ap bio 5

Associative learning

Associative learning

change in behavior that involves an association between two events; includes classical conditioning and operant conditioning

Operant conditioning

a stimulus-response connection is strengthened; rewards reinforce good behavior

Insight learning

an animal suddenly solves a problem without any prior experience with the problem

Imprinting

involves sensitive period; birds follow moving objects

Song learning

birds learn songs

Sexual selection

adaptive changes in males and females that lead to an increased ability to secure a mate; females select mates (based on which would provide the best offspring – fastest, brightest colors, courtship rituals) or males compete for mates (rams headbutt, giraffes smack necks at each other)

Altruism

actions of an animal that immediately benefit others rather than itself

Reciprocal altruism

sacrifice in reproduction for reproductive success; worker ants give up reproducing; birds help care for siblings

Territoriality

behavior needed to defend a particular territory

Communication

can be chemical (pheromones), auditory (sounds), visual (sight), tactile (one animal touching another)

Pheromone

chemical communication; chemical released to cause a predictable reaction of another member of the same species

Auditory

whale songs for group identification; cricket calls for reproduction

Visual

courtship displays; defense displays; body language provides clues that animals have emotions

Tactile

reciprocal grooming; chicks peck at parents’ beaks to be fed

Social groups

get more food/resources when in larger numbers, avoid predators better (too many to catch at once, warn each other with vocalization), and help raise offspring/siblings (altruism)

Ecology

study of organisms and their interactions with other organisms and their surroundings

Habitat

location where an organism lives

Ecosystem

all the biotic (organisms) and abiotic (nonliving) factors in an area

Population

group

Population density

number of organisms in an area

Dispersion patterns

uniform, clumped and random

Limiting factors

factors determine if an organism can live in an area (resource availability, water, habitat space, etc)

Growth rate

positive (increases) when birth rate is greater than death rate; negative (decreases) when death rate is greater than birth rate

Biotic potential

maximum rate of population increase if ideal conditions are met

Population growth

best when there is low predation, low parasitism, easy access to mates, plenty of food, water and space to live; overcrowding, high predation, disease and limited space cause populations to decrease

Carrying capacity

maximum number of organisms that an area/environment can support; determined by limited productivity of the environment and the environmental resistance to the biotic potential

Environmental resistance

limiting factors influence growth of populations; when nearing the carrying capacity, density-dependent resistance increases; abiotic factors include temperature changes, nutrient concentrations in soil, water availability, precipitation, sunlight, etc.

R-selected species

opportunistic; underwent selection to maximize their rate of natural increase (example: fish)

K-selected species

equilibrium; hold their populations fairly constant near the carrying capacity (example: humans)

Community

populations of different species interacting with one another

Diversity

includes both the composition of species (how many species there are) and abundance within each species; most biodiversity is found near the equators

Predation

interaction between two species in which one feeds on the other; decline in the numbers of prey causes a decline in the number of predators; decline in the numbers of predators causes an increase in the number of prey

Competition

interaction between two species as both attempt to use the same environmental resources

Tundra

characterized by little precipitation and permafrost (frozen subsoil) which prevents trees from growing; basically a frozen desert

Taiga

characterized by conifers (evergreens) and swamps; found in northern parts of North America and Eurasia

Temperate deciduous forest

characterized by oak, maple, and elm trees, foxes, raccoons, and deer

Grassland

has nutrient rich soil yet lacks trees due to the little precipitation it receives

Desert

characterized by hot days and cold night, with less than 25 cm of rain per year

Tropical rain forests

have the most diversity due to their complex forest structure (which provides many habitats); also characterized by warm weather and more than 200 cm of rainfall per year

Profundal

part of lake ecosystem where sunlight cannot reach

Limnetic

part of lake surface, away from the shore

Benthic

bottom of aquatic ecosystem

Littoral

part of lake closest to the shore

Epipelagic

lower part of open ocean

Phytoplankton

plant-like microorganisms which provide most of the nutrients in the ocean

Zooplankton

animal-like microorganisms

Gulf Stream

ocean current that brings tropical, warm waters to the east coast of North America and up towards upper, west Europe

Upwelling

occurs when ocean currents bring nutrients to the surface

Estuary

where saltwater and freshwater meet (also referred to as brackish); normally estuaries are shallow (so there’s plenty of sunlight penetration) and filled with nutrients

Wetlands

important because they absorb excess water from storms and filter toxins from water; they provide diverse habitats for many organisms

Winds

caused by the spinning (rotation) of earth, which makes them move at angles to the east and west

Ocean currents

generated by friction between ocean surfaces and wind

Ocean

the largest biome of all

Biome distribution

determined by climate, rainfall, and temperature