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DAT > Biology - Ecology > Flashcards

Biology - Ecology Flashcards

1
Q

what is the environment?

A

everything that is external to an organism and is necessary for its existence

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2
Q

what is included in the physical/abiotic environment?

A

climate, temp, light and water availability and topology

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3
Q

what is in the biotic environment?

A

all living things that directly or indirectly influence the life of the…includes relationships

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4
Q

levels of biological organization (small to big):

A

organism, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere

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5
Q

parts of an organism (big to small):

A

organ systems, organs, tissues, cells, molecules, atoms, subatomic particles

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6
Q

what is a species?

A

group of organisms capable of reproducing

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7
Q

what is a population?

A

species living together in a specific location

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8
Q

examples of a population?

A

dandelions in a lawn, flies in a barn, lions in a grassland

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9
Q

what is a community?

A

different plants and animal species interacting with each other in an environment

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10
Q

what is a biotic community?

A

only populations interacting and not the environment

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11
Q

what is a ecosystem?

A

biotic communities and the nonliving environments

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12
Q

a community typically includes what?

A

all 5 kingdoms

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13
Q

examples of communities:

A

lawn, sea, pond, forest

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14
Q

what is included in the biosphere?

A

all portions of planet that support life: atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere

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15
Q

same changes occur when you change latitude and as you change altitude

A

true

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16
Q

what is the photic zone in water?

A

top layer through which light can penetrate; where all aquatic photosynthesis takes places

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17
Q

what kind of life can exist in the aphotic zone?

A

animal life

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18
Q

how much of the air is oxygen?

A

20% so terrestrial life does not struggle with getting oxygen

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19
Q

how do aquatic plants and animals get oxygen?

A

the small amount of oxygen dissolved in water

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20
Q

what is substratum?

A

soil and rock

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21
Q

what plants are most suitable for growth in acidic soil?

A

rhododendrons and pines

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22
Q

what determines the water-holding capacity of soil?

A

texture and clay content

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23
Q

willows require what kind of soil?

A

moist

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24
Q

what is a loam?

A

no contains high percentages of each type of soil

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25
Q

why is beach sand unable to sustain life?

A

no minerals (ex: nitrates and phosphates)

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26
Q

how is humus quantity determined?

A

amount of decaying plant and animal life in soil

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27
Q

what is a niche?

A

functional role of an organism in its ecosystem; it encompasses every aspect of its existence

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28
Q

what is a habitat?

A

physical place an organism lives

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29
Q

what are the 3 possible outcomes when more than one species is completing for one resource due to similar niches:

A

extinction; elimination in some places; evolve in divergent directions so they would have greater differences in their niches

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30
Q

how do chemosynthetic bacteria obtain energy?

A

from the oxidation of inorganic sulfur, iron, nitrogen compounds

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31
Q

what evolved as a result of the cellulose-containing plant tissues that herbivores eat?

A

long digestive tracts for more digestion SA, and crushing/grinding structures

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32
Q

since herbivores cannot digest most of what they consume, what lives in their digestive tracts?

A

symbiotic bacteria that can digest cellulose

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33
Q

why are herbivores for adept for defense than carnivores?

A

they are often prey

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34
Q

kinds of teeth in herbivores?

A

molars for grinding and incisors for cutting

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35
Q

teeth in carnivores?

A

pointed teeth and canine teeth for tearing flesh

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36
Q

example of omnivores:

A

humans (eat both plants and animals)

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37
Q

what is symbiosis?

A

symbionts live together in intimate (often permanent) association and may or may not benefit both

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38
Q

what is an obligatory symbiotic relationship?

A

one or both organisms cannot live without the other

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39
Q

what is commensalism?

A

+/0 …one is benefitted and the other is not impacted

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40
Q

what is mutualism?

A

+/+

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41
Q

examples of mutualism:

A

tick bird and rhinos; fungi and algae in lichens; nitrogen-fixing bacteria and legumes; protozoa and termites; intestinal bacteria and humans

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42
Q

what is parasitism (+/-)

A

exists when competition for food is most intense; bacteria, fungi and animals

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43
Q

what are ectoparasites?

A

parasites that have a sucker or clamp and cling to the exterior surface of the host

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44
Q

what are endoparasites?

A

parasites that live inside the host

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45
Q

the more dangerous the parasite….

A

the less likely the parasite is to survive

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46
Q

true or false: all viruses are parasites?

A

true.

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47
Q

examples of parasitism:

A

virus and host cell; disease bacteria and animals; disease fungi and animals; worms and animals

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48
Q

example of disease bacteria and animals:

A

diptheria, anthrax, TB

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49
Q

example of disease fungi and animals

A

ringworm on humans

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50
Q

example of worms and animals:

A

tapeworm and humans

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51
Q

how do predators influence their prey?

A

regulatory influence….they do not threat its survival

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52
Q

define saprophytes:

A

protists and fungi that decompose dead organic matter externally and then absorb the nutrients

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53
Q

examples of saprophytes:

A

mold, mushrooms, bacteria of decay and slime molds

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54
Q

what are scavengers?

A

animals that consume dead animals

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55
Q

examples of scavengers:

A

vulture and hyena and snapping turtle

56
Q

example of disruptive forces within a species

A

competition

57
Q

example of cohesive forces within species:

A

reproduction and protection

58
Q

what kind of environment do saltwater fish live in? what does this mean?

A

hyperosmotic; they lose water and take in salt

59
Q

how do saltwater fish compensate for living in a hyper osmotic environment?

A

they constantly drink and excrete salts from their gills

60
Q

what kind of environment do freshwater fish live in? what does this cause?

A

hypo-osmotic; excessive water intake and salt loss

61
Q

how do freshwater fish compensate for living in hypo-osmotic environment?

A

rarely drinking and absorbing salts; DILUTE urine

62
Q

how to insects conserve water?

A

they excrete solid uric acid crystals

63
Q

how do camels prevent desiccation?

A

fat layers where they are exposed to the sun

64
Q

how do horned toads prevent desiccation?

A

thick/scaly skin to prevent water loss

65
Q

what do non-desert plants have to conserve water?

A

waxy cuticles and stomata on lower leaf; they shed leaves in the winter

66
Q

how to desert plants conserve water?

A

extensive roots, fleshy stems that store water and spiny leaves to limit water loss, thick cuticles and few stomata

67
Q

how much total energy is given off as heat?

A

60%

68
Q

are most animals and plants cold or warm blooded? what is this called?

A

cold-blooded; poikilothermic

69
Q

the body temp of poikilotherms is…..to their surrounding

A

similar

70
Q

as the temp rises, poikilotherms become…..active

A

more

71
Q

mammals are birds are what kind of blooded?

A

warm-blooded; homeothermic

72
Q

physical adaptations that mammals and birds have to slow down heat loss:

A

hair, fat and feathers

73
Q

producers of the food chain:

A

autotrophic green plants and chemosynthetic bacteria

74
Q

typical producer of a food chain:

A

wheat plant; capture the energy of the sun in C-H bonds

75
Q

what are primary consumers?

A

animals that consume green plants (herbivores)

76
Q

examples of primary consumers:

A

cows, grasshoppers and elephants

77
Q

what are secondary consumers?

A

animals that consume primary consumers (carnivores)

78
Q

examples of secondary consumers:

A

frogs, tigers, dragonflies

79
Q

what do decomposers do?

A

metabolize the waste of organisms into nitrates and phosphates

80
Q

the greater the number of pathways in a community food web, the more……

A

stable the community

81
Q

what is the second law of thermodynamics?

A

every energy transfer involves the loss of energy

82
Q

which level of the food pyramid has the most energy?

A

producers at the bottom because energy is lost at each feeding level

83
Q

describe the trend of mass in the food pyramid:

A

a large mass of producers can support a smaller mass of organisms at higher levels

84
Q

describe the pyramid of numbers in the food pyramid:

A

the greatest number of organisms are at the bad and the smallest number of organisms are at the top

85
Q

in general, as the pyramid is ascended…..

A

there are fewer organisms, less mass and less energy

86
Q

what 2 things change nitrogen into usable nitrates?

A

lightning and nitrogen-fixing bacteria

87
Q

why does nitrogen need to be recovered and reused?

A

is is chemically inert and cannot be used by a lot of organism and there is a finite amount of nitrogen

88
Q

plants absorb nitrates and synthesize:

A

plant proteins and nucleic acids

89
Q

animals eat the plants and synthesize:

A

animal proteins

90
Q

how is the nitrogen in the waste of plants and animals released?

A

bacteria of decay which convert the proteins to ammonia.

91
Q

two fates of NH3:

A

nitrified to nitrites; or denitrified to release free nitrogen

92
Q

what are the 4 kinds of bacteria in the nitrogen cycle?

A

decay, nitrifying, denitrifying and nitrogen fixing

93
Q

what do nitrifying bacteria do?

A

convert ammonia to nitrites (NO2) and then to nitrates (NO3-)

94
Q

what do denitrifying bacteria do?

A

convert nitrates to free nitrogen that can be taken up by nitrogen fixing bacteria in the roots of legumes

95
Q

carbon cycle:

A

organic compounds in animals are ingested by animals and then found in animals and their waste; the bacteria of decay return CO2 to the air and then plants use this to create glucose

96
Q

3 conditions for stability of an ecosystem

A

stable abiotic factors/stable biotic community; constant energy source; cycling of materials between the living system and its environment

97
Q

what is ecological succession?

A

one biotic community replaces or succeeds another until a climax community is established

98
Q

what is a sere?

A

community stage

99
Q

what is a lichen?

A

association between algae and fungus that can live on a rocky surface

100
Q

what does the type of climax community depend upon?

A

the abiotic factors like rainfall, soil, temperature, shade…

101
Q

what is a biome?

A

a distinct community existing in a major climate area

102
Q

what plants and animals are in a desert biome?

A

lizards, insects, cactus, sagebrush and mesquite plants that conserve water actively

103
Q

how are grassland biomes characterized?

A

low rainfall (10-30 inches a year)

104
Q

true or false: grasslands provide no shelter for herbivorous animals from carnivorous predators.

A

true. most animals in this biome have long legs and hooves

105
Q

what characterizes tropical rain forest biomes?

A

high temperatures and torrential rains

106
Q

what is climax community of rain forest?

A

vegetation that doesn’t shed leaves

107
Q

what are epiphytes? where are they commonly found?

A

plants that grow on other plants like in the rain forest.

108
Q

what inhabits the floor of the rain forest?

A

saprophytes

109
Q

characteristics off temperate deciduous forest biome?

A

cold winters, warm summers and moderate rainfall

110
Q

trees found in temperate deciduous forest biome?

A

breech, maple, oaks and willows

111
Q

characteristics of temperate coniferous forest biome?

A

cold and dry

112
Q

trees of temperate coniferous forest biomes?

A

fir, pine, spruce

113
Q

where are temperate coniferous forests?

A

Canada and extreme north of US

114
Q

what is a taiga biome?

A

less rainfall than temperate with long, cold winters

115
Q

tree of the taiga biome?

A

spruce

116
Q

chief animal inhabitant in the taiga biome?

A

moose

117
Q

what is the tundra biome?

A

treeless, frozen plain between the taiga lands and northern ice sheets

118
Q

what animals/plants are in the tundras?

A

polar bears, oxen, arctic hens, moss and lichens

119
Q

what kind of areas are the most stable ecosystem?

A

aquatic biomes

120
Q

two types of aquatic biomes?

A

marine and freshwater

121
Q

marine biomes contain a constant amount of ….

A

nutrient materials and dissolved salts

122
Q

what is the intertidal zone of the marine biome?

A

exposed at low tides and undergoes variations in temp and dryness.

123
Q

what populations are in the intertidal zone?

A

algae, sponges, clams, snails, starfish and crabs

124
Q

what is the littoral zone of the marine biome?

A

deep ocean off continental shelf

125
Q

what populations are in the littoral zone?

A

fish, crustacea, algae and crabs

126
Q

what is the pelagic zone?

A

open seas

127
Q

what are the photic and aphasic apart of?

A

pelagic zone

128
Q

what is the photic layer? what animals live here?

A

sunlit region (250-600 feet); plankton, nekton and diatom is the chief autotroph (algae); fish, sharks and whales feed on the plankton

129
Q

what is the aphotic zone?

A

below the photic layer that receives no sunlight

130
Q

what kind of organisms make up the aphotic zone?

A

heterotrophs

131
Q

2 kinds of organisms in the competitive aphotic zone?

A

nekton (active swimmers) and benthos (crawling and sessile organisms)

132
Q

what are examples of freshwater biomes?

A

lakes, pons, rivers and marshes that connect oceans and land

133
Q

what is the tonicity of freshwater? what does this cause to happen to cells?

A

hypotonic; passage of water into the cell

134
Q

how do plants in freshwater areas establish a water balance?

A

they have rigid cell walls that build up pressure (turgor) as water flows in; gradient stops.

135
Q

what do the currents of freshwater biomes favor?

A

strong muscle plants and plants with holdfast roots

136
Q

true or false: the temperature of freshwater bodies varies considerably.

A

true.

DAT (15 decks)

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