Exam word bank

all species and their abiotic environment in an area

the position of an organism in the ecosystem according to how it obtains energy

Know the cycle of materials
(from bottom up)

What is transfer efficiency?

the amount of water pumped into the atmosphere by evaporation from the ground via transportation from vegetation- measure of solar radiation, temperature and rainfall

a linear sequence of species (or groups of species) in which each species feeds exclusively on the next tropic level down the chain?

complex trophic relationships among species in an ecosystem

the pattern of movement of a chemical element through
living organisms and the four components of the physical
environment (land, air, freshwater, oceans)

Conversion of soluble nitrogenous compounds to atmospheric N2

the ecosystem response to the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system.

study sites with highest N deposition rates had lowest species richness, why?

The development of many different forms from an originally homogeneous group of organisms as they fill different ecological niches

when a later group has caused the extinction or reduction of an earlier group; the later group outcompeted the earlier group

instances in which two or more indistinguishable species don't interbreed

reduction or prevention of gene flow between populations by genetically determined differences between them.

type of isolation where potential mates do not meet

gametes fail to produce viable zygotes

hybrids have developmental problems

a set of genetic traits which have high fitness when they occur together, but low fitness when not together

an adaptation to prevent the production of unfit hybrids, usually by strengthening of prezygotic barriers in sympatric populations

colonists carry only a small fraction of the total variation in the source causing a loss of alleles in the founding population

How can reproductive isolation evolve without geographic isolation?

union of unreduced gametes of the same species

What are the barriers to gene flow? (This is the study on evolution of sympatric host races.)

the ability of a single cell to divide and produce all of the differentiated cells in an organism

process that produces adaptations resulting from differential reproductive success among organisms in the same population

Phenotypic variation during an individuals lifetime caused by environmental variation

individuals fitness + relative's fitness

relationship between the benefit and cost of a trait in a different environment

All life functions cannot be simultaneously maximized, leading to tradeoffs

where a species lives and how it obtains resources

part of the fundamental niche that a species actually occupies caused by interactions with other species

benefits obtained from regulation of ecosystem processes

relatively long term response by an organism to environmental change

distribution of organisms in space at one moment in time

The entire span of an organism from fertilization to death

Age specific expectation of future reproduction

process when individuals share resources that are in short supply

when an animal eats another organism

results in amino acid substitution on the polypeptide

when an individual has different copies of an allele

The site on a chromosome occupied by a specific gene

when heterozygotes show a phenotype intermediate between those of the two homozygotes

a form of nonrandom mating in which individuals are more likely to mate with relatives than with nonrelatives

set of species living in a particular place

random change in gene frequencies within populations caused by sampling error

the proportion of the population that are heterozygous

when fitness is higher for heterozygotes than homozygotes

movement of genotypes from one population to another

the limit in the degree of overlap that will allow species to coexist

when species differ more where they are together (sympatric) than where they are alone (allopatric)

when two or more species affect one another's evolution

species that are brightly colored to advertise that they are harmful

temporal change in community composition

Origination rates are higher for specialized taxa because new species can avoid competing with other species by specializing on unique resources; Extinction rates of specialist taxa are higher because they are more sensitive to environmental variation

specific parts of a pathogen protein that the host's immune system recognizes and remembers

warming of earth caused by higher concentrations of gases that absorb heat

Increased growth rate, levels off at high concentrations of oxygen, may not occur when nutrients are in short supply and short term enhancement decreases in the long run

The ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean caused by uptake of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere

services necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services

Products obtained from ecosystems

Nonmaterial benefits obtained from ecosystems

Use of natural enemies to control pests

Interactions among individuals in which all benefit

Specifically binds to a foreign substance in the blood or other tissue fluids and initiate its removal from the body

an environment defined by its climatic and geographic attributes and characterized by ecologically similar organisms, particularly dominant plants

preserves average characteristic of population by favoring average individuals

a sequence of three nucleotides that together form a unit of genetic code in a DNA or RNA molecule

Genotype and environment interact to determine the phenotype of an organism

form nodules and are able to convert atmospheric N2 into ammonia

enhances nutrient and water uptake

The area an animal normally lives

An exclusive area used and defended by an individual

r-K selection theory

when an animal eats either other animals or plants

Intimate association between species

Flagellated protozoans with chloroplasts that live in the gastrodermis of corals

Early species modify the environment in a way that allows later species to colonize

Evolutionary history of relationships among organisms or their genes

The ability of a pathogen to cause disease and death

The separation or division of a group of organisms by a geographic barrier such as a mountain resulting in differentiation of the original group into new species

Ability to withstand the effects of a pathogen

New populations are different from old population and the change is so much greater than microevolution within a population

reduction of gene flow and allowance for adaptation

mixing of different species to produce hybrids

The killing and eating of potential competitors; combination of competition and predation

Conversion of ammonia into nitrite by Nitrosomonas bacteria. Nitrite is then converted to nitrate by Nitrobacter.

when one organism lives inside the other and the two typically behaving as a single organism.