Biogeography Exam 2 2013 – Flashcards
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| Carbon Cycle |
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| Carbon exchange through biosphere, pedosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere |
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| Law of the Minimum |
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| Growth is controlled by the scarcest resource or limit factor not the total amount available |
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| Residence Time |
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| amount a molecule specds in a specific reservoir in the biogeochem cycle |
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| Soil Organic Matter |
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| Provides nutrients, bids soil particles, reduces erosion, helps soil hold water |
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| Guano Islands Act 1856 |
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| Any US citizen who finds a guano deposit must hand it over to US gov. Used as fertilizer |
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| Green Revolution |
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| increase in global food production in 1950 and up due to crop breeding, fertilizer, and pesticide advances |
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| fertilizer burn |
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| When plants are exposed to too much nitrogen, interferes with ability to take in water |
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| Algal Bloom |
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| Rapid increase or accumulation of algae within an aquatic system |
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| Dead Zone |
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| Low oxygen areas caused by excessive nutrient pollution |
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| Phosphate |
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| Most common form of phosphorus PO4 |
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| Weathering |
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| The processes that break down rock, minerals, and soils through contact with atmosphere, biota, and water |
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| Hypoxia |
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| low oxygen conditions formed by excess nutrients |
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| biome |
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| set of several species that are adapted to their particular environment |
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| Species |
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| Groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations, reproductively isolated from other such groups. |
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| range/distribution |
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| geographical area where a species can be found |
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| Domesticated animals |
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| Have had behavior, life cycle, or physiology altered by being under human control for many generations |
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| Selective breeding |
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| process of breeding plants and animals for particular adaptive traits. |
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| Population |
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| all organisms of the same species who live in the same geographical area. |
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| population density |
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| reflects number of individuals in a specials within a unit area. |
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| Specialst |
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| Low range of environmental tolerance |
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| Generalist |
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| High range of environmental tolerance |
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| Ecological niche |
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| shared by members of a species and allows interaction through interbreeding |
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| Fundamental Niche |
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| complete range of environmental conditions that are sutiable for a species, without considering the effects of either competition or predation |
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| Realized Niche |
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| part of fundamental niche actually occupied by the species |
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| Stenophagous Organism |
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| Eat a very restricted variety of food ex. blue whale, koala |
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| Euryphagous Organism |
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| Consume a variety of several different organism ex. humans, grizzly bear |
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| 4 Characteristics of Stenophagous Orgs |
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| 1) Focus on best food 2) Obtain high return on energy 3) limited comp with other orgs 4) difficulty finding food |
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| 2 characteristis of Euryphagous Orgs |
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| 1) Not tied to a single location that supports food 2) May not eat food that is very nutritious |
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| Predation |
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| Biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey |
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| Population Dynamics |
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| Study changes in size and age comp of populations and the bio and environ processes that influence the changes. |
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| Negative feedback |
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| when output of systems acts to oppose changes to input of system |
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| Apex Predators |
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| Predators with no predators of their own |
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| Keystone species |
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| has disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. |
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| 2nd law of thermodynamics |
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| the entropy of an isolated system never decreases because isolated systems evolve toward thermodynamic equilibrium |
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| Disturbance |
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| temporary events that causes a major change in the structure of an ecosystem. |
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| Succession |
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| the process where one group of pants and animals is replaced by another. |
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| Colonization |
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| the process in biology by which a species spreads into new areas, regions, and continents. |
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| 4 Characteristics of Pioneer Species |
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| 1) High growth rate 2) small size 3) High degree of dispersal 4) rapid pop growth |
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| Primary succession |
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| growth of plants at a location that has never been previously colonized |
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| Secondary Succession |
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| Occurs after plant life on a colonized surgace is affeceted by a disturbance. |
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| Characteristics of Late Successional Species |
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| 1) Slow growth rate 2) large sizes 3) low rates of dispersal 4) slow population growth |
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| 4 ways plants modify their abiotic environ |
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| create shade add nutrients to soil reduce temp extremes increase humidity |
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| Interference competition |
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| When species interfere directly with others attempting to forage, reproduce or establish themselves within a habitat. |
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| Competition |
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| Negative interaction that occurs whenever the fitness of one organism is reduced because of the presence of another |
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| Intraspecific Competition |
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| When members of the same species vie for the same resource in an ecosystem (food,water,light0 |
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| Interference Competition |
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| When organisms interfere directly with others attempting to forage, reproduce or establish themselves within a habitat. |
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| Exploitive Competition |
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| when individuals interfere indirectly by consuming scarce resources, making them less available to other individuals |
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| Territorial Organisms |
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| Defend social/geographic area against other organisms that are a member of their own species |
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| Carrying capacity |
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| how many individuals of a particular organism can be supported by a specific habitat |
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| Interspecific competition |
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| When members of a different species vie for the same resource in an ecosystem |
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| Major 5 domestic herbivores |
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| goat, pig, horse, cow, sheep |
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| Domesticated species |
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| refers to species whose evolutionary process has been influenced by humans to meet human needs. |
