Science!
This is the technique used for testing ideas with observations, and generally consists of six different steps.
What is the Scientific Method?
These are accidental changes in DNA which give rise to genetic variation among individuals.
What are mutations?
This term describes the maximum number of individuals an environment can support over time.
What is carrying capacity.
This is the ecological term for one organism hunting and consuming another.
Predation
This is an introduced species that has unregulated population growth due to an absence of limiting factors.
Invasive species
In scientific experiments, this type of variable is intentionally changed by the experimenter.
What is the independent variable
This type of evolution occurs when unrelated species develop similar traits due to similar environmental pressures.
Convergent Evolution
This type of population growth occurs when resources are unlimited and the population grows rapidly.
What is exponential?
This kind of symbiotic relationship benefits one organism while harming the other.
This type of succession commonly occurs after a forest fire.
What is secondary succession?
This step of the scientific method involves making an educated, testable prediction based on observations and prior knowledge.
What is a hypothesis?
This mechanism of evolution describes how individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce.
What is natural selection
A population's growth rate is determined by these four factors.
Natality, mortality, immigration, emigration
These cause disease in their hosts.
Parasites
This type of succession follows a disturbance so severe that no vegetation or soil life remains from the community that had occupied the site.
Primary succession
These are the two phenomena that triggered a remarkable increase in population growth.
Agricultural & Industrial Revolutions
This is the term given to external agents that drive closely related species living in different environments to diverge in their traits, and may include food source or climate.
What is a selective pressure
This describes the relative numbers of individuals of different ages within a population.
Age structure (or population pyramid)
These break down leaf litter and other nonliving matter into simpler constituents that can be taken up and used by plants.
Decomposers
This is a type of species that exerts great influence on a community's composition and structure.
Keystone species
This experiment is one in which the scientist manipulates variables or conditions that change.
Controlled experiment
This term describes the total number of different species in a given area.
What is species richness?
Humans follow this type of survivor ship curve.
Type I
This relationship occurs when two species evolve in response to each other.
What is coevolution?
These are the first organisms to colonize a barren area.
What are pioneer species?