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behavior

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collectively, the sum of an animals responses to external and internal stimuli

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ethology

answer

the sudy of animal behavior with emphasis on the behavioral patterns that occur in natural environments

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proximate (causation)

answer

how a behavior occurs or is modified

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ultimate (causation)

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why a behavior occurs in the context of natural selection

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fixed action pattern

answer

a sequence of unlearned acts directly linked to a simple stimulus

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sign stimulus

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an external cue that triggers a behavioral response

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kinesis

answer

the movement of an organism in response to a stimulus

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taxis

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an oriented movement toward or away from a stimulus

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circadian (clock) rythm

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an internal mechanism that maintains a 24 hour acitivty rythm or cycle

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Karl von Frisch

answer

studied european honeybees/ the bee waggle and what it communicated

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pheromones

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much like a hormone that influences behavior. has reproductive effects

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innate (behavior)

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behavior that is unlearnt/instinctual

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learned (behavior)

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behavior that is learned from experience, conditioning, reinforcement, social interaction, etc.

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fitness

answer

the genetic contribution of an individual to the next generation's gene pool relative to the average for the population, usually measured by the number of offspring or close kin that survive to reproductive age/the ability of a population to maintain or increase its numbers in succeeding generations.

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habituation

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reduction of psychological or behavioral response occurring when a specific stimulus occurs repeatedly.

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imprinting

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in animal behavior, the formation at a specific stage in life of a long lasting behavioral response to a specific individual or object

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critical period

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the limited developmental phase during which imprinting can occur

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parental imprinting

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the baby animals will imprint on whom or whatever they spend their first few hours with

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Konrad Lorenz

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the man who observed the process of parental imprinting.

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spatial learning

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the establishment of a memory that reflects the environments spatial structure

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associative learning

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the acquired ability to associate one environmental feature with another. (ex. classical conditioning).

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operant conditioning

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also called trial and error learning - animals learn to associated behavior with rewards and punishments

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cognition

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the process of knowing that may include awareness, reasoning, recollection, judgement.

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cross fostering (human twin studies)

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a behavioral study in which the young of one species are placed in the care of adults from other species

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foraging behavior

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the seeking and obtaining of food

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optimal foraging theory

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natural selection should favor a foraging behavior that minimizes the costs o foraging and maximizes the benefits

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promiscuity

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relationship with mating but no strong pair bonds/ lasting relationships

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monogamy

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mating with only one mate

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polygamy

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mating w/ multiple mates

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polygny

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polygamy involving one male and many females

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polyandry

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polygamy involving one female and multiple males

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sexual selection

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a form of natural selection in which individuals with certain inherited characteristics are more likely than others to obtain mates

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intersexual selection

answer

selection whereby individuals of one sex are choosy in selecting their mates from individuals of the other sex.

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intrasexual selection

answer

selection in which there is direct competition among individuals of one sex for mates of the opposite sex

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agonistic behavior

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ritaulized contest that determines which competitor gains access to a resource such as food or mates.

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altruism

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selflessness, a behavior that reduces an individuals fitness while increasing the fitness of another individual

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inclusive fitness

answer

the total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes by producing its own offspring and by providing aid that enables other close relatives to increase production of their offspring

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kin selection

answer

natural selection that favors altruistic behavior by enhancing the reproductive success of relatives

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reciprocal altruism

answer

altruistic behavior between unrelated individuals whereby the altruistic individual benefits in the future when the beneificary reciprocates

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ecology

answer

the scientific study of interactions between organisms and the environment

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organismal ecology

answer

branch of ecology concerned with morphological, physiological, and behavioral ways in which organisms meet the challeneges posed by their abiotic and biotic environments

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population

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a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area and interbreed, producing fertile offspring

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population ecology

answer

study of populations in relation to their environment including environmental influences on population density and distribution, age structure and variations in population size

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community

answer

all the organisms that inhabit a particular area, an assemblage of populations of different species living close enough together for potential interaction

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community ecology

answer

the study of how interactions between species affect community structure and organization

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ecosystem

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all the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact. one or more communities, and the phyiscal environment around them

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ecosystem ecology

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the study of energy flow and the cycling of chemicals among various biotic and abiotic components in one ecosystem

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landscape ecology

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the study of how spatial arrangement of habitat types affects the distribution and abundance of organisms and ecosystem processes

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biosphere

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the entire portion of the earth inhabited by life, the sum of all the planets ecosystem.

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global ecology

answer

the study of the functioning and distribution of organisms across the biosphere and how regional exchange of energy and materials affects them

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environmentalism

answer

the belief or study of how environmental influences is greater than genes/heredity

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bio geography

answer

the study of past and present distribution of organisms

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biotic factors

answer

the following are what? feeding, pollinators, outside disease, competiton, exotic species

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abiotic factors

answer

the following are what? temperature, water, oxygen, salinity, sunlight, soil

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climate

answer

the long term, prevailing weather conditions at a given place

question

rain shadow (effect)

answer

as air rises up the windward side of a mountain range its moisture is squeezed out and when it begins to descend the other side of the mtn it drys, warms and expands, reducing possibility of precipitation

question

photic

answer

zone with sufficient light for photosynthesis

question

aphotic

answer

zone with insufficient light for photosynthesis

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benthic

answer

the zone that is the bottom

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pelagic

answer

this zone consists of the photic and aphotic zone

question

oligotrophic

answer

lake type that is nutrient poor, but o2 rich

question

eutrophic

answer

lake type that is nutrient rich but often lacking o2

question

littoral

answer

zone where rooted plants live

question

limnetic

answer

zone where plants with out roots live

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zooplankton

answer

animal like protozoans

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phytoplankton

answer

plantlike plankton

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neritic

answer

the shallow zone before the continental shelf

question

abyssal

answer

zone at the bottom of the aphotic zone

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climograph

answer

a plot of the temperature and precipitation in a particular region

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tropical rain forest

answer

a terrestrial biome characterized by relatively high precipitation and temperatures year round

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tropical dry forest

answer

a terrestiral biome characterized by relatively high temperatures and precipation overall but with a prounounced dry season

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temperate grassland

answer

a terrestrial biome that exists at mid latitude regions and is dominated by grasses and forbs

question

temperate broadleaf forest

answer

a biome located throughout mid latitude regions where there is sufficient moisture to support the growth of large, broadleaf, deciduous trees

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tundra

answer

a terrestrial biome at the extreme limits of plant growth. at the northernmost limits, it is called the arctic ?, and at high altitudes where plant forms are limited to low shrubby or matlike vegetation, it is called alpine ?

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savanna

answer

a tropical grassland biome with scattered individual trees and large herbivores maintained by occasional fires and droughts

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northern coniferous forest

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a terrestrial biome characterized by long, cold winters and dominated by cone bearing trees

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desert

answer

a terrestrial biome characterized by very low precipitation

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chaparral

answer

a scrubland biome of dense spiny evergreen shrubs found at midlatitudes along coasts where cold ocean currents circulate offshore, characterized by mild, rainy winters, and long, hot, dry summers.

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density

answer

the number of individuals per unit area or volume

question

dispersion

answer

density is the population within an area, but this is the pattern of spacing individuals in that given area. demographers

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demographers

answer

these people study birth and death rates

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cohort

answer

a group of individuals of the same age in a population

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survivorship curves

answer

a plot of the number of members of a cohort that are still alive at each age, one way to represent age specific mortality

question

reproductive table

answer

an age specific summary of the reproductive rates in a population

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life history

answer

the traits that affect an organisms schedule of reproduction and survival

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iteroparity (repeated reproduction)

answer

reproduction in which adults produce offspring over many years

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semelparity (big-bang reproduction)

answer

reproduction in which an organism produces all of its offspring in a single event

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zero population growth (ZPG)

answer

the point at which the birth rate = death rate

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exponential population growth

answer

growth of a population in an ideal, unlimited environment, represented by a j shaped curve when population size plotted over time

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carrying capacity

answer

maximum population size that a particular enivronment can sustain

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logistic population growth

answer

population growth that levels off as population size approaches carrying capacity

question

density independent regulation

answer

varies regardless of population density

question

density dependent regulation

answer

varies with population density

question

population dynamics

answer

the study of how complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors influence variations in population size

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metapopulation

answer

a group of spatially seperated populations of one species that interact through immigration and emigration

question

demographic transition

answer

in a stable population, a shift from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates

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age structure

answer

the relative number of individuals of each age in a population

question

ecological footprint

answer

the aggregate land and water area required by a person, city, or nation to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb all the waste it generates

question

intraspecific competition

answer

competition among members of the same speices for resources

question

interspecific competition

answer

competition for resources between individuals of 2 or more speices when resources are in short supply

question

competitive exclusion principle

answer

when populations of two similar species compete for the same limited resources, one population will use the resources more efficiently have a reproductive advantage that will eventually lead to the elimination of the population

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ecological niche

answer

the sum of a species use of biotic and abiotic resources in its environment

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resource partitioning

answer

the vision of environmental resources by coexisting species such that the niche of each species differs by one or more significant factors form the niches of all coexisting species.

question

fundamental niche

answer

the niche potentially occupied by a species

question

realized niche

answer

the portion of a fundamental niche that a species actually occupies

question

character displacement

answer

the tendency for characteristics to be more divergent in sympatric populations of two species than in allopatric populations of the same two species.

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sympatric populations

answer

the formation of new speices in populations that live in the same geographic area

question

allopatric speciation

answer

the formation of new species in populations that are geographically isolated from one another

question

herbivory

answer

an interaction in which an organism eats parts of a plant or alga

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symbiosis

answer

when two animals live in direct and intimate contact with one another

question

parasitism

answer

symbiotic relationship in which one organisms derives nourishment from another organism (its host) which is harmed in the process. a (+/-) relationship.

question

commensalism

answer

an interaction between species that benefits one species but neither harms nor helps the other. a (+/0) relationship

question

mutualism

answer

an interspecific interaction between two species that benefits both species. a (+/+) relationship.

question

species diversity

answer

the number and relative abundance of species in a biological community

question

food web

answer

the interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem

question

energetic hypothesis

answer

the concept that the length of a food chain is limited by the inefficiency of of energy transfer along the cahin

question

dominant species

answer

a species with substantially higher abundance or biomass than other species in a community.

question

keystone species

answer

a species that is not necessarily abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche

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facilitator

answer

species that has a positive effect on the survival and reproduction of another species without the intimate association of symbiosis.

question

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

answer

the concept that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater species diversity than low or high levels of disturbance

question

ecological succession

answer

transition in the species composition of a community following a disturbance; establishment of a community in an area virtually barren of life

question

primary succession

answer

a type of ecological succession that occurs in an area where there were originally no organisms present and where soil has not yet transformed

question

secondary succession

answer

a type of succession that occurs where an existing community has been cleared by some disturbance that leaves the soil or substrate intact

question

species area curve

answer

the biodiversity pattern that shows that the larger the geographic area of a community is, the more species it has.

question

pathogen

answer

disease causing microorganism

question

zoonotic pathogen

answer

pathogen type that are transferred to humans from other animals

question

vector

answer

intermediate species that transmit diseases

question

flows cycles

answer

energy _________ through an ecosystem and matter ______.

question

created destroyed

answer

both energy and matter can be neither ________ nor _______

question

trophic structure

answer

the different feeding relationships in an ecosystem which determine the route of energy flow and the pattern of chemical cycling

question

photoautotroph

answer

an organism that harnesses light energy to drive the synthesis of organic compounds from carbon dioxide

question

primary producer

answer

an autotroph, usually a photosynthetic organism. collectively, autotrophs make up the trophic level of an ecosystem that ultimately supports all other levels.

question

detritivore

answer

a consumer that derives its energy and nutrients form nonliving organic material such as corpses, fallen plant material, and the wastes of living organisms

question

primary production

answer

the amount of light energy converted to chemical energy (organic compounds) by the autotrophs in an ecosystem during a given time period

question

biomass

answer

the total mass of organic matter comprising group of organisms in a particular habitat

question

eutrophication

answer

a process by which nutrients particularly phosphorus and nitrogen become highly concentrated in a body of water leading to an increased growth of organisms such as algae or cyanobacteria

question

limiting nutrient

answer

an element that must be added for production to increase in a particular area

question

trophic efficiency

answer

the percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next

question

biological magnification

answer

a process in which retained substance become more concentrated at each higher trophic level in a food chain

question

greenhouse effect

answer

the warming of earth due to the atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide and certain other gases which absorb reflected infrared radiation and reradiate some of it back toward earth

question

conservation biology

answer

the integrated study of ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology, molecular biology, and genetics to sustain biological diversity at all levels.

question

restoration ecology

answer

scientific study and practice of renewing and restoring degraded damaged or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention

question

genetic diversity

answer

genetic variation within a population and between populations if a species becomes extinct then a species ay have lost this, and adaptive potential reduces for a species

question

species diversity

answer

are more species are lost to extinction, this decreases

question

ecosystem diversity

answer

extinction of one species in an ecosystem can have a negative impact on the ecosystem

question

endangered species

answer

species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range

question

threatened species

answer

species that are considered or likely to become endangered in the near future.

question

extinction vortex

answer

a downward population in which inbreeding and genetic drift combine to cause a small population to shrink and unless the spiral is reversed, become extinct

question

movement corridor

answer

a series of small clumps or a narrow strip of quality habitat (usable by organisms) that connects otherwise isolated patches of quality habitat

question

bio remediation

answer

the use of organisms to detoxify and restore polluted and degraded ecosystems

question

biological augmentation

answer

an approach to restoration ecology that uses organisms to add essential materials to a degraded ecosystem.

AP Bio Ch 51 – 56 – Flashcards

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