| A | B |
|---|
| behavior | comprises any action that can be observed and described |
| learning | a durable change in behavior brought about by experience |
| imprinting | a young animal forms an association with the first moving object it sees |
| associative learning | a change in behavior that involves an association between two events |
| classical conditioning | a method for modifying behavior by pairing two different types of stimuli (at the same time) causing an animal to form an association between them (bell and food for Pavlov's dog) |
| operant conditioning | a method of modifying behavior in which a stimulus-response connection is strengthened (rewards and punishments) |
| migration | long-distance travel from one location to another |
| orientation | the ability to travel in a particular direction |
| navigate | the ability to change direction in response to environmental clues |
| insight learning | when an animal solves a behavior without having any prior experience |
| communication | an action by a sender that may influence the behavior of the receiver (chemical, auditory, visual, and tactile) |
| pheromone | a chemical signal in low concentration that is passed between members of the same species |
| behavioral ecology | the study of how natural selection shapes behavior |
| territoriality | the behavior of defending one's territory |
| optimal foraging model | it is adaptive for foraging behavior to be as energy efficient as possible |
| polygamous | single male mates with multiple females (females invest more energy in young) |
| polyandrous | a female mates with multiple males (environment does not have sufficient resources to support several young at a time) |
| monogamous | males and females pair bond and both help with the rearing of young |
| sexual selection | a form of natural selection that favors features that increase an animal's chances of mating |
| altruism | a behavior that has the potential to decrease the lifetime reproductive success of the altruist while benefiting the reproductive success of another |
| inclusive fitness (kin selection) | includes personal reproductive success as well as the reproductive success of relatives (prairie dog warning calls) |
| reciprocal altruism | making a short-term reproductive sacrifice in order to increase future reproductive success (vampire bats sharing a meal) |
| ecology | the study of interactions among all organisms and with their physical environment |
| habitat | the place where an organism lives |
| population | all the organisms from the same species living together in the same area |
| community | all of the populations of multiple species interacting in the same area |
| ecosystem | the community of populations along with the abiotic factors (water, etc) in their environment |
| biosphere | the zones of Earth's soil, water, and air where organisms are found |
| population distribution | pattern of dispersal of individuals across a given area |
| resources | living and nonliving components of an environment that support living organisms |
| growth rate (rate of natural increase) | determined by the number of individuals born each year minus the number of individuals that die each year |
| biotic potential | the highest possible rate of natural increase for a population |
| cohort | all the members of a population born at the same time |
| survivorship | probability of individuals of a cohort surviving to particular ages |
| age structure diagrams | prereproductive, reproductive and postreproductive proportions of a population |
| exponential growth | the number of individuals added each generation increases exponentially due to the total number of reproductive females increasing in a population |
| logistic growth | limiting environmental factors that oppose growth slow or stop population growth (lag, exponential, deceleration and equilibrium phases) |
| carrying capacity (K) | the maximum number of individuals of a given species that the community can support (as a population approaches this, environmental resistance will increase--limited resources, predation, disease) |
| density-independent factors | the intensity of the effect is independent of density (weather) |
| density-dependent factors | biotic factors that are affected by the density of the population (predation, competition, disease, etc) |
| predation | when one organism (the predator) eats another, the prey |
| r-selection | favors r-strategists, small individuals that mature quickly and have a short lifespan |
| K-selection | favors K-strategists, species that allocate energy |
| zero population growth | no increase in population size |
| environmental impact | measured in terms of both population size (LDCs) and resource consumption (MDCs) |
| ecological niche | role a species plays in a community |
| competitive exclusion principle | no two species can indefinitely occupy the same niche at the same time |
| resource partitioning | apportioning of resources in order to decrease competition between two species |
| predator-prey interactions | where the population size of the prey influences the number of predators, and vice versa |
| camouflage | the ability to blend into the background (used as a prey defense) |
| mimicry | a resemblance of one species to another that possesses an overt antipredator defense |
| symbiosis | the close association between two different species over long periods of time |
| parasitism | similar to predation where one organism benefits while the other is harmed (host) |
| commensalism | a symbiotic relationship in which one species is benefited and the other is neither benefited or harmed |
| mutualism | a symbiotic relationship in which both members benefit |
| coevolution | plants and their pollinators (mutualism) |
| ecological succession | a change within a community involving a series of species replacements |
| pioneer species | the first producers to inhabit a community after a disturbance |
| climax community | mature and stable community (old growth forest for example) |
| autotrophs | organisms that require only inorganic nutrients and an outside energy source (sun, sulfur vents) to synthesize organic molecules |
| heterotrophs | organisms that need preformed organic nutrients that they use as an energy source |
| detritivores | organisms that feed on detritus (decomposing parts of organic matter) |
| decomposers | bacteria and fungi--acquire nutrients by breaking down dead organic matter |
| food web | a diagram that describes the trophic (feeding) relationships |
| trophic level | a level of nutrients within a food web or chain (producer, primary consumer, etc) |
| ecological pyramid | the flow of energy with large losses between successive trophic levels (90% lost) |
| biomass | the number of organisms multiplied by the dry weight of the organic matter within one organism |
| biogeochemical cycles | the pathways by which chemicals circulate through ecosystems involve both living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) components |
| greenhouse gases | allow solar radiation to pass through but hinder the escape of infrared rays back into space |
| eutrophication | runoff phosphate and nitrogen from fertilizer use, animal wastes from livestock feedlots, and discharge from sewage treatment plants over enrich the waterways |
| climate change | changes in the Earth's climate due to global warming |
| keystone species | a species small in numbers that has a large impact on an ecosystem (wolves of yellowstone for example) |
