Concepts

When a genotype produces different phenotypes under differing environmental conditions

Negative interactions between individuals of different species competing for limited resources

Indirect effects of predators on lower trophic levels mediated through changes in intermediate consumer behavior or abundance

Behavioral, physiological, and life-history changes that reduce the risk of predation but have associated energetic or fitness costs to prey individuals and populations

The concept that co-occurring species occupy distinct positions in multidimensional nutrient space to minimize competition and facilitate coexistence

Raw material on which ecological and evolutionary processes act - variation of traits within species that can mediate responses to biotic and abiotic factors

The frequency and duration of annual pond inundation vs. exposure, with categories including temporary ponds (dry annually in early summer), semi-permanent ponds (dry in late summer in most but not al...

Alternative life history strategy where some individuals retain larval traits and become sexually mature in aquatic environment while others metamorphose to terrestrial adults

Growth limitation of organisms due to insufficient availability of essential nutrients like nitrogen or phosphorus

The spatial arrangement and connectivity of subpopulations across a landscape that influences local population dynamics

Changes in ecological patterns and processes across different time scales

Excessive extracellular stalk production by individual cells that coalesce to form a continuous mat covering the stream bottom

The study of reproductive behaviors, nesting habitat selection, and breeding success in bird populations

The selection of specific plants by female insects for egg-laying that affects larval survival and development

The process by which traits influence fitness, measured through directional and quadratic selection differentials relating trait values to reproductive success

A process by which adaptive evolutionary change occurs sufficiently rapidly to counteract a decline in population size under initially unfavorable conditions

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance and whose presence/absence significantly affects ecosystem structure and function

The modification of environments by organisms in ways that influence resource availability for other species, exemplified by beaver dam construction creating pond habitats.

The identity and relative abundance of species within an ecological community

Predation behavior where individuals consume members of their own species, particularly common in A. m. nebulosum populations targeting first year hatchlings

Measure of an animal's physical state, often assessed through body mass relative to size

The progression through larval developmental stages with associated changes in size and feeding capacity

The contribution of animals to ecosystem nutrient fluxes through excretion, with supply determined by animal biomass, excretion rates, and time spent in the ecosystem

Age and sex characteristics affecting susceptibility to mortality

Chemical cues released by predators that benefit prey by providing information about predator presence

Temporary pond hydroperiod reduction that triggers behavioral and physiological responses in aquatic organisms

Downstream movement of benthic invertebrates in flowing water either naturally or induced by disturbance

The nutritional value of algae as food for aquatic consumers, typically measured by nutrient content

Food availability timing related to snow melt and vegetation growth potentially mismatched with juvenile foraging periods

Caddisfly larvae ability to construct protective cases from environmental debris using silk-like string

Addition of new individuals to insect populations through successful reproduction and development

Production of extracellular polymeric stalk material by diatoms when photosynthetic rates exceed cellular growth rates

Quantitative collection methods for invertebrates living on or in stream bottom substrates

The hypothesis that relationships between egg and juvenile densities are linear when egg densities are constrained below values where eggs or hatching juveniles suffer density-dependent losses

Body size when organisms transition from growth to reproduction, with important consequences for lifetime reproductive success

The relative proportions of chemical elements in biological systems