4. Ecology Flashcards
4.1 What is a species?
Organisms that can produce fertile offspring and are reproductively isolated
4.1 What are the limitations of species ID?
- Fossils can’t breed
- Hard to detect if populations are sexually isolated
- Asexual reproduction
4.1 What is a population?
A group of the same species organisms
4.1 Animal Nutrient Types
Autotroph: Makes organic energy molecule from inorganic
Heterotroph: Eats other anials or plants for energy
Detritivore: Consumes detritus, particulate organic matter
Saprotrophs: feed on dead material via extracellular digestion
4.1 What is a community?
All populations of species interacting in a common location
4.1 What is an ecosystem?
Interactions of community and abiotic environment
4.1 What is required for the sustainability of an ecosystem?
1) Nutrient avaliability
2) Detoxification of waste products
3) Supply of energy
4.2 Draw and label energy flow
4.2 What is sunlights role in an ecosystem?
Most communities rely on their initial source of energy as sunlight which is then processed by autotrophs such as plants, algae or cyanobacteria
4.2 Heat loss
Living organisms need energy for synthesizing molecules, active transport and movement inside cells. Thsi requires ATP. However not all energy from oxidation in cell respiration is converted into ATP, the remainder is heat. Some heat is also produced when ATP is used. Second law of thermodynamics
4.3 Draw a carbon cycle
4.3 What is carbon fixation?
Autotrophics capture atmospheric CO2 and convert it into carbon compounds
4.3 What form does CO2 take in water?
It either remains as a disolved gas or forms carbonic acid
4.3 What is methanogenesis?
The process of methane being produced from organic matter in anaerobic conditions by archaeans
This occurs from the following groups of prokaryotes:
1) Bacteria that convert organic matter into H, CO2, and organic acids
2) Bacteria that use organic acids and alc to produce acetate, CO2 and hydrogen.
3) Archeans that produce methan from CO2, Hydrogen and acetate
4.3 Peat formation
Peat forms i organic matter when not fully decomposed because of anaerobic conditions
