CH52

Ecology:

T
hebranchofbiologythatdealswiththerelationsoforganismstooneanother

andtotheirphysicalsurroundings.
Organisms:

Livingsystem,suchasananimal,plantorbacterium.
Population
:
Asummationofalltheorganismsofthesamegrouporspecies,whichlive
inaparticulargeographicalarea,
Community:

Interactinggroupofvariousspeciesinacommonlocation.
Ecosystem:

Communityoflivingorganismsinconjunctionwiththenonliving
componentsoftheirenvironment.
Abioticisphysicalratherthanbiological,notliving.Bioticisbiologicalvsphysicaland
includeslivingthings.Abioticfactorssucharocks,water,andairgivebioticfactors
habitation,foodsource,andprotectionwithintheecosystem.
Eutrophication
istheenrichmentofanecosystemwithchemicalnutrients,typically
compoundscontainingnitrogen,phosphorus,orboth.

CH53
kselection:
possessrelativelystablepopulationsandtendtoproducerelativelylow
numbersofoffspring
rselection:
speciesarethosethatplaceanemphasisonahighgrowthrate,and,
typicallyexploitlesscrowdedecologicalniches,andproducemanyoffspring.
agediagram:
agraphicalillustrationthatshowsthe
distribution
ofvarious
age
groups
inapopulation
fecundity:
fruitfulnessandfertility,theabilitytoproduceabundanthealthygrowthor
offspring.

CH54
competition
isbetweentwoormoreorganisms.
Niche
referstothewayinwhichan
organismfitsintoanecologicalcommunity.Organismscancoexistinthesameniche.
resourcepartitioning
:Whenspeciesdivideanichetoavoidcompetitionforresources.
Importantforspeciesdiversity.
predation:
preyingofoneanimalsonothers.
Ifpreypopulationincreasesthensodoes
thepredator,ifpreypopulationdecreasesthensodoespredatorpopulationbecause
theyhavelesstoeat.
crypticcoloration
:
camouflagemethodsincludingbackgroundmatching,disruptive
coloration,andcrypticbehavior
aposematiccoloration:
distinctmarkingsandcolorsthatcontrastwiththenatural
background.
batesianmimicry:
harmlessspecieshasevolvedtoimitatethewarningsignalsofa
harmfulspeciesdirectedatapredatorofthemboth

mullerianmimicry:
havecometomimiceachother'swarningsignals
herbivory
:animalsthatonlyeatplantlife.
Plantswillproducechemicaldefenses.
mutualism
:bothanimalsbenefiteachothernoharmhappens.
parasitism
:onepartyisharmingtheother
commensalism
:onepartybenefitswithoutharm.

Lichen:
isacompositeorganismthatarisesfromalgaeorcyanobacteria
Mycorrhizal:
fungalfilamentsinthesoilaretrulyextensionsofrootsystems
Keystonespecies:
speciesonwhichotherspeciesinanecosystemlargelydepend,
suchthatifitwereremovedtheecosystemwouldchangedrastically.
Invasivespecies:
canharmtheenvironment,theeconomyoreven,humanhealth.
Speciesthatgrowandreproducequickly,andspreadaggressively
dutchelmdisease:fungaldisease

thatwillinfectallnativeMinnesotaelmtrees
ecologicalsuccession:processofchangeinthespeciesstructureofancommunity
overtime
Primarysuccession
:occursovertimewheresoildepthincreaseduetodecomposition
ofplants.Inbarrenlifelessareas.
Secondarysuccession
:previouslyinhabitedarea,soilispresent,takeslesstimein
completion.

CH55
Producers:
plantsproducingtheirownfoodfromsunlightforphotosynthesis.
Consumers:
organismsconsumingplantlifeoranimalslife.
Decomposer
:bacteriaandfungi
eatdecayingmatter,deadplantsandanimalsandin
theprocesstheybreakthemdownanddecomposethembacktothesoil.
A
foodweb
consistsofmany
foodchains
.Afoodchainonlyfollowsjustonepathas
animalsfindfood.foodwebshowsthemanydifferentpathsplantsandanimalsare
connected.
Theamountofenergyateachtrophicleveldecreasesasitmovesthroughan
ecosystem.Aslittleas10percentoftheenergyatanytrophiclevelistransferredtothe
nextlevel.
changeinenergyresourceslevelssuchassunlightcanaffectthenumberandsizeof
thetrophiclevels.
carboncycle
:
Plantstakecarbondioxidefromtheairanduseittomakefood.Animals
theneatthefoodandcarbonisstoredintheirbodiesorreleasedasCO2through
respiration.
nitrogencycle:
Specialbacteriaconvertthenitrogen

gastoammonia(NH3)whichthe
plantscanuse.Nitrificationistheprocesswhichconvertstheammoniaintonitriteions
whichtheplantscantakeinasnutrients.

watercycle:
Watervaporcondensesintomillionsoftinydropletsthatformclouds.
Cloudslosetheirwaterasrainorsnow,whichiscalledprecipitation.
Deadzones:
t
ypically in lakes and even rivers that do not have enough oxygen to
support marine life. Causing eutrophication, an increase in chemical nutrients in the
water, leading to excessive blooms of algae.
biologicalmagnification:
processwherecertainsubstancessuchaspesticidesor
heavymetalsmoveupthefoodchain.