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

14.Terrestrial Biomes:

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:

31.Life table:

33.Semelparity: reproduce once in lifetime

34.Iteroparity: repeated reproduction

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:

37. individualistic hypothesis:38. interactive hypothesis:

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

55. Biological magnification:

58. Introduced species: The Nile perch was introduced into Lake Victoria as a food fish, but led to the extinction of several native species

60.Restoration ecology: applies ecological principles in developing ways to return degraded areas to natural conditions

61.Bioremediation: use of living organisms to detoxify polluted ecosystems