B7-Ecology Flashcards
What is an ecosystem?
The interaction of a community of living organisms with their environment
What is a community?
Two or more populations of organisms
What is a population?
All of the organisms of the same or closely-related species in an area
What is it called when each species relies on other species?
Interdependence
What is a stable community?
Where all of the species and environmental factors are in balance so that population sizes remain fairly constant
What are different abiotic factors?
- Light intensity
- Temperature
- Moisture levels
- Soil pH and mineral content
- Wind intensity and direction
- Oxygen availability
- Carbon dioxide availability
What is not a form of random sampling using quadrats?
Using a transect
What do animals compete for?
- Food
- Territory
- Mates
- Water
What do plants compete for?
- Light for photosynthesis
- Water for photosynthesis and to keep tissues supported
- Nutrients from the soil
- Space to grow
What do structural adaptations mean?
Physical features of the organism that help it survive
What do behavioral adaptations mean?
Things that an animal does to help it survive
What do functional adaptations mean?
Physiological abilities that the organism has to improve survival
What is an extremophile?
A microorganism, especially an archea, that lives in conditions of extreme temperature, acidity, alkilinity of chemical concentration.
What are the different trophic levels?
- Producers
- Primary consumers
- Secondary consumers
- Tertiary consumers
What organims decompose dead material?
Decomposers and detritivores
What are the different aspects of the carbon cycle?
- Photosynthesis
- Respiration
- Combustion
What aspects increase the rate of decomposition?
- High temperature (although not too high)
- High moisture
- High oxygen content
What is biodiversity?
The measure of the variety of all the different species of organisms within an ecosystem.
What is biomass?
The dry mass of biological material in grams
What happens to biomass up the trophic levels?
It decreases
Where is biomass lost?
- In faeces
- In waste
- In energy usage
What are factors affecting food security?
- An increasing birth rate
- Changing diets in developed countries
- New pests and pathogens
- Environmental changes
- Cost of agricultural inputs
- Conflicts
What are ways to increase the efficiency of food production?
- Limiting movement
- Controlling surrounding temperatures
- Reducing diseases
How is fishing made sustainable?
- Having nets with holes in that are rigid and lit up so younger fish can escape and breed
- Quotas
- No fishing during breeding seasons
What is a protein based food using fungi?
Mycoprotien-made from fusarium bacteria by growing it on a glucose syrup in aerobic conditions
