Responses to Environment
Organisms changing behavior due to environmental cues
What is a behavioral response?
Main way energy enters ecosystems
What is photosynthesis?
Two factors that determine population growth
Birth rate and death rate
Interacting populations of different species
What is a community?
High biodiversity leads to this
What is stability?
A plant growing toward light
What is phototropism?
Energy flows, but this cycles
What is matter?
Type of growth with unlimited resources
Exponential growth
Both species benefit
What is mutualism?
Species with large ecosystem impact
What is a keystone species?
Communication that increases reproductive success
What is fitness?
Four carbon cycle processes
Photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion
Maximum population size environment can support
Carrying capacity
Predator-prey relationship type
What is a biotic interaction?
Non-native harmful species
What is an invasive species?
Behavior that increases survival of a group
What is cooperative behavior?
What is cooperative behavior?
Process converting nitrogen gas to usable form
What is nitrogen fixation?
Growth that levels off due to limits
Logistic growth
Index measuring biodiversity
What is Simpson’s Diversity Index?
Nutrient pollution causing algal blooms
What is eutrophication?
Why signaling behaviors matter in evolution
They increase survival and reproductive success
Why energy decreases at higher trophic levels
Energy is lost as heat
Density-dependent vs independent factors
Density-dependent depend on population size; independent do not
How competition shapes communities
Limits resources and drives niche partitioning
Effect of removing keystone species
Ecosystem collapse