Chp 4, 5 +6 Ecology Flashcards
Ecology
Study of interactions between living organism and between organisms and their environment
Biosphere
Part of the planet containing living organism
Ecosystem
Group of clearly distinguished organisms that interact with their environment as a unit
Habitat
Place where a plant or animal live
Population
Number of particular species living in a particular ecosystem
Community
Populations of different species living and interacting with each other in the same habitat
Biotic factor
Living factor
Organism’s influence on another organism
Competition
Two or more organisms that fight for a resource that is short in supply
Abiotic factor
Non- living factor
Climatic factor
Weather over a long period of time
Edaphic factors
Relates to soil
Food chain
Feeding relationships between organisms in which energy is transferred
Trophic level
Feeding stage in a food chain
Food web
Consist 2 or more intersecting food chains
Ecological pyramids
Used to show numbers of organisms in an ecosystem
Pyramid of numbers
Used to show numbers of organisms at each trophic level of a food chain
Inverted pyramid of numbers
Pyramid of numbers doesn’t take into account size of organisms
A tree can support thousands of caterpillars
Niche
Role of an organisms in an ecosystem
How it lives + does in its community
Nodules
Converts atmospheric nitrogen to nitrate
Nitrogen fixation
Process of nitrogen in air converted into nitrate
Nitrification
Conversion of ammonia to nitrites/ nitrates
Denitrification
Conversion of nitrates to nitrogen gas
Pollution
Addition of harmful substance to the environment
Pollutants
Anything that causes pollution
Eutrophication
Nutrients accumulating in water causing increase growth of microorganisms in water
Conservation
Management of our environment, which will prevent the death and extinction of organisms
Contest
Active physical confrontation whereby only one wins the resource
Scramble
Struggle between organisms for resource, whereby each organisms get some resource
Predation
Act of hunting, killing and eating prey
Predator
Organisms that does the hunting
Prey
Organisms eaten by predator
Symbiosis
Close relationship between two organism of different species in which at least one of them benefit
Parasitism
Relationship between 2 organisms of 2different species where one benefits and does harm to other
Endoparasites
Live inside hosts
Ectoparasites
Live outside host
Mutualism
Close relationship between 2 organisms which both benefits
Population dynamics
Study of changes that occur in a population and the factors that causes these changes
Flora
Plants
Fauna
Animals
Key
A mean of naming organisms by answering a series of question
Tullgren funnel
Heat from light causes insects to move down
Qualitative study
Records the presence or absence of species
Quantitative study
Record number of each species
Percentage cover
Estimate of the amount of ground in a quadrant is covered by a species
Percentage frequency
Chances of finding a named species with any one throw of the quadrant
Line transect
Rope marked at intervals
Record what touches the line and measure environmental at each
Capture recapture
Number caught and marked 1st x number caught 2nd
/ Number caught that are marked 2nd
