🌎 Introductory Ecology & Climate
The scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
What is ecology?
formed from calcium carbonate skeletons of corals, incredibly biodiverse but threatened
What are Coral Reefs?
An interaction where one organism kills and eats another?
What is predation?
a chart that shows the probability of survival and reproduction at each age in a population?
What is a life table?
variety of life forms in an ecosystem, including genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity
What is biodiversity?
Organismal, Population, Community, and Ecosystem Ecology.
What are the four main types of ecological study.
represents the floor of the body of water and holds detritus that is decomposing
What is the Benthic Zone
Name one defense mechanism against predation.
What is aposematic coloration, cryptic coloring, or mimicry?
the difference between r-selection and K-selection?
What is r-selection favoring rapid reproduction in uncrowded environments and K-selection favoring fewer offspring with more parental care in crowded environments?
differences between genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity?
Genetic diversity refers to the variety of genes within a species, which helps populations adapt to changing environments.
Species diversity involves the variety of species within an ecosystem.
Ecosystem diversity refers to the variety of habitats and ecological processes in the biosphere.
They moderate temperatures by absorbing heat and releasing it slowly.
What is the importance of bodies of water?
a transition zone between river and sea, brackish, often salty inflow from the ocean, very nutrient-rich
What are estuaries?
The difference between Batesian and Müllerian mimicry?
What is Batesian mimicry being harmless species imitating harmful ones, and Müllerian mimicry being harmful species resembling each other?
Mammals such as Humans survivorship curves that show no initial die off and death rates higher later in life
What is Type 1 Survivorship Curves?
a situation where small populations experience a downward spiral due to genetic drift, inbreeding, and loss of genetic diversity, leading to a higher risk of extinction
What is the extinction vortex
The tilt of Earth's axis as it orbits the sun.
What is the reason for the seasons?
sea floor with many sessile organisms
What is the Benthic Zone
Mutualism vs. commensalism?
What is mutualism benefiting both species, while commensalism benefits one without harming the other?
has a 50/50 chance of survival at any point in their life (squirrels are good examples).
What is a Type II Survivorship Curve?
include habitat loss (due to deforestation, urbanization, agriculture), introduced species (non-native species that outcompete native species), overharvesting (unsustainable extraction of resources), and global change (climate change, pollution).
What are the main threats to biodiversity caused by human activities?
may disrupt air movement and affect precipitation.
What is the impact of Mountains on biomes
little light penetrates and photosynthesis cannot happen in this area of water
What is the aphotic zone?
Ecological succession, and what is the difference between primary and secondary succession?
What is the sequence of changes in community composition, with primary succession starting from bare substrate and secondary from a disturbed area?
Type of growth that is most closely related to human growth at the moment
What is exponential growth or R Selected
suggests that communities are always changing due to disturbances and that stability is not the norm.