill, often originating from mountains or hills.

summer temperate

A temperate climate characterized by warm summers and cold winters.

thermocline

A narrow stratum of rapid temperature change that separates a uniformly warm upper layer from a uniformly cold lower layer.

tundra

A biome characterized by extremely cold temperatures, low precipitation, and permafrost.

tropical forest

A biome characterized by high rainfall, warm temperatures, and lush vegetation.

wetlands

Areas of land that are saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally.

winter temperate

A temperate climate characterized by cold winters and warm summers.

aposematic coloration

A warning coloration that advertises an organism's unpalatability or toxicity to potential predators.

Batesian mimicry

A form of mimicry where a harmless species mimics a harmful one to deter predators.

cohorts

A group of individuals of a single species living in the same general area and born around the same time.

community

A group of interacting populations of different species living in a particular area.

competitive exclusion principle

The principle that two species competing for the same limited resource cannot coexist indefinitely.

cryptic coloration

Camouflage that makes an animal difficult to see.

density

The number of individuals per unit area or volume.

density-dependent

A factor whose effects on a population vary with population density.

dispersion

The spatial pattern of individuals within a population.

dominant species

The species in a community that has the highest abundance or biomass.

dynamic stability hypothesi

A hypothesis suggesting that moderate levels of disturbance can create conditions that foster greater species diversity than low or high levels of disturbance.

ecological niche

The sum total of a species' use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment.

emigration

The movement of individuals out of a population.

energetic hypothesis

A hypothesis suggesting that the length of a food chain is limited by the inefficiency of energy transfer along the chain.  

evapotranspiration

The process by which water is transferred from the land surface to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.

exponential growth

A pattern of population growth in which the population size increases at a constant rate.

facilitators

Species that physically alter the structure of the community.

fundamental niche

The full range of environmental conditions and resources that an organism can potentially use.

immigration

The movement of individuals into a population.

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

A hypothesis suggesting that moderate levels of disturbance can create conditions that foster greater species diversity than low or high levels of disturbance.  

iteroparity

A reproductive strategy characterized by repeated reproductive cycles.

keystone specie

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its community relative to its abundance.

life tables

Age-specific summaries of the survival pattern of a population.

logistic growth

A pattern of population growth that levels off as the population size approaches the carrying capacity.

population

A group of individuals of the same species living in the same general area.

primary succession

Ecological succession in an area that was previously uninhabited, such as a bare rock or volcanic island.

realized niche

The portion of a species' fundamental niche that it actually occupies.

relative abundance

The proportion of each species in a community.

secondary succession

Ecological succession in an area that was previously inhabited but has been disturbed, such as after a fire or logging.

semelparity

A reproductive strategy characterized by a single reproductive event followed by death.

species diversity

A measure of the diversity of species in a community, considering both species richness and relative abundance.

species richness

The number of different species in a community.

uniform dispersion

A pattern of dispersion in which individuals are evenly spaced.

actual evapotranspiration

The amount of water evaporated and transpired from a given area over a specific period of time.

biological augmentation

biological augmentation

bioremediation

The use of living organisms, usually prokaryotes, fungi, or plants, to detoxify polluted ecosystems.

Detritivores

Consumers that get their energy from nonliving organic material such as remains of dead organisms, feces, fallen leaves, and wood.

ecosystem

Consists of the community plus the abiotic factors; characterized by energy flow and chemical cycling.

energy

Cannot be recycled so an ecosystem must have a continuous influx of energy.

eutrophication

The process by which a body of water becomes overly enriched with nutrients, leading to excessive plant and algae growth.

gross primary production

The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis.

Law of Conservation of Energy

Energy cannot be created or destroyed.

net primary production

The amount of energy that is available to consumers in an ecosystem, calculated as gross primary production minus the energy used for respiration by primary producers.

organic material

Decomposes faster in tropical rain forests than in temperate forests.

primary consumers

Herbivores that consume primary producers.

primary producers

Organisms that produce their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, such as plants, algae, and some bacteria.

restoration ecology

The practice of restoring damaged ecosystems to their original state.