Apes Unit 3 Study Guide

APES Unit 3 Study Guide Cooper Krings

Know the definition of ecology. The environment as it relates to living organisms

Know the definition of population, community and ecosystem. Population: a group of organisms of the same species inhabiting a given area Community: In ecology, a community is an assemblage of two or more populations of different species occupying the same geographical area. This term is used only to describe biotic factors. Ecosystem: a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment

Know the definition of habitat and niche. Habitat: the type of environment in which an organism or group normally lives or occurs. Niche: The functional role the organism plays in its community, including its habitat as well as the interactions with other organisms.

Know the differences between decomposer, omnivore, carnivore, dentrivore, autotroph, heterotroph, producer and consumer. Decomposer: Any organism that feeds off decomposing organic material, especially bacterium or fungi. Omnivore: An animal which is able to consume both plants (like a herbivore) and meat (like a carnivore). Carnivore: Meat eater.

Dentrivore: An organism that feeds on large bits of dead and decaying organic matter. What detrivores leave behind is used by decomposers. Autotroph: plant capable of synthesizing its own food from simple organic substances. Heterotroph: An organism which requires an external supply of energy in the form of food as it cannot synthesize its own. Know how to draw food webs and food chains.

Understand about energy loss between trophic levels and be able to apply them to the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Generally Tropic levels loose about 90% of their energy. First Law: Energy cannot be created or destroyed (Heat) Second Law: Energy transformation tends to loose energy to heat.

Know the difference between functional, genetic, ecosystem and species diversity. Functional Diversity: The biological and chemical processes such as energy flow and matter recycling needed for the survival of species, communities, and ecosystems

Genetic Diversity: Genetic variability present in a population or in a species.

Ecosystem Diversity: The diversity of biological communities and their physical environment. Diversity is determined by the species composition, physical structure and processes within an ecosystem. This is the highest level of biodiversity. See also biodiversity; compare species diversity, genetic diversity.

Know the defintions for natural selection, adaptation, genetic drift, founder effect, bottleneck effect and mutation. Natural selection: A process in nature in which organisms possessing certain genotypic characteristics that make them better adjusted to an environment tend to survive. -differences in the trait must be heritable -differences in the trait must cause differences in fitness. Fitness depends on the environment Local adaptation. Points to remember about natural selection Populations evolve, but individuals do not. Natural selection acts on the level of the individual, but populations are the smallest unit that can evolve Natural selection only works on heritable variations, not acquired traits Adaptation: The adjustment or changes in behavior, physiology, and structure of an organism to become more suited to an environment. Genetic drift: The process of change in the genetic composition of a population due to chance or random events rather than by natural selection, resulting in changes in allele frequencies over time. Founder effect The establishment of a new population by a few original founders (in an extreme case, by a single fertilized female) which carry only a small fraction of the total genetic variation of the parental population [Ernst Mayr, 1963]. The result is that a given allele, gene, chromosome, or part of a chromosome found in members of the population can be traced back to one ancestral individual.

Bottleneck effect: Genetic drift that occurs as a result of a drastic reduction in population by an event having little to do with the usual forces of natural selection.

Mutation: 1. A change in or the process of changing. 2. A permanent, heritable change in the nucleotide sequence in a gene or a chromosome; the process in which such a change occurs in a gene or in a chromosome.

Understand evolution the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species or taxonomic group of organisms DARWIN DARWIN DARWIN. Evolution is a change in the number of times specific genes that code for specific characteristsics occur within an interbreeding populations

What is a habitat and a niche Habitat: Place where an organism or a biological population normally lives or occurs. Niche : (1) The specific area where an organism inhabits. (2) The role or function of an organism or species in an ecosystem. (3) The interrelationship of a species with all the biotic and abiotic factors affecting it.

Know about broad niches, endangered species, specialist species, native species, invasive species and generalist species. Be able to look at a graph and tell the difference between and generalist and specialist species. Broad niches: GENERALISTS Endangered species: species whose numbers are so small that the

species is at risk of extinction

Specialist species: The ability to live in only one type of habitat, eat only a few types of food, or tolerate a narrow range of climatic or environmental conditions

Native species: a species that normally lives and thrives in a particular ecosystem.

Invasive species: Any species that has been introduced to an environment where it is not native, and that has since become a nuisance through rapid spread

Generalist species: the ability to live in many different places while tolerating a wide range of environmental conditions

Be able to draw a food web from scratch.

Mutations, Genetic Shift,

Bottle neck – random species survival, cataclysmic effect. no