Chapter 4 Vocabulary Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Chapter 4 Vocabulary Deck (38)
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1
Q

Natural Selection

A

The mechanism for evolutionary change in which environmental pressures cause certain genetic combinations in a population to become more abundant; genetic combinations best adapted for present environmental conditions tend to become predominant

2
Q

Selection Presssures

A

Factors in the environment that favor successful reproduction of individuals possessing heritable traits and that reduce viability and fertility of those individuals not possessing those traits

3
Q

Critical Factor

A

The single environmental factor closest to a tolerance limit for a given species at a given time

4
Q

Tolerance Limits

A

(Also Limiting Factors)

Chemical or physical factors that limit the existence, growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism

5
Q

Indicators

A

(Also Indicator Species)

Those whose critical tolerance limits can be used to judge environmental conditions

6
Q

Habitat

A

The place or set of environmental conditions in which a particular organism lives

7
Q

Ecological Niche

A

The functional role and position of a species (population) within a community or ecosystem, including what resources it uses, how and when it uses the resources, and how it interacts with other populations

8
Q

Endemic

A

Not found anywhere else

9
Q

Competitive Exclusion Principle

A

A theory that no two populations of different species will occupy the same niche and compete for exactly the same resources in the same habitat for very long

10
Q

Resource Partitioning

A

In a biological community, various populations sharing environmental resources through specialization, thereby reducing direct competition

11
Q

Speciation

A

The generation of a new species

12
Q

Geographic Isolation

A

(Also Allopatric Speciation)

Species that arise from a common ancestor due to geographic barriers that cause reproductive isolation

13
Q

Allopatric Specieation

A

Species that arise from a common ancestor due to geographic barriers that cause reproductive isolation

14
Q

Sympatric Specieation

A

Species that arise from a common ancestor due to biological or behavioral barriers that cause reproductive isolation even though the organism live in the same place

15
Q

Binomials

A

Two part names (genus and species, usually in Latin) invented by Carl Linneaus to show taxonomic relationships

16
Q

Intraspecific Competition

A

In a community, competition for resources between members of a different species

17
Q

Interspecific Competition

A

In a community, competition for resources among members of the same species

18
Q

Predator-Meditated Competition

A

A situation in which predation reduces prey populations and gives an advantage to competitors that might not otherwise be successful

19
Q

Coevolution

A

The process in which species exert selective pressure on each other and gradually evolve new features or behaviors as a result of those pressures

20
Q

Batesian Mimicry

A

Evolution by one species to resemble the coloration, body shape, or behavior of another species that is protected from predators by a venomous stinger, bad taste, or some other defensive adaptation

21
Q

Mullerian Mimicry

A

Evolution of two species, both of which are unpalatable and, have poisonous stingers or some other defense mechanism, to resemble each other

22
Q

Symbosis

A

The intimate living together of memebers of two different species; includes mutualism, commensalism, and, in some classifications, parasitism

23
Q

Mutualism

A

A symbiotic relationship between individuals of two different species in which both species benefit from the association

24
Q

Commensalism

A

A symbiotic relationship in which one member is benefited and the second is neither harmed nor benefited

25
Q

Parasitism

A

A symbiotic relationship in which one member benefits and the other is harmed

26
Q

Keystone Species

A

A species whose impacts on its community or ecosystem are much larger and more influential than would be expected from mere abundance

27
Q

Primary Productivity

A

Synthesis of organic materials (biomass) by green plants using the energy captured in photosynthesis

28
Q

Abundance

A

The number or amount of something

29
Q

Diversity

A

The number of species present in a community (species richness), as well as the relative abundance of each species

30
Q

Complexity

A

The number of species at each trophic level and the number of trophic levels in a community

31
Q

Edge Effects

A

A change in species composition, physical conditions, or other ecological factors at the boundary between two ecosystems

32
Q

Ecotones

A

Boundaries between two types of ecological communities

33
Q

Climax Community

A

A relatively stable, long-lasting community reached in a successional series; usually determined by climate and soil type

34
Q

Primary Succession

A

An ecological succession that begins in an area where no biotic community previously existed

35
Q

Secondary Succession

A

Succession on a site where an existing community has been disrupted

36
Q

Pioneer Species

A

In primary succession on a terrestrial site, the plants, lichens, and microbes that first colonize the site

37
Q

Disturbance

A

A periodic, destructive events such as fire or floods; changes in an ecosystem that affect (positively or negatively) the organism living there

38
Q

Disturbance-Adapted Species

A

Species that depend on disturbances to succeed