| A | B |
|---|
| Ecology | The scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the environment |
| Climate | Long term, prevailing weather conditions of a given area. 4 biggest factors: temperature, precipitation, sunlight and wind |
| molecular clock | measurement for the time of evolutionary change |
| neutral theory | much of the evolutionary change in genes and proteins has no effect on fitness and its not impacted by natural selection |
| orthologous genes | homologous genes found in different species as a result of speciation |
| paralogous genes | homologous genes within a species that results from gene duplication, can diverge and take on new functions |
| community | group of populations |
| community ecology | focuses on interactions between species |
| ecosystem ecology | emphasizes energy flow and chemical cycling between organisms and the environment |
| population | group of individuals of the same species living in an area |
| population ecology | focuses on factors that affect pop. size |
| global climate | determined by input of solar energy and Earth's movement in space |
| Factors of climate patterns | seasonal variations, large bodies of water, mountain ranges |
| affect of ocean and large lakes on climate | moderate them |
| microclimate | fine, localized patters (under a log) |
| macro climate | patterns in global, regional, and landscape levels |
| Seasonality | seasonal variations of light and temp increase steadily towards the poles |
| biome | major life zone characterized by vegetation type or by physical environment |
| how are terrestrial biomes characterized? | vegetation type |
| how are aquatic biomes characterized? | physical environment |
| ecotone | integration of two different biomes |
| disturbance | an event or human activity that changes a community |
| photic zone | where there is sufficient light for photosynthesis |
| aphotic zone | where little light penetrates |
| pelagic zone | photic and aphotic zones together |
| abyssal zone | 2,000-6,000 m below surface of ocean |
| benthic zone | bottom of all aquatic biomes |
| benthos | communities of organisms that occupy the benthic zone |
| detritus | dead organic matter, major food source for benthic species |
| thermocline | a narrow layer of abrupt temperature change, only in summer and winter |
| turnover | sends oxygenated water from a lake's surface to the bottom and bring nutrient-rich water from the bottom to the surface in Spring and Fall |
| evolutionary time | time frame of which organisms adapt to their environment over time through natural selection |
| ecological time | minute to minute time frame of interactions between organisms and environment |
| dispersal | movement of individuals or gametes away from their area of origin or from centers of high population density |
| adaptive radiation | rapid evolution of an ancestral sepcies into new species that may fill many ecological niches |
| How to determine if dispersal is limiting distribution of a species? | species transplant, see results of transplanting species to an area where that species was originally absent |
| Successful species transplant | some of the organisms can survive and reproduce sustainably |
| Biotic Factors affecting distribution | interactions with other species, predation, competition |
| abiotic factors affecting distribution | temp, water and oxygen, salinity, sunlight, rocks and soil composition |
| How do mammals regulate energy and control internal temperatures? | production of ATP |
| How to reptiles regulate internal temperature? | Behavioral mechanisms like laying in shade/sun |
| maximum parsimony | assume tree with fewest evolutionary events |
| maximum likelihood | given rule about DNA, uses the most likely sequence of evolutionary events |
| horizontal gene transfer | genes are transfered from one genome to another, explains inconsistency in phylogenetic trees |
| domain bacteria | prokaryotic, single celled |
| domain archaea | prokaryotic, single celled |
| domain eukarya | all organisms with nuclei, single and multicellular organisms |
| allopatric | not living in the same area |
| sympatric | living in the same area |
| interspecific interactions | key relationships in the life of an organism are its interactions with indiviudals of other species in the community |
| examples for interspecific interactions | competition, predation, herbivory, symbiosis, and facilitation` |
| interspecific competition | a -/- interaction that occurs when individuals of different species compete for a resource that limits their growth or survival |
| competitive exclusion | when a slight advantage will eventually lead to the local elimination of the inferior competition |
| ecological niche | how a species fits into the environment, an organisms role in the environment |
| principle of competitive exclusion | two species cannot coexist permanently in a community if their niches are identical |
| resource partitioning | differentiation of niches that enables similar species to coexist in a community (can be in time or space) |
| fundamental niche | niche species is capable of inhabiting |
| realized niche | nice the species actually occupies |
| character displacement | tendency for characteristics to diverge more in sympatric than allopatric populations |
| predation | +/- interaction |
| predator adaptations | claws, sharp teeth, keen senses of smell |
| what stabilizes the predator-prey cycle? | A system in which prey can hide |
| Prey adaptations | Staying in herds, fleeing, hiding, self-defense, alarm calls |
| cryptic coloration (prey) | camouflage |
| aposematic coloration (prey) | warning coloration (often also have chemical defense) |
| müllerian mimicry | two or more unpalatable species that resemble each other |
| batesian mimicry | a harmless or palatable species mimics a harmful or unpalatable species |
| herbivory | +/- interaction, mammals use smell to aviod plants that have developed chemical defenses (other defenses: spines/thorns) |
| symbiosis | when individuals of 2+ species live in direct and intimate contact with one another |
| Parasitism | +/- interaction. one organism, the parasite, gets its nourishment from another organism, the host, which is harmed in the process |
| endoparasites | live within the body of its host ex.tapeworms |
| ectoparasites | feed on the external surface of hosts ex.ticks |
| mutualism | +/+ interaction |
| obligate mutualism | one species has lost the ability to survive without the other |
| facilitative mutualism | both species can survive alone |
| commensalism | +/0 interaction. benefits one species without hurting the other. rare. ex- algae, egret and buffalo |
| facilitation | +/+ or +/0 (species that have a + effect on survival of other species without necessarily living in direct and intimate contact of a symbiosis) |
| move it experiment | gut bacteria transferred into lean mice, lean mice developed metabolic syndrome |
| block experiment | treat lean mice with antibiotics prior to transfer of gut bacteria |
| species diversity | variety of species |
| species richness | number of difference species |
| relative abundance | proportion each species represents of all individuals in the community |
| more diverse community, ____ productivity | the more productive it is, more resistant to invasive species and environmental stresses |
| trophic structure | feeding relationships between organisms |
| autotrophic organisms | primary producers |
| herbivores | primary consumers |
| carnivores | secondary, tertiary, and quaternary consumers |
| food chain | links trophic levels from producers to top consumers |
| how can you simplify food webs? | isolate a portion of the web or group species with similar trophic relationships |
| invasive species | typically introduced to a new environment by humans, often lack predators or disease |
| dominant species | most abundant species or collectively have the highest biomass |
| Why do species become dominant? | success at avoiding predation and impact of diseases, also competitively superior in exploiting limited resources |
| keystone species | exert strong control on community because of their ecological niches |
| bottom-up model | influence from lower to higher trophic levels, nutrients->plants->herbivores->predators |
| top-down model | predation controls community because predators limit herbivores, etc |
| biomanipulation | attempts to alter environment by applying top-down of bottom-up models |
| conservation biology | integrates ecology, physiology, molecular biology, genetics and evolutionary biology to conserve biological diversity at all levels |
| 3 levels of biodiversity | genetic diversity, species diversity, ecosystem diversity |
| genetic diversity | genetic variation, if one population becomes extinct, the species looses some genetic diversity, reducing adaptive potential |
| species diversity | variety of species in an ecosystem or across the biosphere |
| endangered species | 'in danger' of extinction throughout all or a majority of it's range |
| threatened species | considered likely to become endangered |
| ecosystem diversity | local extinction of a species can have a large impact on other species |
| Benefits of species and genetic diversity for humans | beneficial for useful proteins, antibiotics, natural resources |
| ecosystem services | encompass process through which natural ecosystems help sustain human life (purify our air and water, detox and ecompose our waste, reduce impact of extreme weather and flooding) |
| Threats to biodiversity | habitat loss, introduced species, over harvesting, global change |
| habitat fragmentation | leads to species loss because smaller populations in habitat fragments have a higher probability of local extinction |
| introduced species | disruptive by preying on native organisms and outcompeteing for resources |
| over harvesting | humans are harvesting at rates that exceed the ability of the population to rebound |
| Global Change | changes in climate, atmospheric chemistry, and broad ecological systems that reduce capacity of Earth to sustain life |
| Small-Population Approach | conservationists who study this focus on the processes that cause extinctions once populations have been severely reduced |
| extinction vortex | small populations that get smaller and smaller because of loss of genetic variation |
| minimum viable population size | minimum population size that a species is able to sustain its numbers |
| effective population size | based on breeding potential, does not provide a good measure of whether or not a population is large enough to avoid extinction |
| calculation of effective population size | Ne= (4NfNm)/(Nf+Nm) |
| Declining Population Approach | focuses on threatened and endangered populations that show a downward trend, even if it is above its MVP |
| steps to analyze declining-pop approach | confirm species used to be more abundant, study history, develope hypotheses for causes of decline, test the most likely hypothesis |
| nutrient enrichment | human activity removing nutrients from one part of the biospehere and adding it to another |
| critical load | the amount of added nutrient that can be absorbed by plants without damaging the ecosystem |
| what causes rises in levels of nitrogen | farming, fossil fuel combustion, cultivation of legumes |
| biological magnification | when things become more concentrated in successive trophic levels of a food web |
| First sign of a declining population | decline in populations of the top feeders |
| Greenhouse effect | Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere intercept and absorb much of the infared radiation Earth emits, reflecting some back, thus Earth retains some solar heat it shouldn't be |
| assisted migration | translocation of a species to a favorable habitat beyond its native range to protect it from human-caused threats |
| How to slow global warming | use energy more efficiently and reduce deforestation |
| What destructs ozone? | accumulation of CFCs |
| What happens when ozone levels are decreased? | increased intensity of UV rays, which can damage DNA and protein |
| Sustainable biosphere initiative | define and acquire basic ecological information needed to develop, manage, and conserve Earth's resources as efficiently as possible |
| sustainable development | economic development that meets the needs of people today without limiting the ability of future generations to meet their needs |
| Indicators of living conditions | infant mortality and life expectancy |
| plants to land | 500 million years ago |
| plants grow taller on land | 385 million years ago |
| Plants | multicellular, eukaryotic, photosynthetic autotrophs, cells walls made of cellulose, chlorophylls a and b |
| charophytes shared traits | rings of cellulose, peroxisome enzymes, structure of flagellated sperm, formation of phragmoplast |
| adaptations enabling plants->land | layer of sporopollenin to prevent desiccation, cuticle, symbiotic relationship with fungi (mycorrhizae), production of secondary compounds |
| benefits of land | more sunlight, more CO2, soil rich in nutrients, few herbivores and pathogens |
| Challenges of Land | relative scarcity of water, lack of support against gravity |
| function of the cuticle | wax and polymer substance that helps prevent excessive water loss and protection against microbial attack |
| secondary compounds | defend plant against herbivores and parasites and attacks by pathogens. provides spices and medicines for humans |
| vascular tissue | cells joined into tubes that transport water and nutrients throughout the plant body |
| vascular plants | plants that have an extensive transport system |
| two clades of vascular seedless plants | lycophytes and pterophytes |
| seedless vascular plants | paraphyletic, classified as a 'grade' |
| 'grade' classification | collection of organisms that share a key biological feature (not always common ancestry) |
| seeded vascular plants groups | gymnosperms and angiosperms |
| gymnosperms | seeds not enclosed in chambers |
| angiosperms | seeds develop inside plant's ovary |
| group of non-vascular plants | bryophytes |
| shared derived traits between vascular and non-vascular plants | multicellular embryos, apical meristems, lack roots and true leaves |
| what is the dominant stage of the life cycle of a bryophyte | haploid gametophytes |
| protonema | mass of one-cell thick filaments that enhance absorption of water and minerals |
| gametophore | gamete bearer |
| contraints on height of bryophyte gametophytes | body parts too thin, absences of vascular tissue |
| how are bryophytes anchored | rhizoids |
| What is an example of a bryophyte? | mosses |
| female gametangia | archegonia |
| male gametangia | antheridium |
| brood bodies | small plantlet that detaches from the parent plant and grows into a new, genetically identical copy of the parent |
| Are land plants monophyletic or polyphyletic? | monophyletic, they descend from a single common ancestor |
| synapomorphy | developments from an embryo protected by tissues of the parent plant |
| dynamic stability hypothesis | Long food chains are less stable than short chains |
| energy hypothesis | Long food chains are less stable than short chains |
| edges | land in between two habitat that has its own set of physical conditions |
| movement corridor | narrow strop or series of small clumbs of habitat connecting otherwise isolated patches. Can promote dispersal and reduce inbreeding, can allow spread of diseases |
| biodiversity hot spot | small area with numerous endemic species and a large number of endangered and threatened species |
| zoned reserve | an extensive region that includes areas relatively undisturbed by humans surrounded by areas that have been change by humans |
| key challenge of zoned reserves | develop a social and economical climate in the surrounding lands that is compatible with the long-term viability of the protected core |
| sporophyll | spore-bearin leaves |
| parts of a bryophyte sporophyte | foot (absorb nutrients), seta (stalk to transport nutrients), capsule (to produce spors via meiosis) |
| When did vascular plants arise? | 425 Million years ago! |
| Main traits of vascular plants | life cycles with dominant sporophytes, transport in vascular tissues, well-developed roots and leaves |
| xylem | transports water and minerals via tracheids |
| phloem | distributes sugars, amino acids and other organic products |
| roots | organs that absorb water and minerals from the soil and anchor plants |
| leaves | increase surface area and serve as the primary photosynthetic organ of vascular plants |
| megaphyll | leaves with highly branched vascular systems |
| microphyll | small, spine-shaped leaves supported by a single strand of vascular tissue (only lycophytes) |
| origin of microphylls | sporangia |
| origin of megaphylls | series of branches lying close together on a stem |
| sporophylls | modified leaves that bear sporangia |
| sori | clusters of sporangia |
| strobili | groups of sporangia that form cone-liek structures |
| homosporous | have one type of sporangium that produces one type of spore the typically develops into a bisexual gamete (most seedless vascular plants) |
| heterosporous | two types of sporangia and produces two types of spores: megaspores and microspores |
| megaspore | develops into a female gametophyte |
| microspore | develops into a male gametophyte |
| lycophytes | mosses |
| pterophytes | ferns, horsetails |
| dermal tissue | outer covering, protection |
| vascular tissue | transports nutrients |
| ground tissue system | body of plant, photosynthesis, storage |
| epidermal tissue | outermost, cuticle and root hairs |
| trichomes | special dermal cells that keeps leafs cool and reduces evaportaion |
| sieve tubes | phloem cells that have no cytoplasm and are flanked by companion cells for supports |
| dicot vasculature | vascular bundles in rings |
| monocot vasculature | scattered vascular bundles |
| monocot | one cotyledon, parallel veins, complex vascular bundles, fibrous root system, flowers in 3's |
| dicots | two cotyledons, netlike veins, flowers in multiples of 4 or 5, vascular bundles in rings, taproot roots, |
| pith | ground tissue internal to vascular tissue |
| cortex | ground tissue external to vascular tissue |
| major types of ground cells | parenchyma, collenchyma, sclerenchyma |
| parenchyma | thin walled, living, photosynthesis, hormone secretion, sugar storage |
| collenchyma | offers support, thick-walled, living |
| sclerenchyma | thick, dead, offers support (ex-hemp, nut shells) |
| root roles | anchoring plant, absorbing minerals and water, storing organic nutrients |
| taproots | one primary root with small branches |
| fibrous roots | net of roots |
| 4 regions of roots | root cap, zone of cell division, zone of elongation, zone of maturation |
| casparian strip | waterproof barrier surrounding vasculature |
| endodermal cells | filter all water that goes into the plant |
| axillary bud | structure that can form a lateral shoot or branch (by removing apical bud) |
| apical/terminal bud | lengthens a shoot |
| dicots have what two types of mesophyll | palisade and spongy |
| apical meristems | help sustain plant growth, cells from apical meristem differentiates into various tissues |
| indeterminate growth | grow throughout life |
| components of indeterminate growth | cells division, cell enlargement, cell differentation |
| cel division | adds new cells by meristematic cells |
| cell enlargement | shoot: internode growth, root: zone of elongation |
| morphogenesis | development of body form and organization, controlled by homeotic genes |
| egg-> plants | growth, morphogenesis and cellular differentiation |
| how do plants make new cells? | by building cells walls in between the two new daughter cells |
| what determines the plane that the cell divides in? | orientation of microtubules during interphase |
| preprophase band | microtubules concentrated into a ring that predicts the plane of cell division |
| pattern formation | development of specific structures in specific locations |
| what determine what a cell does? | the cell's final position |
| how to get a flower? | phase change from vegetative growth to reproductive growth |
| meristem identity genes | controls if a plant is flowering or vegetative |
| organ identity genes | regulate the development of floral pattern |
| competitive exclusion | local elimination of an inferior competitor |
