Ecological Interactions and Population Dynamics

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from ecology, including mutualism, population dynamics, and species diversity.

H

Proportion of the plant tissue damaged in the absence of any defenses.

D

Amount of protection given to the plant tissue by defenses other than ants (e.g., chemical defenses).

A

Amount of herbivory prevented by ants.

IIA

Investment by the plant in benefits extended to the ants.

IID

Investment in defenses other than ants.

p

Proportion of the plant population attracting sufficient ants to mount a defense.

Mutualism Persistence

Mutualisms will evolve and persist when the fitness of mutualists is greater than the fitness of nonmutualists.

Relative Fitness (w)

How well a genotype survives and reproduces compared to others.

Selection Coefficient (s)

The extent to which a genotype is selected against.

Shannon-Wiener Index (H')

A measure of species diversity in a community that accounts for both species richness and evenness.

Evenness (E)

A measure of how evenly individuals are distributed among species.

Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)

Light between 400-700 nm that supports photosynthesis.

Species Richness (s)

The total number of species in the community.

Proportional Abundance of Species i (pᵢ)

The proportion of individuals in the community that belong to species i.

Natural Logarithm of pᵢ (ln(pᵢ))

The natural logarithm of the proportional abundance of species i.