dispersal

(noun)

the movement of a few members of a species to a new geographical area, resulting in differentiation of the original group into new varieties or species

Related Terms

  • vicariance
  • seed dormancy
  • adaptive radiation
  • mechanisms

Examples of dispersal in the following topics:

  • Fruit and Seed Dispersal

    • Some fruits can disperse seeds on their own, while others require assistance from wind, water, or animals.
    • The fruit has a single purpose: seed dispersal.
    • Modifications in seed structure, composition, and size aid in dispersal.
    • Wind is used as a form of dispersal by lightweight seeds, such as those found on dandelions.
    • Summarize the ways in which fruits and seeds may be dispersed
  • Dispersion Force

    • These London dispersion forces are often found in the halogens (e.g., F2 and I2), the noble gases (e.g., Ne and Ar), and in other non-polar molecules, such as carbon dioxide and methane.
    • London dispersion forces are part of the van der Waals forces, or weak intermolecular attractions.
    • London dispersion forces allow otherwise non-polar molecules to have attractive forces.
    • Explore the role of size and shape in the strength of London dispersion attractions.
  • Species Distribution

    • Individuals of a population can be distributed in one of three basic patterns: they can be more or less equally spaced apart (uniform dispersion), dispersed randomly with no predictable pattern (random dispersion), or clustered in groups (clumped dispersion) .
    • Uniform dispersion is observed in plant species that inhibit the growth of nearby individuals.
    • Random dispersion occurs with dandelion and other plants that have wind-dispersed seeds that germinate wherever they happen to fall in a favorable environment.
    • Clumped dispersions may also result from habitat heterogeneity.
    • Plants with wind-dispersed seeds, such as dandelions, are usually distributed randomly.
  • Dispersion: Rainbows and Prisims

    • Dispersion is defined as the spreading of white light into its full spectrum of wavelengths.
    • Dispersion is defined as the spreading of white light into its full spectrum of wavelengths.
    • Refraction is responsible for dispersion in rainbows and many other situations.
    • (b) White light is dispersed by the prism (shown exaggerated).
    • This light is refracted and dispersed both as it enters and as it leaves the drop.
  • Angsiosperm Fruit

    • Regardless of how they are formed, fruits are an agent of seed dispersal.
    • The variety of shapes and characteristics reflect the mode of dispersal, whether it be wind, water, or animals .
    • Once eaten, tough, undigested seeds are dispersed through the herbivore's feces.
    • A fruit's distinctive shape and specialized characteristics will determine its dispersal mechanism.
    • The winged shape of Alsomitra macrocarpa's seeds allow them to use wind for dispersal.
  • Dispersion of the Visible Spectrum

    • Dispersion is the spreading of white light into its full spectrum of wavelengths.
    • When a light ray enters a medium with a different index of refraction, the light is dispersed, as shown in with a prism.
    • In water, the refractive index varies with wavelength, so the light is dispersed.
    • (b) White light is dispersed by the prism (shown exaggerated).
    • This light is refracted and dispersed both as it enters and as it leaves the drop.
  • Range

    • Unlike other more popular measures of dispersion, the range actually measures total dispersion (between the smallest and largest values) rather than relative dispersion around a measure of central tendency.
    • The range is interpreted as the overall dispersion of values in a dataset or, more literally, as the difference between the largest and the smallest value in a dataset.
    • Interpret the range as the overall dispersion of values in a dataset
  • Changes in Energy

    • The concept of entropy can be described qualitatively as a measure of energy dispersal at a specific temperature.
    • The entropy of the room decreases as some of its energy is dispersed to the ice and water.
    • In an isolated system such as the room and ice water taken together, the dispersal of energy from warmer to cooler always results in a net increase in entropy.
    • A recently developed educational approach avoids ambiguous terms and describes such spreading out of energy as dispersal.
    • Physical chemist Peter Atkins, for example, who previously wrote of dispersal leading to a disordered state, now writes that "spontaneous changes are always accompanied by a dispersal of energy".
  • Measures of Variability of Qualitative and Ranked Data

    • An index of qualitative variation (IQV) is a measure of statistical dispersion in nominal distributions--or those dealing with qualitative data.
    • The variation ratio is a simple measure of statistical dispersion in nominal distributions.
    • This group is more dispersed in terms of gender than a group which is 95% female and has a variation ratio of only 0.05.
    • This group is much more dispersed, religiously, than a group which is 85% Catholic and has a variation ratio of only 0.15.
    • Assess the use of IQV in measuring statistical dispersion in nominal distributions
  • Decentralizing Responsibility

    • In decentralized structures, responsibility for decision making is broadly dispersed down to the lower levels of an organization.
    • Decentralization is the process of dispersing decision making authority among the people, citizens, employees, or other elements of an organization or sector.
    • In decentralized structures, responsibility for decision making and accountability are broadly dispersed down to the lower levels of an organization.
    • This dispersion can be intentional or unintentional.
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