producers
In an ecosystem, phytoplankton are _____.
detritivore
An earthworm that feeds on the remains of plants and animals is acting as a _____.
secondary consumer
When a human eats a steak, the human is acting as a _____.
primary consumer
A cow eating grass is an example of a _____.
tertiary consumer
A human who just ate a hamburger is eaten by a shark while swimming. The shark is acting as a _____.
batesian mimicry
The term used to describe a harmless organism resembling a harmful one is _____.
keystone
species whose absence would cause major disruption in a community
a surface exposed by a retreating glacier
Which of these is a starting point for primary succession?
the island’s size and distance from the mainland
According to MacArthur and Wilson’s hypothesis of island biogeography, species immigration and extinction rates on a particular island correlate to _____.
Biosphere, ecosystem, community, population, organism
Name the five levels of organization in order
ecological community
all species living in the same place
biological community
an assemblage of populations of various species living close enough for potential interaction
interspecific interactions
ecologists call relationships between species in a community
interspecific competition
occurs when species compete for a resource that limits their growth or survival (-,-)
competitive exclusion
local elimination of a particular species that results from strong competition
competitive exclusion principle
states that two species competing for the same limiting resources cannot coexist in the same place
ecological niche
the specific set of biotic and abiotic resources used by an individual (ecological role)
resource partitioning (example is two lizards, one prefers sunny places, the other prefers shady spots)
_____ _______ reduces the impacts of competition through differences in organisms ecological niches
fundamental niche
the niche that is POTENTIALLY occupied by a species
realized niche
the niche that is ACTUALLY occupied by a species
fundamental niche
range of physical and chemical conditions needed for survival. The total space & time that a species could occupy if there were no other species to interact with. Limits are abiotic.
realized niche
range of space & time that a species occupies based on limitations of interactions with other species. Limits are biotic interactions
predation
(+/− interaction) refers to an interaction in which one species, the predator, kills and eats the other, the prey
cryptic coloration
or camouflage, makes prey difficult to spot (type of coloration)
aposematic coloration
Animals with effective chemical defenses often exhibit (type of coloration)
batesian mimicry (see slide 26)
an edible or harmless species mimics an unedible or harmful model (type of mimicry)
Müllerian mimicry
two or more unedible species resemble each other (type of mimicry)
Herbivory (see slide 30)
(+/− interaction) refers to an interaction in which an herbivore eats parts of a plant or alga
symbiosis
a relationship where two or more species live in direct and intimate contact with one another
parasitism
(+/− interaction), one organism, the parasite, derives nourishment from another organism, its host, which is harmed in the process
endoparasites
Parasites that live within the body of their host are called
ectoparasites
Parasites that live on the external surface of a host are
mutualism
(+/+ interaction), is an interspecific interaction that benefits both species
commensalism
(+/0 interaction), one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped
facilitation
(+/+ or 0/+) is an interaction in which one species has positive effects on another species without direct and intimate contact (broad effect)
