Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Biology 1010 > Chapters 18-20 - Ecology > Flashcards

Chapters 18-20 - Ecology Flashcards

1
Q

What is ecology?

A

the study of interactions between organisms and their living and nonliving environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is abiotic?

A

nonliving components of the environment (sun, nutrients, cycles, heat, energy)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is biotic?

A

living components of the environment (producers, consumers, decomposers)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Examples of abiotic factors

A
  • solar energy (timing, intensity)
  • climate (rain, wind, temperature)
  • water (availability in ecosystem)
  • topography (altitude, slope, aspect)
  • oxygen availability
  • soil factors (pH, nutrients, water content)
  • pollu0on (carbon, heavy metals, plastics)
  • catastrophes (flood, fire, wind)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What are examples of biotic factors?

A
  • food (type, availability)
  • competitors (for food, space, mating)
  • predators (herbivore or carnivore)
  • disease organisms (bacteria, parasites)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are different types of population distributions?

A
  1. random (forest ferns releasing spores into atmosphere)
  2. clumped (schools of fish –> avoid predation)
  3. uniform (nesting penguins compete for space)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Moose population on Isle Royale

A

1929-1950 - Limited food availability regulated moose population
1950 - New predator, wolves, joined the community, study begins in 1959 2014 – Moose populations dwindling severely

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are ecological measures in an ecosystem?

A

population distribution patterns, size, and growth rate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is growth rate? What is normal in nature?

A

growth rate = death rate (birth rate - death rate)

-logistic growth (starts rapidly then levels off)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is carrying capacity?

A

the number of individuals an ecosystem can support with it’s resources

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What are density dependent factors?

A

influence population size and growth depending on the number and crowding of individuals in a population (ex. food, water, predators, etc –> biotic and abiotic)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What are density independent factors?

A

influences on population no matter it’s size (ex. catastrophe, climate –> mostly abiotic)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is a community?

A

a group of interacting populations of different species living together in the same area (all biotic elements)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is a keystone species?

A

may not be the most abundant species, but are essential for maintaining a community (ex. beaver builds dams in streams to create ponds/lakes)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is a niche?

A

the space, environmental conditions, and resources that a species needs in order to survive and reproduce

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What are the interactions between organisms in a community?

A
  1. competition: between organisms for resources
  2. predation: how organism derives energy
  3. symbioses: close relationships that affect species
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is intraspecific competition?

A

competition within one species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is interspecific competition?

A

competition between different species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What causes competition in a community?

A

overlapping niches –> fighting for resources

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is the competition exclusion principal?

A

when two species compete for resources in an identical inches, one is inevitably driven to extinction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is resource partitioning?

A

finding a competitive balance in order to divide resources

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What is ecological succession?

A

change in species structure in a community over time, driven by the impact of the species themselves on the environment
–> occurs during occupation of new habitat or following a severe disturbance

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What are the two main ecological classes of life?

A
  1. Producer: autotrophs that obtain energy from sun

2. Consumer: heterotrophs that obtain energy from producers or other consumers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What are the types of consumers?

A
  1. herbivores: consume plants
  2. carnivores: consume animals
  3. omnivores: consume plants and animals
  4. parasites: consume/live with host plan/animal
  5. detritivores (decomposers): feed on nonliving organic material (*not a predator since they derive energy from dead organisms)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
What are predators?
organisms that feed on other living organisms
26
Energy Pyramids
- pass on 5-10% of energy to next level - heat released - energy in biomass decreases as you go up the pyramid
27
A symbiotic relationship can be...
- essential for one or both organisms to survive | - not essential for survival, but helps
28
Types of symbiotic relationships
1. mutualism: both benefit 2. parasitism- one benefits, one harmed 3. commensalism- one benefits, one (nearly) neutral
29
Human population growing exponentially because...
- mechanism of agriculture - disease control - mass sanitation - living in more extreme environments
30
What is the current worldwide population growth rate?
- 90 million per year - 9 billion by 2050 - -> control this growth by educating women and increasing their quality of life so that they don't have as many children
31
What natural resources do humans use?
1. energy (solar, fossil fuels, natural gas) 2. water (fresh for consumption and salt for living habitat) 3. oxygen (for cellular respiration, provided by photo synthesizers) 4. land and water area (for agriculture, grazing, forests, habitats for species that provide food for humans)
32
What is Earth's carrying capacity?
between 7 and 13 billion
33
What are renewable resources?
resources that cycle back into the system | --> solar energy, air, water, soil/plants
34
What are nonrenewable resources?
resources that are not replaced over lifetimes | --> fossil fuels, oil, natural gas, metal, salt, iron
35
What is an ecological footprint?
measure of how much land/water area is required to supply all resources used and wastes absorbed
36
Earth's biocapacity
can't always keep up with human demands --> we use more resources than the Earth can supply
37
Water
- 70% of earth's surface - 97% saltwater, 3% fresh water - only 1% of all water is available for consumption
38
Water as a renewable resource
- solar energy moves water into atmosphere (evaporation) - gravit returns water to oceans, lakes, aquifers (precipitation and flow) - -> renewable resource only if rate of water withdrawal is less than rate of replacement
39
Water usage
- 90% used by agriculture | - global water usage has increased 9-fold since 1900 due to population growth (1.5 to 7 billion)
40
Increasing population's affect on water availability
- increased pop --> increased income levels --> increased demand for water-intensive products (meat, sugar, cotton) - over-abstraction of water --> lakes running dry/endangered freshwater species - changes in precipitation because of climate change
41
What is biodiversity?
-->measure of the ability of life to survive environmental change genetic diversity in life forms that has built up over billions of years of evolution cannot be replaced/reproduced
42
What is genetic diversity?
variety within one species' gene pool
43
What is species diversity?
of species in an ecosystem
44
What is ecosystem diversity?
and variety of ecosystems
45
What is the greatest threat to biodiversity?
habitat loss due to fragmentation, degradation, and climate change Examples: – conversion of land to cropland – expansion of human development and roads – unsustainable harves,ng of existing species for food – climate change – pollution
46
What is sustainability?
use of earth's natural resources in a way that will not permanently destroy/deplete them = living within limits of earth's biocapacity
47
Three examples of natural resource use by humans
Industrialization = Climate change Increased population, increase of agriculture = Depletion of fresh water stores Natural habitat loss due to human needs = Biodiversity loss
48
Two basic principals of ecology
1. Energy Flows: energy is constantly arriving from the sun, passing through living organisms, and ultimately leaving as heat 2. Matter Cycles: matter cycles between living and non-living systems, none enters and none leaves
49
What is a biome?
major terrestrial or aquatic life zone characterized by vegetation type or the physical environment
50
What are the types of biomes?
aquatic: (75%) - freshwater: less than 1% of earth, used for drinking, crop irrigation, sanitation, and industry (ex. lakes, rivers, wetlands) - marine: oceans and coral reefs terrestrial: (25%) - contiguous geographic areas defined by temp and moisture levels
51
What are the types of terrestrial biomes?
1. desert 2. coniferous forest 3. tundra 4. temperature deciduous forest 5. tropical forest 6. grassland 7. aquatic: marine 8. aquatic: freshwater
52
What is the desert biome?
characterized by extreme dryness
53
What is the coniferous forest biome?
characterized by evergreen trees, with long and cold winters with short summers
54
What is the tundra biome?
occurs in arctic/mountain regions, characterized by low-growing vegetation and a layer of permanent frost very close to the surface of the soil
55
What is the temperature deciduous forest?
characterized by trees that drop their leaves in winter, winters much colder than summers
56
What is the tropic forest biome?
characterized by warm temperatures and sufficient rainfall or support the growth of trees, may be deciduous or evergreen depending on presence/absence of a dry season
57
What is the grassland biome?
characterized by perennial grasses and other nonwoody plants (ex. prairies)
58
What is the aquatic: marine biome?
covers about 3/4 of the earth (ex. oceans and coral reefs)
59
What is the aquatic: freshwater biome?
less than 1% of earth | characterized by having a low salt concentration (ex. ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands)
60
What is a fundamental niche?
what an organism's niche would be in the absence of competition from other species
61
What is a realized niche?
the niche that a species actually inhabits, taking into account interspecific competition
62
What is a habitat?
the specific environment an organism lives in, made up of biotic and abiotic factors
63
What is a population?
a group of individuals of the same species living in a particular geographic area
64
What is an ecosystem?
all the abiotic factors in addition to the community living in a specific area
65
What is the biosphere?
the global ecosystem, sum of all the planet's ecosystems

Biology 1010 (13 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions