The Ecology Review:
1. Abiotic factors: non-living, chemical factors
2. Biotic factors: living factors
Levels of organization:6. Biosphere: sum of all planet’s
ecosystems
5. Ecosystem: abiotic + community
4. Community: all species in area
3. Population: individuals of same species
Organism
8. Species transplants: intentionally or accidentally transplanting a species where previously absent
ex. Zebra mussel
9. The Tens Rule:average of 1/10 introduced species become established & 1/10 established species become common enough pests
10.Climate: prevailing weather conditions in an area, determines makeup of biomes major components:
-temperature
-water
-light
-wind
Tilt responsible for seasons of the Earth
Intense solar radiation near the equator initiates a global circulation of air, creating precipitation and winds.
This creates prevailing air currents.
Tropics
Turnover brings oxygenated water from the surface of lakes to the bottom and nutrient-rich water to the top.
11.Aquatic biomes: a. Photic zone:
b. Aphotic zone:
c. Thermocline: separates warm & cold layers
d. Benthic zone:
e. Detritus: dead organic matter
f. Littoral zone:
g. Limnetic zone:
h. Profundal zone:
i. Oligotrophic: lakes are deep, nutrient-poor and do not contain much life
j. Eutrophic: lakes are shallower and have increased nutrients
12.Tide pools: submerged and exposed twice daily by tide cycles
Coral reefs
13. Oceanic pelagic zone:
includes mostof ocean’s water, constantly mixed, lots of plankton and fish
c. Tropical forests: -close to equator-high amounts of rainfall (can vary from region to region)-great variety of plants and animals
The vegetation is layered, with the canopy being one of the top layers
d. Savannas: -grasslands with scattered trees
-distinct seasons (wet and dry)-have many types of plants and animals-Fire important abiotic factor
e. Deserts: -low rainfall
-generally hot-Vegetation is usually sparse (cacti and succulents)-Many animalsare nocturnal,so they canavoid the heat
f. Chaparrals:-mild wet winters and dry hot summers-dense spiny, evergreen shrubs-have periodicfires, some plantsproduce seedsthat will onlygerminateafter a fire
g. Temperate grasslands: -exhibit seasonal drought
-occasional fires-usually used for grazing and agriculture
h. Temperate deciduous forests:-dense stands of trees-very cold winters and hot summers-trees loseleaves and godormant in winter-large variety of plants and animals-humans havelogged many ofthese forestsaround the world
i. Coniferous forests:-largest terrestrial biome on earth-long cold winters and short wet summers-home to various animals, some of whichhibernate
j. Tundra: -contains low
growing plants-windy and cold (short growing season)-layer of permafrost is found below 1 meter and does not thaw, which prevents root growth (not many animals)-two types:
arctic, Alaska and the Arctic circle alpine, very high mountaintops
16.Ethology: the study of how animals behave in their natural habitat
Karl von FrischKonrad LorenzNiko Tinbergen
• Fixed action pattern: A sequence of behavioral acts that is essentially unchangeable and usually carried to completion once initiated
• Sign stimulus: external sensory stimulus
20.learning: modification of behavior resulting from specific experiences
*Versus*21. maturation: situation in which a
behavior may improve because of ongoing developmental changes in neuromuscular systems
ex. As a bird continues to develop its muscles and nervous system, it is able to fly.
*It is not true learning*
22. habituation: a loss of responsiveness to unimportant stimuli or stimuli that do not provide appropriate feedback
“cry-wolf” effect
23.imprinting: recognition, response, and attachment of young to a particular adult or object
Konrad Lorenz
24. Associative learning: ability of many animals to learn to associate one stimulus with another
ex. Classical conditioning Pavlov’s dog
25. Operant conditioning: trial-and-error learning - an animal learns to associate one of its own behaviors with a reward or a punishment
26. Cognitive ethology: study connecting nervous system function with behavior
a. Kinesis: change in activity rateb. Taxis: movement to/away
from stimulusc. Cognitive maps: internal codes
of spatial relationships of objects in the
environmentd. Migration: regular movement
of animals over relatively long distances
27.Social behavior:a. agnostic behavior:
contest of threats b. reconciliation behavior:
c. dominance hierarchy:“pecking order”
d. territoriality: defending particular area
e. courtship:
f. mating systems:promiscuous: no strong bond between matesmonogamous: 1 female, 1 malepolyandry: 1 female, many malespolygamous:
g. pheromones: ants & honey beesh. altruism: behavior
that might decrease individual fitness, but increase the fitness of others
i. kin selection:
28.Population density:29. mark-recapture method: sampling
technique30.Patterns of dispersion:
a. Clumped:b. Uniform:c. Random:
35.Population growth:Change in population = Births during – Deaths
duringsize during time interval time interval time interval
exponential population growth:
Population grows rapidly
logistic population growth:carrying capacity: (K)K-selection:r-selection:population limiting factors:population cycles: predator/prey relationship
36.Human population growth:ecological footprint:-Land suitable for crops-Pasture -Forest-Ocean -Built-up land-Fossil energy land
age
structure:
41. Interspecific interactions:
a. Competitive exclusion principle:two species cannot coexist in a community if
their niches are identical
b. Ecological niche:
c. predation:d. parasitism:e. cryptic coloration: deceptive markingsc. Batesian mimicry: Harmless mimics
harmfulc. Mullerian mimicry:
similar warningsc. Mutualism:d. Commensalism:
42. trophic structure: feeding relationshipsfood chain:trophic levels:food webs:dominant species:biomass:keystone species:bottom-up model:nutrients and vegetation control
community organization
top-down model: predation that controls
community organization
43. primary succession: begins in a lifeless area where soil has not yet
formed; Mosses and lichens colonize first 44. secondary succession: where an
existing community has been cleared by some event, but the soil is left intact;
Grasses grow first, then trees and other organisms
51.Gross primary production (GPP): This is the amount of light energy that is converted into chemical energy
net primary production = GPP - energy used by the primary producers for respiration
52.Pyramids of biomass: represent the multiplicative loss of energy from a food chain
58. Introduced species: The Nile perch was introduced into Lake Victoria as a food fish, but led to the extinction of several native species
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