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Questions and Answers
What is the primary factor that determines the realized niche of a species?
Which type of natural selection favors individuals with average traits?
What is the term for the unique set of environmental conditions and resources that a species requires to survive and reproduce?
Which of the following is NOT a component of an ecological niche?
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What is the term for the process by which individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce?
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What type of selection occurs when different environments favor different traits?
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What is the term for the interactions between different species in a biological community?
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Which of the following is a key component of natural selection?
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What is the term for the full range of conditions and resources a species can tolerate?
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What type of selection favors individuals with extreme traits?
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Study Notes
Ecological Niches
- Definition: An ecological niche is the unique set of environmental conditions and resources that a species requires to survive and reproduce.
- Components of an ecological niche:
- Physical environment (e.g. temperature, light, water)
- Resources (e.g. food, nutrients, shelter)
- Biological interactions (e.g. competition, predation, symbiosis)
- Types of ecological niches:
- Fundamental niche: The full range of conditions and resources a species can tolerate.
- Realized niche: The actual range of conditions and resources a species occupies due to interactions with other species.
Natural Selection
- Definition: The process by which individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing those traits to their offspring.
- Key components of natural selection:
- Variation: Genetic differences among individuals in a population.
- Heritability: The ability of traits to be passed from parents to offspring.
- Differential reproduction: The difference in reproductive success between individuals with different traits.
- Types of natural selection:
- Directional selection: Favoring individuals with extreme traits.
- Stabilizing selection: Favoring individuals with average traits.
- Disruptive selection: Favoring individuals with extreme traits in different environments.
Species Interactions
- Definition: The interactions between different species in a biological community.
- Types of species interactions:
- Predation: One species captures and consumes another.
- Competition: Species compete for shared resources.
- Symbiosis: Long-term, close relationships between species.
- Mutualism: Both species benefit from the interaction.
- Commensalism: One species benefits, the other is not affected.
- Parasitism: One species benefits, the other is harmed.
- Examples of species interactions:
- Predator-prey relationships (e.g. lion-zebra)
- Competition for resources (e.g. plants competing for light)
- Symbiotic relationships (e.g. clownfish-sea anemone)
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Description
Test your knowledge of ecological niches, natural selection, and species interactions. Learn about the fundamental and realized niches, types of natural selection, and the different ways species interact with each other.
