Concepts

The sequential development of microbial communities on substrates following disturbance

Pollination behavior where bumblebees make vibrations that knock pollen out of plant anthers, fertilizing the plant and allowing quicker seed and fruit production

Influence of forest canopy openness on understory light availability and bee community composition

Competition between fungal groups for limited plant photosynthate allocation

Consumption of dead organic matter by organisms, particularly caddisfly larvae feeding on detritus

Functional guild of macroinvertebrates that break down dead organic material, contributing to nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems

Competition through depletion of shared resources without direct interaction

Asymmetric intraguild predation (IGP) between caddisflies where larger, faster-growing species prey on smaller competitors

The transport and distribution of microorganisms among different locations by animal vectors

Behavioral patterns of wasps that parasitize other arthropods, particularly aphids

Ecological relationships between bacteriophages and their bacterial hosts involving infection, replication, and lysis or lysogeny

Interspecific interactions between caddisfly larvae and their predators affecting case size and behavior

The sharing of liquid food resources between nestmates through specialized anatomical and behavioral adaptations

Ecological interactions between hoofed mammals and aspen trees including herbivory effects on tree health and forest composition

Transport of nutrients from coarse particulate organic matter to fine particulate organic matter via shredding organisms

Predation on flying insects by birds, bats, or other aerial predators during flight

The uptake and concentration of toxic alkaloid compounds by parasitic plants from their hosts

Process by which ants discover and begin tending aphid colonies

Process by which aspen acts as climax forest in the Upper East River Valley and expands into adjacent habitats through vegetative reproduction

Protection gained by an organism from living in association with another species

Ungulate feeding method where animals scrape off and eat chlorophyll-filled bark and cambium using their lower incisors

A form of crypsis where prey species chemically match the surfaces of their host plants to avoid detection by predators that hunt primarily through olfaction

Ability of remaining species to increase growth and fill ecological niches left vacant by lost species

Recognizing and gleaning information from a communication intended for someone else

External parasitic infestation that can be costly to avian hosts, causing feather and skin damage as well as anemia due to blood loss

A phenomenon where the action of one exploiter species opens the opportunity for exploitation by a second species

Consumption of aquatic or semi-aquatic insects by fish during oviposition or other water surface activities

Process where remaining plant community converged functionally toward a species composition whose traits resembled the previously removed dominant species

Infection of aspen trees by heartrot fungus that softens wood for cavity excavation

The algal trophic pathway involving primary production and photosynthesis

Experimental clipping treatment to reduce photosynthetic capacity and stress plant-fungal associations

Community assembly process where environmental conditions favor similar microbial communities, resulting in communities more similar than expected by chance