2. Notes and revision. Flashcards
Ecology
The study of interactions and between organisms and their abiotic environment
Abiotic factors
Nonliving physical factors that influence the ecosystems, for example, temperature and light
biotic factots
interactions between systems eg predation
species
a group of organisms that share characteristic, can interbreed and produce fertile offspring
niche
this is an organisms response to abiotic and biotic factors
realised niche
the habitat an organism lives in
fundamental niche
all the other places an organism can live in
examples of biotic factors
predation
herbivory
parasitism
mutualism
commensation; one animal benefits without harming the other
amensalism; one benefits while harming the other
community
a group of populations living and interacting with each other in a common habitat
respiration
covertion of organic matter into carbon dioxide and water releasing energy
Glucose + Oxygen → Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy (as ATP)
pyramids of biomass
Define, advantages, disadvantages
storage of each trophic level in units.
Advantage
overcomes the problems of pyramid of numbers
Disadavantage
kills the animal
pyramids of numbers
number of animals in each trophic level
Advantages
easiest way to measure
Disadavatages
counts animals reagrdless of size
pyramids of productivity
flow of energy in each trophic level
Advantage
overcomes the problems of pyramid of numbers
Disadavantage
kills the animal
Bioaccumulation
whwen harmful chemeicals are taken up by an organism
eating contaminant or being exposed to it
Biomagnification
when a contaminant passes up the food chain through 2 or more trophic levels
eating an animal with contaminant
DDT
DDT aka Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane is an insecticide used in agriculture
Bioaccumulation and biomagnification examples
- DDT
runs off into water bodies, eaten by fish , fish eaten by eagles, weakens eagles eggs, reduces eagle population - Plastic
fish eat it, e eat fish, we get plastic - Mercury
Japan, minamato disease yooutube video
food chain
flow of energy from one organism to another
food web
bunch of food chains
How to calculate Net primary productivity
GPP - Respiration
aka
Total productivity - lost energy to respiration
How to calculate Gross Secondary Productivity
total food eaten - waste/faeces
How to calculate Net Secondary Productivity
total food eaten - waste/faeces - respiration
GSP - Respiration
succesion
how an ecosystem changes overtime
zonation
how an ecosyetm changes along an environamntal gradient eg temperature, altitude
biomes
collections of ecosystems sharing similar characteristics
K-strategists
K for CARE
eg humans, large mammals
have small number of offspring
most offspring survive
parental care
R-strategists
eg invertebrates and fish
produce large number of offsprinf
most dont survive
lay eggs and leave them
reproduce quickly
Simpsons diversity index
define and how to calculate
measure of diversity taking int o account the number of species present
Looks in notes for formula
N(N-1) / n(n-1)
Lincoln index
Define, formula, adavantages, disadadvantages
measures population sizes of individual animal species
ie capture, mark, release, recapture
Disadavantages
Marks could disappear
its not easy to capture animals
its traumatising for animals to be caught
biomes and their characteristics
Tropical Rainforest:
High biodiversity (hotspot)
Warm and wet climate
Dense vegetation with layers
Continuous growth and decomposition cycles
Desert:
Low precipitation
Extreme temperature fluctuations
Sparse vegetation, adapted to conserve water
Sand dunes or rocky terrain
Taiga/Boreal Forest:
Low to moderate precipitation
Long, cold winters and short summers
Coniferous trees (e.g., pine, spruce, fir)
Dense forests with acidic soil
Tundra:
Very low precipitation
Permafrost (permanently frozen soil)
Short growing season with cold temperatures
Low-growing vegetation (e.g., mosses, lichens, shrubs)
Primary succesion
This occurs on bare inorganic ground eg land after volcanic eruptions
Stages of primary succesion
ccc bes bcecsc
Bare inorganic ground
little soil and minerals
colonization
pioneer species colonize the area
establishment
species diversity increases and organisms start livivng in soil
competition
plants grow and pioneers die
stabilization
food webs establish
climax communtiy
maximum development
secondary succesion
this is recovery occurs when an already established community has been destroyed but the soil still remains intact
Secondary succession refers to the ecological process of vegetation recovery and ecosystem development in an area that has been disturbed or altered, but where the soil remains intact
Pioneer species
These are species that colonize an area after a disturbance
Gross primary productivity
is the biomass produced by primary producers before respiration.
Carbon cycle
storages
flows
human activities
Carbon Cycle:
storages: atmosphere
flows: photosynthesis
human activities: combustion of fossil fuels
Storages:
Atmosphere (carbon dioxide)
Terrestrial biosphere (plants, soil organic matter)
Oceans (dissolved inorganic carbon, organic carbon)
Flows:
Photosynthesis (carbon uptake by plants)
Respiration (carbon release by plants and animals)
Decomposition (breakdown of organic matter by microbes)
Combustion (burning of fossil fuels and biomass)
Diffusion (exchange of carbon dioxide between air and water)
Ocean-atmosphere exchange (exchange of carbon dioxide between oceans and atmosphere)
Human Activities:
Fossil fuel combustion (burning of coal, oil, and gas)
Deforestation and land-use change (clearing of forests for agriculture and development)
Industrial processes (e.g., cement production)
Agriculture (use of fertilizers, livestock methane emissions)
Waste management (landfills, waste incineration)
WHY IS GPP LOW IN THE EARLIER STAGES OF SUCCESION AND NPP IS HIGH
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) is low in the earlier stages of succession due to limited vegetation cover and photosynthetic activity,
but Net Primary Productivity (NPP) is high because of low respiration because the energy lost through respiration by plants is minimal, resulting in a greater proportion of photosynthetically fixed carbon available for biomass production and growth.
Nitrogen cycle
storages
flows
human activities
Nitrogen Cycle:
storages: atmosphere
flows: nitrification
human activities: fertilizer use
Storages:
Atmosphere (nitrogen gas)
Soil organic matter
Terrestrial biosphere (plants, animals)
Oceans (dissolved inorganic nitrogen)
Flows:
Nitrogen fixation (conversion of atmospheric nitrogen gas into ammonia by bacteria)
Nitrification (conversion of ammonia into nitrite and nitrate by bacteria)
Assimilation (incorporation of nitrogen into plant and animal biomass)
Mineralization (conversion of organic nitrogen into ammonium by decomposers)
Denitrification (conversion of nitrate into nitrogen gas by bacteria)
Leaching and runoff (loss of nitrogen from soils into water bodies)
Human Activities:
Fertilizer use (application of synthetic and organic fertilizers)
Industrial nitrogen fixation (Haber-Bosch process for producing ammonia)
Livestock farming (manure production, nitrogen emissions)
Combustion of fossil fuels (nitrogen oxides emissions)
Land-use change (deforestation, agricultural expansion)
Wastewater treatment (release of nitrogen-containing compounds into waterways)
Draw both the nitrogen and carbon cycles
https://biomanbio.com/HTML5GamesandLabs/EcoGames/nitrogencyclepage.html
