Chapter 2-3.2 Test Flashcards
Ecology
The study of organisms as they relate to relationships among living organisms and the interaction the organisms have with their environments.
Biosphere
The portion of earth that supports life.
Biotic Factors
Any living factor in an organism’s environment
Ex: Salmon live in water with other fish, algae, and other organisms. Birds may pass through this area.
Abiotic Factors
Any nonliving factor in an organism’s environment.
Ex: soil, water temperature, light availability, amount of rainfall, and range of temperature.
Population
A group of organisms of the same species that interbreed and lie in the same place at the same time.
Biological Community
All of the populations of species that live in the same place at the same time.
Ex: Coral Reef- coral, fishes, marine plants
Ecosystem
All the biotic and abiotic factors in an area.
Ex:
Biome
A group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of communities.
Ex: Tundra, Boreal Forest, Temperate Grassland, and Tropical Rain Forest
Habitat
The physical area in which an organism lives.
Niche
The role or position, of an organism in its environment.
Predation
The act of one organism feeding on another organism
Ex: Predator:Bear Prey: Fish
Symbiosis
Close mutualistic, parasitic or commensal association between two or more species that live together.
Mutualism
A symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit.
Ex:
Parasitism
A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits at the expense of another organism.
Ex:
Herbivores
A heterotroph that eats only plants.
Ex: cow, rabbit, grasshopper
Carnivores
A heterotroph that preys on other heterotrophs.
Ex: wolf, lion, lynx
Omnivores
A heterotroph that consumes both plants and animals.
Ex: bears, humans, hummingbirds
Detritivores
A heterotroph that decomposes organic material and returns the nutrients to soil, air, and water making the nutrients available for other organisms.
Ex. worms, aquatic insects
Decomposers
Breaks down dead organisms by releasing digestive enzymes.
Ex: fungi, bacteria
Trophic Level
Each step in a food chain or food web.
Food Chain
A simplified model that shows a single path for energy flow through an ecosystem.
Food Web
A model that shows many interconnected food chains and pathways in which energy flows through a group of organisms.
Detritivore vs. Decomposer
Both involve making nutrients available for other organisms’s use.
However decomposers break down dead organisms but detritivores decompose organic material.
Water Cycle
Evaporation: water to water vapor
Condensation: water vapor to water
Melting: ice to water
Freezing: water to ice
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitorgen fixation removes nitrogen from the its reservoir and converts it into a usable form.
Dentrification converts nitrates in the soil back in the soil back into the reservoir.
Reservoir=atmosphere
Phosphorous Cycle
Short-term: soil to producers to consumers
Long-term: weathering- the erosion of rocks with phosphorous adds phosphorous to the cycle
Carbon/Oxygen Cycles
Producers use carbon dioxide to make food then release oxygen during photosynthesis.
Autotrophs and Heterotrophs release carbon dioxide through the air through cellular respiration.
Carbon is in it’s long-term cycle when organic matter is buried under ground and converted to peat, coal, oil, or gas desposits.
Limiting Factor
A biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the number, distribution, or reproduction of a population within a community.
Tolerance
An organism’s ability to survive biotic and abiotic factors.
Ecological Succcession
The process by which one community replaces another community because of changing abiotic and biotic factors.
Primary Succession
The establishment of a community in an area of bare rock or bare sand, where no topsoil is present.
Secondary Succession
The orderly change that occurs in a place where soil remains after a community of organisms has been removed.
Climax Community
A stable, mature ecological community with little change in the composition of species.
Weather
The atmospheric conditions such as temperature and precipitation at a specific place and time.
Latitude
Imaginary horizontal lines going from north on the globe to the very south.
Climate
The average weather conditions in a specific area, determined by latitude, elevation, ocean currents, and other factors.
Precipitation: 15-25 cm per year
Temperature: -70-12 degrees C
Tundra
Precipitation: 30-84 cm per year
Temperature: -54-21 degrees C
Boreal Forest
Precipitation: 75-150 cm per year
Temperature: -30-30 degrees C
Temperate Forest
Precipitation: 38-100 cm per year
Temperature: 10-40 degrees C
Temperate Woodland & Shrubland
Precipitation: 50-89 cm per year
Temperature: -40-38 degrees C
Temperate Grassland
Precipitation: 2-26 cm per year
Temperature: high: 20-49 degrees C low: -18-10 degrees C
Desert
Precipitation: 50-130 cm per year
Temperature: 20-30 degrees C
Tropical Savanna
Precipitation: >200 cm per year
Temperature: 20-25 degrees C
Tropical Seasonal Forest
Precipitation: 200-1000 cm per year
Temperature: 24-27 degrees C
Tropical Rain Forest
