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DAT > Biology Ecology > Flashcards

Biology Ecology Flashcards

1
Q

___ is the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment

A

ecology

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2
Q

The ___ encompasses all that is external to the organism and is necessary for its existence

A

environment

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3
Q

An organism’s environment contains two components: the physical or nonliving (___) environment, and the living (biotic) environment

A

abiotic

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4
Q

The abiotic environment includes climate, ___, availability of light and water, and the local topology

A

temperature

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5
Q

The ___ environment includes all living things that directly or indirectly influence the life of the organism, including the relationships that exist between organisms

A

biotic

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6
Q

The ___ is the individual unit of an ecological system, but the organism itself is composed of smaller units

A

organism

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7
Q

___ are formed from tissues, tissues from cells, cells from many different molecules, molecules from atoms, and atoms from subatomic particles

A

organs

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8
Q

A ___ is any group of similar organisms that are capable of producing fertile offspring

A

species

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9
Q

A ___ is a group of organisms of the same species living in the same habitat

A

population

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10
Q

A niche defines the functional role of an organism or ___

A

population

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11
Q

The niche is distinct from the habitat - the latter is the physical ___ where an organism lies

A

place

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12
Q

The niche is so specific that a ___ can be identified by the niche it occupies

A

species

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13
Q

The concept of ___ embodies every aspect o an organism’s existence

A

niche

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14
Q

A ___ consists of populations of different plants and animal species interacting with each other in a given environment

A

community

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15
Q

The term ___ is used to include only the population and not their physical environment

A

biotic community

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16
Q

An ___ includes the community and the environment

A

ecosystem

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17
Q

___ is the orderly process by which the structure of an ecological community evolves over time

A

ecological succession

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18
Q

___ occurs in areas uninfluenced by a pre-existing community, while secondary succession occurs in areas where a pre-existing community has been disrupted

A

primary succession

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19
Q

Each community stage, or ___, in an ecological succession is identified by a dominant species - the one that exerts control over the other species that are present

A

sere

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20
Q

A ___ occurs in which a population alters the environment in such a way that the original conditions giving rise to that population are recreated.

A

stage

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21
Q

A ___ is the living (biotic) part of an ecosystem in which populations exist in balance with each other and with the environment

A

climax community

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22
Q

A climax community persists until a major climactic or geological change disturbs the ___ factors or a major biotic change (disease, mutation, etc.) affects the populations

A

abiotic

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23
Q

An ecosystem or ___ encompasses the interaction between living, biotic, communities and the nonliving, abiotic, environment

A

ecological community

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24
Q

(self-sustaining and stable ecosystem) the abiotic factors and the ___ are relatively stable

A

biotic community

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25
Q

(self-sustaining and stable ecosystem) there is a constant energy source and a biotic community incorporating this ___ into organic compounds

A

energy

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26
Q

(self-sustaining and stable ecosystem) materials are cycled between the abiotic factors and ___

A

biotic community

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27
Q

Ecosystems within a specific ___ region form biomes

A

geographic

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28
Q

The conditions in different geographic and climate regions select for plants and animals possessing ___ adaptations

A

suitable

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29
Q

___ are characterized and named according to the climax vegetation of the region

A

land biomes

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30
Q

The ___ is the vegetation that becomes dominant and stable after years of evolutionary development

A

climax vegetation

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31
Q

Since plants are important as food producers, they determine the nature of the inhabiting animal population, and thus the climax vegetation determines the ___

A

climax animal population

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32
Q

(desert biome) examples of ___ include the Sahara in Africa and the Gobi in Asia

A

deserts

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33
Q

(grassland biome) ___ that do inhabit the grasslands frequently have developed long legs, and many are hoofed

A

land animals

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34
Q

(rainforest biome) the floor is inhabited by ___, which live off of dead organic matter

A

saprophytes

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35
Q

(temperature deciduous forest biome) These ___ are found in the northeastern United States and in Central Europe

A

biomes

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36
Q

(temperature coniferous forest biome) ___ inhabitants include beavers, bears, sheep, squirrels, and birds

A

animal

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37
Q

(taiga biome) ___ exist in the extreme northern parts of Canada and Russia

A

taigas

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38
Q

(tundra biome) The ___is a treeless, frozen plain found between the taiga and the northern ice sheets

A

tundra

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39
Q

(polar region) ___that do inhabit polar regions generally live near the oceans and include penguins and polar bears

A

animals

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40
Q

___ have little controlling influence on communities of aquatic biomes compared to their role in terrestrial biomes

A

plants

41
Q

Aquatic areas are the most stable ___: the conditions affecting temperature, the amount of available oxygen and carbon dioxide, and the amount of suspended or dissolved materials are stable over very large areas with little tendency to change

A

ecosystems

42
Q

(marine biomes) The ___ connect to form one continuous body of water, which controls the Earth’s temperature by absorbing solar heat

A

oceans

43
Q

(marine biomes - intertidal zone) the ___ exposed at low tides that undergoes variations in temperature and periods of dryness

A

region

44
Q

(marine biomes - neritic zone) the ___ on the continental shelf that contains ocean with depths up to 600 feet and extends several hundred miles from the shores

A

region

45
Q

(marine biomes - pelagic zone) typical of the open seas, this can be divided into ___ and aphotic zones

A

photic

46
Q

(marine biomes - photic zone) the ___ of the open sea extending to a depth of 250-600 feet

A

sunlit layer

47
Q

(marine biomes - aphotic zone) the region beneath the ___ zone that receives no sunlight

A

photic

48
Q

(freshwater biomes) in rivers and streams, strong, swift currents exist, and thus selection favored the survival of fish that developed ___ and plants with root-like holdfasts

A

strong muscles

49
Q

The ___ is a relatively thin zone extending a few feet beneath the Earth’s surface, several miles into the deepest sea, and several miles into the atmosphere

A

hydrosphere

50
Q

___ possess waxy cuticles on leaf surfaces and stomata on the lower leaf surfaces only

A

nondesert plants

51
Q

The temperature of a geographic ___ depends upon its latitude and altitude

A

location

52
Q

(substratum - soil or rock) affected by ___ or pH which determines what types of plants grow in what types of soil

A

soil acidity

53
Q

(substratum - soil or rock) the ___ of soil and its clay content determine the water-holding capacity of the soil

A

texture

54
Q

(substratum - soil or rock) ___, including nitrates and phosphates, affect the type of vegetation that can be supported

A

minerals

55
Q

(substratum - soil or rock) ___ quantity is determined by the amount of decaying plant and animal life in the soil

A

humus

56
Q

Herbivores have long ___ tracts that provide greater surface area and time for digestion

A

digestive

57
Q

___ capable of digesting cellulose inhabit the digestive tracts of herbivores and allow the breakdown and utilization of cellulose

A

symbiotic bacteria

58
Q

___ occupying the same niche compete for the same limited resources: food, water, light, oxygen, space, minerals, and reproductive sites

A

organisms

59
Q

When competing for the same resource, one species may be competitively superior to another and drive the second to ___

A

extinction

60
Q

(competition) one ___ may be competitively superior in some regions, and the other may be superior in other regions under different environmental conditions

A

species

61
Q

(competition) The ___ would rapidly evolve greater differences in their niches (divergent)

A

two species

62
Q

(competition) ___ belonging to the same species utilize the same resources; if a particular resource is limited, then these organisms compete with one another

A

individuals

63
Q

(cooperation) ___ within a population can provide protection from predators and destructive weather, acquisition of prey and resources, recognition of offspring, and transmission of learned responses

A

cooperative behavior

64
Q

(symbiosis - commensalism) One organism is benefited by the ___, and the other is not affected

A

association

65
Q

(symbiosis - mutualism) A ___ relationship from which both organisms derive some benefit

A

symbiotic

66
Q

(symbiosis - parasitism) A ___ benefits at the expense of the host

A

parasite

67
Q

(predation) ___ are free-living organisms that feed on other living organisms

A

predators

68
Q

Examples of predators include the hawk, lion, ___, and Venus flytrap

A

human

69
Q

___ include those protists and fungi that decompose (digest) dead organism matter externally by secreting digestive enzymes and then absorbing the nutrients; they constitute a vital link in the cycling of material within the ecosystem

A

saprophytes

70
Q

___ are animals that consume dead animals

A

scavengers

71
Q

A ___ is a single chain showing the transfer of energy

A

food chain

72
Q

The levels of a food chain are called ___ and describe the number of steps an organism is from the start of the food chain

A

trophic levels

73
Q

(food chain - primary producers) The autotrophic green plants and ___ bacteria are the producers

A

chemosynthetic

74
Q

(food chain - primary producers) the ___ of the sun is captured and stored in the C-H bond

A

radiant energy

75
Q

(food chain - primary consumers) primary consumers are animals that consume ___(herbivores)

A

green plants

76
Q

(food chain - secondary consumers) ___ are animals that consume the primary consumers (carnivores)

A

secondary consumers

77
Q

(food chain - tertiary consumers) These are animals that feed on ___ (also called carnivores)

A

secondary consumers

78
Q

(food chain - decomposers) Decomposers break down the ___ and dead tissues to simpler compounds, such as nitrates and phosphates, which are returned to the environment to be used again by living organisms

A

organic wastes

79
Q

(food web) The food web is not simply a linear ___ but an intricate collection of interconnected food chains

A

chain

80
Q

(food web) The greater the number of ___ in a community food web, the more stable the community

A

pathways

81
Q

A ____, or ecological pyramid, graphically represents the feeding relationships between trophic levels

A

food pyramid

82
Q

___ higher in the food chain derive their food energy from organisms at lower levels

A

organisms

83
Q

Each level of the food chain utilizes some of the ___ it obtains from food for its own metabolism (i.e., to support life functions and loses some additional energy in the form of heat

A

energy

84
Q

Since loss of energy due to ___ means a loss of energy at each feeding level, the producer organism at the base of the pyramid contains the greatest amount of energy

A

heat

85
Q

Since the ___ at the base contains the greatest amount of energy, this means less energy is available for the primary consumer and still less for the secondary and tertiary consumers

A

producer

86
Q

Additionally, because ___ is lost form one level to the next, each level can support a successively smaller biomass (pyramid of biomass)

A

energy

87
Q

___ organisms that are highest in the food chain are usually larger and heavier than those further down

A

consumer

88
Q

Since organisms that highest in the ___ are usually larger, for the lower organism to have a greater total mass, there must be a greater number of lower-level organisms

A

food chain

89
Q

(nitrogen cycle) Elemental ___ is chemically inert and cannot be used by most organisms

A

nitrogen

90
Q

(nitrogen cycle) Lightning and nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the roots of ___ change the nitrogen to usable, soluble nitrates

A

legumes

91
Q

(nitrogen cycle) The ___ are absorbed by plants and are used to synthesize nucleic acids and plant proteins

A

nitrates

92
Q

(nitrogen cycle) ___ eat the plants and synthesize specific animal proteins from the plant proteins

A

animals

93
Q

(nitrogen cycle) ___ locked up in waste and dead tissues is released by the action of bacteria of decay, which convert the proteins into ammonia (NH3)

A

nitrogen

94
Q

(nitrogen cycle) Some ammonia is nitrified to nitrites by chemosynthetic bacteria and then to usable ___ by nitrifying bacteria

A

nitrates

95
Q

(nitrogen cycle) Some ___ is broken down to release free nitrogen, which returns to the beginning of the cycle

A

ammonia

96
Q

(carbon cycle) gaseous CO2 enters the living world when plants use it to produce ___ via photosynthesis

A

glucose

97
Q

(carbon cycle) ___ eat plants and use the digested nutrients to form carbohydrates, fats, and proteins characteristic of the species

A

animals

98
Q

(carbon cycle) the metabolically ___ CO2 is released into the air

A

produced

DAT (46 decks)

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