Community Ecology Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key community ecology concepts including population and community definitions, species interactions, defenses, mimicry, symbiosis, trophic structure, and species influence.

Population

A group of individuals belonging to a single defined species that live in a specific, defined location.

Biological Community

An assemblage of different species living together in a defined area and interacting with one another.

Competitive Exclusion

The elimination of one species from a habitat due to severe competition for limited resources with a superior competitor.

Niche

The specific physical location and functional role that a species occupies within an ecosystem.

Fundamental Niche

The full theoretical range of environmental conditions and resources an organism could potentially occupy in the absence of competition.

Realized Niche

The actual set of environmental conditions and resources an organism occupies and utilizes as a result of competition and other species interactions.

Mechanical Defense

A physical structure or adaptation, such as a shell, chitinous coating, or thorn, that protects an organism from predation.

Cryptic Coloration

Camouflage adaptations that allow an organism to blend in with its background environment to avoid detection by predators or prey.

Aposematic Coloration

Bright warning coloration that alerts predators that an organism is toxic, venomous, or otherwise dangerous to consume.

Batesian Mimicry

A defense mechanism where a harmless or palatable species evolves to visually resemble a harmful or unpalatable species to deter predators.

Mullerian Mimicry

A mutual adaptation where two or more harmful or unpalatable species evolve to resemble one another, reinforcing predator avoidance.

Symbiosis

An ecological relationship where individuals of two different species live in direct, close, and intimate physical contact with one another.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits while harming the host species.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship in which both interacting species benefit from the relationship.

Trophic Structure

The organization of feeding relationships and energy transfer between different organismal levels within an ecosystem.

Primary Producers

Photosynthetic or chemosynthetic organisms that fix inorganic carbon into organic compounds, serving as the base of the food web.

Primary Consumers

Herbivorous organisms that feed directly on primary producers.

Secondary Consumers

Carnivorous organisms that feed on primary consumers.

Dominant Species

The species in a community that has the highest abundance or highest total biomass, strongly influencing the community through resource use.

Keystone Species

A species that plays a critical role in maintaining community structure and diversity despite not necessarily being the most abundant species.

Primary Succession

Ecological succession that begins in a virtually lifeless area where all organic material has been removed, starting from an inorganic substrate.