B4.2 Flashcards
Ecological niches
What is an obligate aerobe?
organisms that require oxygen to respire
What is an obligate anaerobe?
organisms that respire in the absence of oxygen
What are facultative anaerobes?
organisms that normally respire aerobically but haver the facility to switch to anaerobic respiration in the absence of oxygen
What do autotrpohic and heterotrophic mean?
Autotrophic-can make their own food
Heterotrophic- relying on a supply of ready made food
What does holozoic mean?
when food is ingested, digested internally, absorbed and assimilated
What are mixotrophs?
organisms that are both autotrophs and heterotrophs and carry out mixotrophic nutrition, they can be either obligate or facultative.
What are saprotrophs?
Organisms that feed on dead plants and the waste matter of animals
What is osmotrophy?
the uptake of dissolved organic material
What are chemoautotrophs
Autotrophs that use chemical reactions to produce their own food
What are stylets?
Modified piercing mouth parts of insects that secrete pectinase
What are some different physical adaptations?
eye positions-predators have eyes in front of them and prey have them to their side
Specialised sense organs- predators normally have a sense organ efficient at detecting prey
Speed
Mechanical defences such as hard shells on turtles
camouflage such as chameleons
mimicry- such as black and red snakes warning predators
What are some different chemical adaptations?
Toxicity
Chemical defences such as bombardier beetles that eject noxious chemical spray
What are some behavioural adaptations?
stealth
rolling into a ball
What are the different types of plants in forests?
emergent trees
canopy
lianas
epiphytes
What is the fundamental niche?
the potential location of a species along an environmental gradient
