chapter 4 vocabulary

Chapter 4 Vocabulary
1. Coevolution: the interdependent evolution of two interacting species.
2. Commensalism: a type of symbiosis in which one organism benefits and the other one is neither harmed nor helped.
3. Epiphytes: smaller plants, such as mosses, orchids, and ferns that live attached to the bark of the tree’s branches.
4. Evolution: cumulative genetic changes that occur over time in a population of organisms; evolution explains many patterns observed in the natural world.
5. Fundamental Niche: the potential, idealized ecological niche of an organism.
6. Keystone Species: a species, often a predator, that exerts a profound influence on a community in excess of that expected by its relative abundance.
7. Limiting Resource: any environmental resource that, because it is scarce or at unfavorable levels, restricts the ecological niche of an organism.
8. Mutualism: a symbiotic relationship in which both partners benefit.
9. Natural Selection: the process in which better-adapted individuals - those with a combination of genetic traits better suited to environmental conditions - are likely to survive and reproduce, increasing their proportion in the population.
10. Parasitism: a symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is adversely affected.
11. Pioneer: the initial community that develops during primary succession; lichens are most important element.
12. Predation: the consumption of one species (the prey) by another (the predator).
13. Primary Succession: the change in species composition over time in a previously uninhabited environment.
14. Realized Niche: the lifestyle an organism actually pursues and the resources it actually uses.
15. Secondary Succession: the change in species composition that takes place after some disturbance destroys the existing vegetation; soil is already present.
16. Species Richness: the number of different species in a community.
17. Succession: the process of community development over time, which involves species in one stage being replaced by different species.
18. Symbiosis: any intimate relationship or association between members of two or more species; includes mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.