ecological

Species

...cates that the two populations occupy such similar ecological roles that they cannot coexist in the same area. Because they do not crossbreed, it is safe to assume that there is a mechanism, often behavioral, that is preventing gene flow between the populations, and therefore that they should be classified as s...

Sociobiology

...in a gene pool and between gene pools exist in an ecological balance. Just as an expansion of a sheep population might encourage the expansion of a wolf population, an expansion of altruistic traits within a gene pool may also encourage the expansion of individuals with dependent traits. Controversy ...

Secondary metabolite

...pounds to the organism's development is usually of ecological nature as they are used as defence against predators ( herbivores , pathogens etc.), for interspecies competition, and to facilitate the reproductive processes. Contrary to primary metabolites these compounds are not ubiquitous in the living org...

Red Queen

... a species to adapt quickly just to hold onto the ecological niche that it already has in the ecosystem . Contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Origin 2 Arms races 3 The paradox of sex: The "cost" of males 4 References Origin Accordingly, the metaphor Red Queen represents...

Punctuated equilibrium

...ually intense because peripheries mark the edge of ecological tolerance for ancestral forms. Favorable variations spread quickly... "What should the fossil record include if most evolution occurs by speciation in peripheral isolates? ... In any local area inhabited by ancestors, a descendant species should...

Natural selection

...tural selection can be subdivided into two types; ecological selection , and sexual selection . Natural selec... common within populations. Loss of the species' ecological niche or crowding-out due to population growth can change drastically the adaptive traits require...

Molecular genetics

...iate it from other sub fields of genetics such as ecological genetics and population genetics . An important area within molecular genetics is the use of molecular information to determine the patterns of descent, and therefore the correct scientific classification or organisms: this is called molecular ...

Metabolism

...evelopment or reproduction, but that usually have ecological function. Photosynthesis Light-dependent reaction (light reaction) Light-independent reaction (dark reaction) Calvin cycle Carbon fixation Drug metabolism Drug metabolism pathways, the modification or degrad...

Macroecology

...ing the forest for the trees (literally). Classic ecological questions amenable to study through the techniques of macroecology include questions of species richness and the species-area curve , range size , body size and species abundance . For example, the relationship between abundance and range size (wh...

Limnology

...physics, chemistry, geology , and geography to ecological problems. Contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Organizations 2 Journals 3 See also 4 References Organizations American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Australian Society for Limnology European Soci...

Human

...ne of population. Human habitation within closed ecological systems in hostile environments ( Antarctica , outer space ) is expensive, typically limited in duration, and restricted to scientific, military, or industrial expeditions. Life in space has been very sporadic, with a maximum of thirteen humans in ...

Homeostasis

...ple also applies to the external environment.Many ecological , biological , and social systems are homeostatic. They oppose change to maintain equilibrium. If the system does not succeed in reestablishing its balance, it may ultimately lead the system to stop functioning. Complex systems , such as a human...

Herpetology

...particular in the role of amphibians as long-range ecological warning devices (their decline worldwide is the subject of much study) and the use of the toxins of some amphibians and venoms of some snakes in human medicine. See also Important publications in herpetology External links Center for Nort...

Genetics

...ecular genetics 2.3 Population, quantitative and ecological genetics 2.4 Genomics 2.5 Closely-related fiel...iate it from other sub fields of genetics such as ecological genetics and population genetics . An important area within molecular genetics is the use of mole...

Fungus

...ophs , a particular mode of nutrition. Two main ecological niches occupied by fungi are that of the decomposer ( detritivore ) or saprophyte , and that of the parasite . The only difference between detritivorous and parasitic fungi is that the latter grow on living organisms, while the former grow on de...

Extinction

... thrive when they are able to find and exploit an ecological niche — and species become extinct when are no longer able to survive in changing conditions or against superior competition. A typical species becomes extinct within 10 million years of its first appearance, although some species survive v...

Endosymbiont

...biodinium clade. More often, however, there is a ecological distribution of Symbiodinium , the symbionts switching between hosts with apparent ease. When reefs become environmentally stressed, this distribution of symbionts is related to the observed pattern of coral bleaching and recovery. Thus the dist...

Endosymbiont

...biodinium clade. More often, however, there is a ecological distribution of Symbiodinium , the symbionts switching between hosts with apparent ease. When reefs become environmentally stressed, this distribution of symbionts is related to the observed pattern of coral bleaching and recovery. Thus the dist...

Cold-blooded

...re complex genomes than homeotherms in the same ecological niche . Frogs are a notable example of this eff...gh energy to reproduce. Poikilotherms in the same ecological niche often have much shorter generations than homeotherms: weeks rather than years. This energy di...

Ecological genetics

...ogical genetics is the study of genetics on an ecological scale. While molecular genetics studies the st...ucture and function of genes at a molecular level, ecological genetics (and the related field of population genetics ) studies wild populations of organisms. St...

Biodiversity

...trial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part: this includes di...e diversity of nature at the genetic, species, and ecological levels. There are three main reasons commonly cited in the literature for the benefits of biodiver...

Adaptive radiation

...tion of a single or a few species to fill many ecological niches . This is an evolutionary process driven ...robably branch into new species that cover the new ecological niches created by the environmental change. An example of adaptive radiation as the result of an env...