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| Individuals of a species. Ex: A fish |
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| A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area. |
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| All the organisms in all the interacting populations living in a given area (Ex: All the plants, fish, algae,coral in a reef) |
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| Community of living organisms together as well as the abiotic factors that affect it (Ex. wind, water, sunlight around the reef communtiy) |
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| a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of breeding. |
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| A specific set of biotic and abiotic characteristics in which individuals of a species can thrive |
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| The geographical area where that population or species is found. Generally determined/limited by habitat requirements. |
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| The task an organism plays in the habitat. Ex. The beaver's habitat is the boreal forest but its niche is to be a consumer of trees and to modify the habitat for other organisms |
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| Occurs where no living species were previously found (Ex. a new island) |
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| A stable self-perpetuating community in which populations remain stable and succession has come to an end |
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| Occurs when patches of a community is disturbed by fire, flood or logging. Colonizers are species that thrive in these areas and their growth gives shade to other species |
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| The largest possible ecosystem. Includes all portions of earth inhabitable by some type of life and extend several km into the atmosphere and into the soil |
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| Generalized ecosystems with specific climate and the species evolved to succeed there (Ex. cacti in a desert biome) |
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| First trophic level. They capture sunshine energy. |
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Definition
| Get energy by consuming other organisms (Ex. herbivors, omnivores, carnivores and decomposers). Herbivors are always second trophic level. |
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Definition
| Consume detritus from multiple trophic levels. Hard to place in a food chain. (Ex. Fungi, worms, bacteria) |
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| A food chain is a path through the more complex food web. A food web is a representation of complex feeding relationships |
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Definition
| Photosynthesis (1%), heat |
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| Gross/ net Primary productivity |
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| the rate at which photosynthesis occurs. Measured in g/m2/a |
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Definition
| Biological material from living, or recently living organisms. It most often refers to plant matter.Measured in g/m2/a |
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Definition
| About 10% of the energy consumed is used to build cells or new biomass. The rest is 'lost' to cellular respiration, heat, feces, urine,etc. Does not apply to biomass of decomposers. |
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| When the concentration of a substance, like DDT or mercury, in an organism exceeds the background concentration of the substance |
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| The routes nutrients travel, invloving abiotic and biotic componenents of the environment. Two types: Global ( travel as gases) and Local (found in soil, like nitrogen or phosphorus cycles) |
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| Conversion of ammonium to nitrite [NO2-] by bacteria |
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| Decomposition with production of ammonia or ammonium compounds, especially by bacteria |
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| Bacteria that convert nitrogen gas to ammonium |
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| Number of individuals per unit area or volume |
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| Count of all the members of a given population |
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Definition
| Transect sampling, quadrat sampling, mark-recapture |
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| Long rectangle area used for sampling |
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Definition
| Animals are trapped and tagged. Later, the same species are trapped again in same location. The formula is used to determine populations size (#caught1sttime+#caught2nd time / #ofmarkedcaught2nd time |
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| Density dependant factors |
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Definition
| Biotic. These factors slow growth near the carrying capacity (k). Leads to sinusoidal patterns near (k). Ex. Immigration/emigration, predation, waste accumulation, dieases, competition for resources |
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| Density independent factors |
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Definition
| Abiotic. These factors cause the population to stop growing or crash long before carrying capacity is reached. Usually produce sudden, dramatic declines. Ex. heat waves,fires, floods, tornados,drought,etc |
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| Interspecific competition |
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Definition
| Among 2 different species with similar niches. Ex: Predation, parasitism, commensalism, amensalism, mutualism |
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| Intraspecific competition |
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| Within a species. When population size is large, members fight over food, breeding sites, shelter, water, sunlight, etc |
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| The maximum population size that can be sustained for a long time in an environment (k) |
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| Actual births vs. birth rate |
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| The birth rate is determined by dividing the # of births by the # of individuals already in the population |
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| Actual deaths vs. death rate |
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| The death rate is determined by dividing the # of deaths by the # of individuals already in the population |
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Definition
| Occurs where there are unlimited resources and no competetion, so the population skyrockets |
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| When parents and offspring live at the same time (Ex. humans, oak trees, seals, etc) |
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| Non-overlapping generations: |
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Definition
| When the new generation replaces the previous generation. Ex: flies, bacteria |
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| % of individuals in a pop. that live to a certain age. |
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| Average # of young produced by a female in her lifetime |
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| Organized by cohort, can include: age, # in cohort, survivorship, fecundity or mortality |
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| Equilibrial (k-selected) life histories |
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Definition
| Found in pops. near (k), living in a relatively stable area , sometimes high density, type I survivorship |
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| opportunistic (r-selected) life hsitories |
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Definition
| Found in pops. with high growth rate (r). Found in unstable environments, type III survivorship pattern, produce many young at one time |
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| Individuals born at the same time (often by year) |
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| the impact of a person or community on the environment, often expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources. |
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| Have very narrow, specialiszed preferences or tolerances for food, breeding sites, moisture or temperature (Ex. Pandas and koalas) |
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| General, non-specific requirements (Ex. Cockroaches, mice, rats, humans) |
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Definition
| Starts as exponential, but growth slows as resources become limited until carrying capacity is reached |
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| Survivorship Patterns - Type I |
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Definition
| Low fecundity, high juvenile survival (good parental care), most reach sexual maturity, most of cohort or age group reach 'old age' Ex. Elephnats or humans |
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| Survivorship Patterns - Type II |
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Definition
| Pattern between Type I & Type III, percentage dying is constant over all ages. Ex. Hydra |
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| Survivorship Patterns - Type III |
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Definition
| High fecundity, low juvenile survival rate (little or no parenting), few survive to reproductive age. Ex. oysters, mosquitos and salmon |
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