Week 16 Vocab Definitions

Trial and error Occurs when an animal receives a reward for making a particular response. Courtship behavior The behavior that males and females of a species carry out before mating

Estivation A state of reduced metabolism that occurs in animals living in conditions of intense heat. Hibernation A state of reduced metabolism that occurs in some animals during the winter. Innate behavior Behaviors that are genetically determined within an organism

Learned behavior Takes place when behavior changes through practice or experience. Habituation occurs when an animal is repeatedly given a stimulus and it learns to ignore it. Insight Learning in which an animal uses previous experience to respond to a new situation.

Classical conditioning Learning by association. Motivation An internal need that causes an animal to act; necessary for learning to take place

Community All the organisms living together in an area (more than 1 population) Ecosystems a natural unit consisting of all biotic and abiotic factors of the environment Limiting factor Any factor that influences the growth and population size

Carrying capacity The maximum number of organisms an environment can support Exponential growth The larger the quantity gets, the faster it gets larger. (NOT linear)

Density dependent factors A limiting factor that depends on the size of a population. Ex: disease, predation Density independent factors A limiting factor that does not depend on the size of a population. Ex: earthquake, hurricane

Biodiversity The variation of life within a given ecosystem Habitat Fragmentation Describes the breaking up of an organism's habitat Habitat Degradation The removal of habitat quality and its ability to support communities