| A | B |
|---|
| Character displacement | Natural selection favors differences between potential competitors |
| commensalism | interaction where one species is benefited and the other species is not affected |
| competition | use of same limited resource by two or more species |
| competitive exclusion | where one species is elminiated from a community because of competition for the same limited resource |
| ectoparasite | external parasites who live on their host but not in the body |
| endoparasite | internal parasites who live inside the hosts body |
| herbivore | animals who eat plants |
| host | animal the parasite feeds on |
| mimicry | defense mechanism where a harmless species resembles a dangerous one |
| mutualism | cooperative relationship in which both species derive some benefit |
| parasite | individual who feeds on another |
| parasitism | speceis interaction that resembles predation in that one individual is harmed while the other benefits |
| pollinator | animals that carry pollen |
| predator | captures, kills, and consumes another individual |
| prey | who the predator attacks |
| resource partitioning | when similar species coexist each species uses only part of the available resource |
| secondary compound | synthesize chemicals from products of their metabolism |
| symbiosis | 5 major types of close interactions among species |
| species-area effect | larger areas usually contain more species than smaller areas |
| species diversity | number of species in the community |
| species richness | number of species an area contains |
| stability | resistance to change |
| climax community | the stable end point of a predictable series of stages |
| primary succession | developement of a community in an area that has not supported life previously |
| secondary succession | sequential replacement of species that follows disruption of an existing community |
| pioneer species | the species that predominate early in succession |
| succession | gradual sequential regrowth of species in an area |
| biomass | organic material in an ecosystem |
| carnivore | eat other consumers |
| chemosynthesis | bacteria that produce carbohydrates by using energy from from inorganic molecules |
| consumer | heterotrophs |
| decomposer | cause decay by breaking down the complex molecules in dead tissues and wastes into simpler molecules |
| detritivore | consumers that feed on "garbage" of an ecosystem |
| food chain | single pathway of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem that results in energy transfew |
| food web | interrelated food chains in an ecosystem |
| gross primary productivity | rate at which producers in an ecosystem capture energy |
| net promary productivity | rate at which biomass accumulates |
| omnivore | eat both producers and consumers |
| producer | autotrophs that capture energy and use it to make organic molecules |
| trophic level | this indicates the organisms position in the sequence of energy transfers |
| ammonification | Decomposers break down the corpses and wastes of organisms and release the nitrogen they contain as ammonia |
| biogeochemical cycle | substances travel through this cycle, moving from the abiotic portion of the environment, such as the atmosphere, into living things and back again. |
| carbon cycle | photosynthesis and cellular respiration form the bases of this cycle |
| dentrification | nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere |
| ground water | water in the soil or in underground formations of porous rock |
| nutrification | process where bacteria in the soil take up ammonia nad oxidize it into nitrites and nitrates |
| nitrogen cycle | comlex pathway that nitrogen follows within an ecosystem |
| nitrogen fixation | process of converting nitrogen gas to nitrate |
| nitrogen-fixing bacteria | convert nitrogen gas into ammonia then nitrite then nitrate |
| transpiration | process where water that evaporates from terrestrial ecosystems passes through plants |
| water cycle | movement of water between various reservoirs |
| biome | very large terrestrial ecosystems that contain a number of smaller but related ecosystems within them |
| canopy | continuous layer formed by tree tops |
| desert | areas that recieve an average of less than 25 cm of rain per year |
| epiphyte | plant that lives on branches of tall trees to reach sunlight |
| permafrost | permanetly frozen layer of soil under the surface |
| savanna | tropical grasslands with scattered trees and shrubs |
| taiga | a forest biome dominated by cone-bearing evergreen trees |
| temperate deciduous forest | areas covered in trees that all lose their leaves in the fall |
| temperate grassland | areas dominated by grasses |
| tropical rain forest | found near equator in Asia, South America, Africa, and Central America |
| tundra | cold and largely treeless biome |
| herbivores | eat producers |
| age structure | distribution of individuals among different ages in a population |
| birth rate | number of births occuring in a period of time |
| death/mortality rate | number of deaths in a period of time |
| dispersion | spatial distribution of individuals in the population |
| life expectancy | how long on average an individual is expected to live |
| population density | how crowded a population is |
| suvivorship curve | mortality rate data tend to conform to one of three curves on a graph called |
| carrying capacity | number of individuals the environment can support over a long period of time |
| density-dependent factor | shortages of food or nesting sites, triggered by increasing population density |
| density independent factor | weather, floods, fires |
| emigration | movement of individuals out of a population |
| exponential growth | larger the population gets, the faster it grows |
| exponential model | population that increases rapidly after only a few generations |
| growth rate | amount by which a populations size changes in a given time |
| immigration | movement of individuals into a population |
| inbreeding | mating with relatives |
| limiting factor | factor that restrains the growth of population |
| logistic growth | when a population size is at its carrying capacity, birth rate equals death rate and growth stops |
| logistic model | of population growth builds on the exponential model but accounts for the influence of limiting factors |
| agricultural revolution | when humans discovered how to domesticate animals and cultivate own crops |
| developed countries | where 20 % of the worlds population lives |
| developing countries | where 80 % of the worlds population lives |
| hunter-gatherer lifestyle | hunting, collecting roots, berries shellfish, nuts by way of obtaining food |
| biosphere | thin volume of Earth and its atmosphere that supports life |
| community | all the interacting organisms living in an area |
| ecology | study of interactions between organisms and the living and nonliving components of their environment |
| ecosystem | all organisms and the nonliving environment found in a particular place |
| greenhouse effect | mechanism that insulates Earth from the deep freeze of space |
| population | all members of a species that lives in one place at one time |
| abiotic factor | physical and chemical factors of an environment |
| acclimation | process where organisms adjust their tolerance to abiotic factors |
| biotic factor | living components of an environment |
| conformer | organisms that do not regulate their internal conditions |
| dormancy | a stage of reduced activity |
| fundamental niche | range of conditions a species can potentially tolerate and range of resources it can potentially use |
| generalist | species with broad niches; can tolerate range of conditions |
| habitat | where an organism lives |
| migration | move to another more favorable habitat |
| niche | a species way of life |
| realized niche | range of resources a species actually uses |
| regulator | organism that uses energy to control some of their internal conditions |
| resource | energy and materials the species needs |
| specialist | species that have narrowed niches |
| tolerance curve | graph of performance versus values of an environmental variable, such as temperature |
