Ecology

Cohort

A group of individuals around the same age

Density Independent

Both living and non-living things can influence the size of a population of organisms

Species Area Curve

Is a relationship between the area of a habitat, or of part of a habitat, and the number of species found within that area.

Bottom Up Model VS top down model

Predator VS prey relations. Deals with processing information

Competitive Exclusion

the inevitable elimination from a hanhabitat habitat of one of two different species with identical needs for resources.

Macro climate

the overall climate of a region usually a large geographic area

Aposematic Coloration

1. conspicuous coloration or markings of an animal serving to warn off predators

Density independent

Both living and non-living things can influence the size of a population of organisms. Some things that happen to populations, such as disease and parasites, depend on the size of the population to be successful at causing destruction.

Disturbance

Changes a peaceful environment into something catastrophic

Population Ecology

Dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment

Density

How compact an enviorment or population is

Demography

the study of statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which illustrate the changing structure of human populations.

Biomass

the total mass of organisms in a given area or volume.

Climograph

A graph that measures climate

Population

All the inhabitants of a region

Logistical Population Growth

Equation when N=98, r=0.5, and K=100. A growth rate of zero means that the population is not growing, which is what happens at carrying capacity because the birth rate usually equals the death rate. When N is equal to K, a population has reached carrying capacity.

Dynamic Stability Hypothesis

Long food chains are less stable than short food chains

Mark-recapture Method

Method to measure population size

Turnover

Population turnover, measure of gross moves in relation to the size of a population

Species Diversity

Species diversity is a measure of the diversity within an ecological community that incorporates both species richness (the number of species in a community) and the evenness of species' abundances.

Disturbance

The interruption of a settled and peaceful population

Energetic hypothesis

The length of a food chain is limited by the inefficiency of energy transfer along the chain

Ecological Niche

The place or function of a given organism within its ecosystem

Ecological Niche

The place or function of a given organism within its ecosystem.

R Selection

The production of numerous small offspring followed by exponential population growth is the defining characteristic of r-selected specie

Age structure

The structure of age in which age is affected by structure

Resource Partitioning

This process allows two species to partition certain resources so that one species does not out-compete the other as dictated by the competitive exclusion principle

Carry Capacity Growth

When a population reaches it full capacity

Ectoparasites

a parasite, such as a flea, that lives on the outside of its host.

Endoparasites

a parasite, such as a tapeworm, that lives inside its host.

Keystone Species

a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.

Cryptic Coloring

allows an organism to match its background and hence become less vulnerable to predation or recognition by prey.

Exponential Population Growth

development at an increasingly rapid rate in proportion to the growing total number or size; a constant rate of growth applied to a continuously growing base over a period of time

Character Displacement

differences among similar species whose distributions overlap geographically are accentuated in regions where the species co-occur,

Symbiosis

een two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both.

Relative Abundance

how common or rare a species is relative to other species in a defined location or community.

Inter specific Interactions

interactions among organisms of different species.

Interspecific Interactions

interactions among organisms of different species.

Age Structure

is a graphical illustration that shows the distribution of various age groups in a population (typically that of a country or region of the world), which forms the shape of a pyramid when the population is growing.

Invasive Species

is defined as an organism (plant , animal, fungus, or bacterium) that is not native and has negative effects on our economy, our environment, or our health

Population Dynamics

is the branch of life sciences that studies short-term and long-term changes in the size and age composition of populations,

Population Dynamics

is the branch of life sciences that studies short-term and long-term changes in the size and age composition of populations, and the biological and environmental processes influencing those changes.

Species Richness

is the number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region.

Abiotic

of, relating to, or resulting from living things, especially in their ecological relations. "the preservation of biotic diversity"

Biotic

of, relating to, or resulting from living things, especially in their ecological relations. "the preservation of biotic diversity"

Density Dependent

or the Allee effect describes a situation in which population growth is facilitated by increased population density.

Density Dependent

population growth is facilitated by increased population density.

K- selection

relatively stable populations and tend to produce relatively low numbers of offspring;

Dispersal

the action or process of distributing things or people over a wide area.

Dispersion

the action or process of distributing things or people over a wide area.

Microclimate

the climate of a very small or restricted area, especially when this differs from the climate of the surrounding area.

Dominant Species

the head individual of a species

Ecological Footprint

the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.

Competitive Exclusion

the inevitable elimination from a habitat of one of two different species with identical needs for resources.

Zero-Population Growth

the maintenance of a population at a constant level by limiting the number of live births to only what is needed to replace the existing population.

Ecological Succession

the observed process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time.

Trophic Structure

the pattern of movement of energy and matter through an ecosystem.

Evapotranspiration

the process by which water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation from the soil and other surfaces and by transpiration from plants.