Chapter 3-6 Flashcards
What’s a species?
Group of organisms that breed and produce fertile offspring
What are the levels of organization in ecology? (6)
Species, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere
What’s a population?
Group of individuals of the same species that live in the same environment
What’s a community?
Different populations that live in the same defined area
What’s an ecosystems?
All organisms in a place combined with the physical environment
What’s a biome?
Group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms
What’s a biosphere?
Consists of all life on Earth
What’s an abiotic factor?
Any non living part of the environment
Examples of abiotic factors
Air, sunlight, temperature, soil
What’s a biotic factor?
Any living part of the environment
Examples of biotic factors
Plants and animals
What’s a tropic level?
Each step in a food chain
What are the different tropic levels? (5)
Autotroph First order heterotroph (herbivore) Second order heterotroph (omnivore) Third order heterotroph (carnivore) Decomposers
What’s an autotroph?
An organism that uses sunlight to produce food for itself and other organisms
What’s a heterotroph?
Organism that must eat other organisms to acquire energy
What’s a food chain?
Series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
What’s a food web?
Network of feeding interactions
Whats an ecological pyramid and what are the different types?
Show relative amount of energy and matter in each tropic level
- Pyramid of Energy- shows amount of energy transferred
- Pyramid of Number- shows # of organisms
- Pyramid of Biomass- shows amount of living tissue
What’s biomass?
The total amount of living tissue in each tropic level
What’s a biological process that occurs in the water cycle?
Respiration (plants)
What processes does CO2 go through in the carbon cycle?(3)
Photosynthesis, combustion, and respiration
How is photosynthesis, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation part of the carbon cycle?
Photosynthesis- takes CO2 out of the atmosphere
Burning fossil fuels- puts CO2 in the atmosphere
Deforestation- takes away plants, so the CO2 has no where to go
What do bacteria in the nitrogen cycle?
Soul bacteria convert fixed nitrogen into nitrites and nitrates
Why do organisms need nutrients?
To survive
- gives organism energy and increases productivity
What’s a niche?
Range of physical and biological conditions in which an organisms lives and the way the organisms uses those conditions
What’s a habitat?
Area where an organism lives including the biotic and abiotic factors that affect it
What’s competition?
Competing for resources
2 types
-intraspecific (same organisms)
-interspecific (different species)
How does limited resources Ffect population and competition?
If resources are limited, population will be lower and there will be more competition.
If there’s an abundance of resources, the population can grow larger and species won’t have to compete as much
How does the predator population affect the prey population?
Predators affect the size of prey populations in a community and determine the places prey can live and feed
What’s symbiosis?
Any relationship in which two species live closely together
What are the three types of symbiosis?
Parasitism- one organism helped, other harmed
Mutualism- both organisms benefit
Commensalism- one organism helped, other is unaffected
What’s ecological succession?
A series of predictable changes that occur Ina community over time
What’s the difference between primary and secondary succession?i
Primary: no soil, needs a pioneer species (ex:glacier movement exposes bare rock)
Secondary: has soil, usually occur when there’s a sever disruption in the community (ex: forest fire)
Compare tropical grasslands and tundras (3 each)
TG -warm temperature, never falling below 60 - 20-50 in of rainfall yearly -lions,elephants, kangaroos T -freezing weather, avg. of -18 degrees Fahrenheit -6-10 in of rainfall yearly - attic fox, polar bear, caribou
What’s demography?
The scientific study of human population
What’s carrying capacity?
Largest number of individuals of a particular species that a particular environment can support
What factors affect population? (4)
Birth rates
Death rates
Immigration
Emigration
What’s demographic transition?
Dramatic change from high birth rates and death rates to low birth rates and death rates
What’s exponential growth?
Continuous growth (J curve)
What’s logistic growth?
Starts then stops due to carrying capacity and demographic transition (S curve)
What’s a limiting factor?
Factor that controls the growth of population
What are the density dependent limiting factors? (4)
Competition
Predation and herbivory
Parasitism and disease
Stress from overcrowding
What are density independent limiting factors? (4)
Natural disasters
Wildfires
Hurricanes
Heavy rainfall
What’s an invasive species?
Species introduced to a new habitat (usually by humans) that disrupt the exosystem
Why are invasive species threats to biodiversity?
Invasive species take over the habitat and use all the resources, driving the native species to extinction
Examples of invasive species (2)
Rabbits in Australia
Asian Carp in the Illinois River
What caused the population rate to rapidly grow?
The Industrial Revolution
Better living conditions and medical technology, lower death rates
When will the human population reach its peak? What number?
2050
9 billion
What’s biodiversity?
The total of all the genetically based variation in all organisms in the biosphere
Why is biodiversity important?
It keeps the ecosystem stable and productive
It produces medicine and helps in agriculture
What are threats to biodiversity? (5)
Altering habitats Pollution Hunting Invasive species Climate change
