All flashcards
Flashcard 1: What is the difference between optimum range and tolerance range?
Answer: Optimum range is where species thrive most; tolerance range includes all survivable conditions. Optimum is best conditions; tolerance includes all survivable extremes.
Flashcard 2: What is the 'zone of intolerance'?
Answer: Zone of intolerance is where conditions are lethal to the species. Environmental extremes incompatible with organism survival.
Flashcard 3: Describe the relationship between tolerance range and adaptation.
Answer: Species adapt over time to expand or maintain their tolerance range. Evolution shapes tolerance through natural selection pressures.
Flashcard 4: What is the effect of pollutants on ecological tolerance?
Answer: Pollutants can narrow the range of tolerance, affecting survival. Toxins reduce environmental tolerance and survival capacity.
Flashcard 5: In what ways can human activities impact ecological tolerance?
Answer: Pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change can alter tolerance. Human impacts modify environmental conditions affecting species survival.
Flashcard 6: What is the impact of exceeding a species' range of tolerance?
Answer: Exceeding can lead to stress, reduced fitness, or death. Operating beyond limits causes physiological dysfunction.
Flashcard 7: How might climate change affect species' ecological tolerance ranges?
Answer: Climate change may shift or shrink tolerance ranges, affecting survival. Changing climate alters environmental parameters beyond current tolerances.
Flashcard 8: What is the significance of the 'zone of intolerance'?
Answer: It indicates conditions lethal to species survival. Represents environmental extremes incompatible with life processes.
Flashcard 9: What role does light play in ecological tolerance for plants?
Answer: Light influences photosynthesis, affecting plants' ecological tolerance. Essential for energy production and growth in photosynthetic organisms.
Flashcard 10: How does salinity influence marine organisms' tolerance?
Answer: Salinity affects osmotic balance, influencing tolerance in marine organisms. Disrupts cellular water balance essential for marine life survival.
Flashcard 11: How does temperature affect ecological tolerance?
Answer: Temperature affects metabolic rates and survival, influencing ecological tolerance. Controls enzyme function and cellular processes critical for survival.
Flashcard 12: What is the term for the optimal environmental condition for a species?
Answer: The optimal condition is referred to as the 'optimum range'. The zone where species experience maximum fitness and reproduction.
Flashcard 13: Identify the zone where a species experiences optimal growth and reproduction.
Answer: The zone of optimum range. The ideal environmental conditions for maximum organism performance.
Flashcard 14: What is the relationship between ecological tolerance and habitat range?
Answer: A species' habitat range is determined by its ecological tolerance. Tolerance limits define where species can successfully establish populations.
Flashcard 15: Name a factor that can limit the distribution of a species.
Answer: Temperature is a factor that can limit distribution. Abiotic factor commonly limiting species geographic distribution.
Flashcard 16: Define 'zone of physiological stress'.
Answer: Zone of physiological stress is where organisms survive but do not thrive. Marginal conditions where survival occurs with reduced fitness.
Flashcard 17: What is ecological tolerance?
Answer: Ecological tolerance is the range of conditions a species can endure before injury or death. Defines the survivable environmental limits for organisms.
Flashcard 18: What happens to a species outside its ecological tolerance range?
Answer: Outside its tolerance range, a species may suffer stress, injury, or death. Exceeding tolerance limits causes physiological dysfunction or mortality.
Flashcard 19: What factors can influence a species' ecological tolerance?
Answer: Temperature, pH, salinity, and light are factors affecting ecological tolerance. Key abiotic factors that determine species survival limits.
Flashcard 20: How does pH level affect an organism's ecological tolerance?
Answer: pH affects enzyme activity and metabolic processes, influencing tolerance. Acidity affects protein structure and cellular chemistry.
Flashcard 21: How does genetic variation contribute to ecological tolerance?
Answer: Genetic variation enables adaptation to diverse environmental conditions. Genetic diversity provides raw material for environmental adaptation.
Flashcard 22: What role does ecological tolerance play in species interactions?
Answer: Tolerance influences competition, predation, and symbiosis among species. Tolerance overlap determines species coexistence and competition.
Flashcard 23: State the importance of understanding ecological tolerance in ecosystem management.
Answer: It aids in predicting species responses to environmental changes. Essential for predicting ecosystem responses to environmental change.
Flashcard 24: Define 'physiological optimum'.
Answer: The range of conditions where organisms function best. Optimal physiological performance zone within tolerance range.
Flashcard 25: What is a consequence of ecological tolerance being exceeded by environmental stressors?
Answer: Organisms may experience decreased survival and reproduction rates. Stress beyond tolerance reduces fitness and population viability.
Flashcard 26: How does ecological tolerance affect population dynamics?
Answer: Tolerance limits can influence population size and distribution. Tolerance determines population carrying capacity and distribution.
Flashcard 27: What can prolonged exposure to suboptimal conditions cause?
Answer: Prolonged exposure can lead to stress, reduced reproduction, or death. Chronic stress outside optimum conditions reduces organism fitness.
Flashcard 28: Define 'limiting factor' in the context of ecological tolerance.
Answer: A limiting factor restricts the growth or survival of an organism. Environmental factor that constrains organism distribution or abundance.
Flashcard 29: What is the significance of understanding ecological tolerance in conservation?
Answer: It helps in protecting species under changing environmental conditions. Guides conservation strategies under environmental change scenarios.
Flashcard 30: How does ecological tolerance relate to biodiversity?
Answer: Tolerance affects species' distribution and interactions, influencing biodiversity. Tolerance ranges determine species coexistence and community structure.