BIO 215 Terms for Final GVSU, Dreyer TO EDIT

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key ecology terms, biomes, ecosystem dynamics, population dynamics, evolutionary concepts, and biogeography for BIO 215.

Ecologists

Study the economy of nature and focus on biotic and abiotic resources and abiotic conditions; they emphasize the study of relationships and interactions among members of the same species and different species as well as between organisms and their abiotic environment.

Intraspecific

Members of the same species.

Interspecific

Members of different species.

Individuals & populations

A distinctive entity of life; groups of individuals of the same species is a population.

Community

An assemblage of all populations of all species that coexist in an area (thus, may interact; includes bacteria, fungi, plants, animals, etc.).

Ecosystem

The biotic/ecological community plus the abiotic features (e.g., minerals in soil, oxygen, water).

Landscape

Juxtaposed ecosystems that interact in various ways (e.g., nutrient flow, energy cycling), such as a stream flowing through a forest and into a grassland.

Biome

An ecological community of geological extent; distinctive, major categories of terrestrial ecosystems, e.g., temperate grassland, tropical desert, shrubland.

Biosphere

Everywhere living organisms occur on earth and in its atmosphere, from deep caves to mountaintops to atmosphere.

Climate

Patterns of temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric conditions; typical atmospheric conditions and patterns in a place measured over a long period of time.

Determining factors of climate

Large-scale phenomena: earth's curvature, tilt, rotation, and orbit; latitude (position with respect to the equator) and altitude; position and size of oceans, continents, and mountains.

Importance of climate

Moisture and temperature influence distribution of plant species. Dominant plant species determine biotic foundation of ecosystems upon which communities assemble; thus, the distribution of deserts, forests, grasslands, and shrublands is largely determined by climate.

Weather

Variation in atmospheric conditions over short time frames (hours or days); the key difference between climate and weather is the time frame.

Climatic variation

Result of sun exposure; warm, moist air rises and then cools, condenses, and falls as rain as it gets higher. The cooler, dry air falls back to the surface.

Coriolis effect

Deflection of an object's path due to the rotation of the earth; air currents are deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

Regional/local climate features

Rain shadow in mountainous areas; elevation (pressure and temperature changes); ocean currents (affected by solar energy, air currents, Coriolis effect, topography of land masses and ocean floor, physical and chemical properties of water).

Gyre

Large scale water circulation patterns between continents.

Biotic

Living components of an ecosystem.

Abiotic

Nonliving components of an ecosystem.

Ecological systems

Entities that have their own internal processes and interact with their surroundings from individuals to the entire planet; individuals are the most fundamental unit of ecology.

Terrestrial biomes

Areas with similar climatic conditions, based on dominant vegetation and adaptations of organisms to the environment; there are relatively few types (9–11).

Climate diagrams

When precipitation line is above the temperature line, plant growth is limited by temperature and vice versa; shaded area represents months of the growing season.

Tropical rainforest

Characterized by vertical stratification, epiphytes, high sunlight at treetops, very warm and wet conditions, high diversity, location near equator, little temperature variation, very poor soils due to leaching, heavy rain, and high human encroachment.

Tropical seasonal/dry forest

Hot temperatures with distinct wet/dry seasons; leaves drop when dry; semi-evergreen; supports many migratory species; rapid nutrient cycling in soils; high human populations and agriculture.

Desert

Drought/flash floods, extreme temperatures (hot and cold), sparse/slow-growing vegetation, many nocturnal animals; expanding via desertification; often formed by rain shadows.

Woodland/shrubland

Mixed environments with dry-adapted shrubs and grasses, dry hot summers, cool moist winters, fire as an important mediator; Mediterranean climates; called chaparral in the U.S.

Grassland

Extreme temperatures, many grasses with deep roots, very rich soils, fire-maintained (suppression leads to forest conversion), heavily impacted by overgrazing and agriculture.

Temperate deciduous forest

High precipitation, moderate temperatures, fast plant growth, trees drop leaves due to 4–6 months of conditions preventing growth; high human population centers limit regeneration.

Temperate rainforest

Large trees, old-growth forests, high diversity, fog condensation, abundant epiphytes; located on the west coast (e.g., Washington).

Boreal forest (taiga)

Relatively poor (acidic/sandy) soils with low water retention, cold climate, low diversity; acidic needles reduce water loss and acidify soil; important resource for paper industry.

Tundra

Arctic region with permafrost, low light, harsh environment, low/slow decomposition, low diversity, sparse vegetation, animal migration, and small human population.

Aquatic biome characterization

Characterized by flow, depth, and salinity (physical and chemical properties).

Lotic

Characterized by flowing water (rivers and streams).

Riparian zone

A band of terrestrial vegetation alongside rivers and streams influenced by seasonal flooding and elevated water tables.

Lentic

Nonflowing water (ponds and lakes where some water is too deep for plants to rise above the surface).

Littoral zone

Shallow area around the edge of a lake or pond.

Limnetic zone

Open, interior water beyond the littoral zone (also called pelagic zone in oceans); dominant photosynthetic organisms are floating algae.

Profundal zone

The area in a lake that is too deep to receive sunlight.

Benthic zone

The floor of water bodies (the bottom).

Epilimnion

The surface layer of water in a lake or pond.

Hypolimnion

The deep layer of water below the boundary where sunlight penetrates.

Thermocline

The boundary layer between warm epilimnion and cold hypolimnion water where temperature drops rapidly.

Stratification

The condition in a lake or pond when warmer, less dense surface water floats on top of cooler, denser water below.

Spring turnover

Vertical mixing of lake water that occurs in early spring, assisted by winds driving surface currents; occurs when water reaches maximum density at $4\,^\circ\text{C}$.

Freshwater wetlands

Aquatic biomes containing standing fresh water or saturated soils for at least part of the year, shallow enough to have emergent vegetation throughout.

Swamp

A wetland containing emergent trees.

Marsh

A wetland containing emergent herbaceous plants.

Bog

A wetland with acidic water, acid-adapted plants, slow decomposition, and accumulation of peat.

Peat

Partially decomposed plant matter.

Estuaries

Areas along the coast where freshwater rivers mix with ocean salt water.

Salt marshes

A saltwater biome containing nonwoody emergent vegetation.

Mangrove swamp

Occurs along tropical and subtropical coasts and contains salt-tolerant trees with submerged roots.

Intertidal zone

Narrow band of coastline between high and low tide levels; highly stochastic, harsh environment with rapid changes in moisture, salinity, temperature, and flow.

Coral reef

A marine biome in warm, shallow waters remaining at $20\,^\circ\text{C}$ year-round; extremely biodiverse.

Open ocean

The area of ocean away from shorelines and coral reefs, covering the largest portion of Earth's surface.

Neritic zone

Ocean zone beyond the lowest tidal level extending to depths of about $200\,\text{meters}$; high productivity due to upwelling and sunlight.

Oceanic zone

The ocean zone beyond the neritic zone.

Photic zone

Area of neritic and oceanic zones containing sufficient light for photosynthesis by algae.

Aphotic zone

Area of neritic and oceanic zones where water is too deep for sunlight to penetrate.

Species

Group of organisms that can naturally interbreed with each other and produce fertile offspring.

Adaptation

A characteristic of an organism that makes it well suited to its environment.

Law of conservation of matter

Matter cannot be created or destroyed; it can only change form.

Law of conservation of energy

Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only change form (First Law of Thermodynamics).

Dynamic steady state

When gains and losses of ecological systems are in balance.

Phenotype

Attributes of an organism including behavior, morphology, and physiology.

Genotype

The set of genes an organism carries.

Evolution

Change in genetic composition of a population over time.

Natural selection

Change in gene frequency in a population through differential survival and reproduction of individuals possessing certain phenotypes.

Fitness

Survival and reproduction success of an individual.

Producer

Organism that uses photosynthesis to convert solar energy into organic compounds (autotroph).

Consumer

Organism that obtains energy from other organisms (heterotroph).

Mixotroph

Organism that obtains energy from more than one source.

Predator

Organism that kills and consumes other individuals.

Parasite

Organism that lives in or on another organism but rarely kills it.

Parasitoid

Organism that lives within and consumes tissues of a host, eventually killing it.

Pathogen

Parasite that causes disease in its host.

Herbivore

Organism that consumes producers such as plants or algae.

Competition

Negative interaction between species depending on the same limiting resource.

Mutualism

Interaction where both species benefit.

Commensalism

Interaction where one species benefits and the other is unharmed.

Symbiotic relationship

Two different organisms living in a close physical relationship.

Scavenger

Organism that consumes dead animals.

Detritivore

Organism that feeds on dead organic matter and waste products (detritus).

Decomposer

Organism that breaks down dead organic material into simpler elements/compounds recycled through the ecosystem.

Niche

Range of biotic and abiotic conditions that an organism can tolerate.

Manipulative experiment

Testing a hypothesis by altering a factor hypothesized to cause a phenomenon.

Manipulation

The factor varied in an experiment (treatment).

Control

Experimental group including all aspects except the factor of interest (unchanged).

Experimental unit

The subject or object that receives the manipulation in an experiment.

Microcosm

A simplified ecological system replicating essential features in a lab or field setting.

Variance of the mean

Measurement indicating data spread around the mean when every population member is measured.

Sample variance

Measurement indicating data spread around the mean when only a sample is taken.

Natural experiment

Hypothesis testing approach relying on natural variation in the environment.

Mathematical model

Representation of a system using equations corresponding to hypothesized relationships.

Global warming

Increase in average planet temperature due to elevated atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.

Greenhouse gases

Atmospheric compounds that absorb infrared heat energy emitted by Earth and re-emit it back.

Greenhouse effect

Process where solar radiation strikes Earth, converts to infrared radiation, and is absorbed and re-emitted by atmospheric gases.

Albedo

Fraction of solar energy reflected by an object.

Solar equator

Latitude receiving the most direct rays from the sun.

Atmosphere currents

Air circulations between Earth's surface and atmosphere.