Communities & Ecocystems

Question 1

community

Answer 1

a group of populations living & interacting with each other in a common habitat

Question 2

ecosystem

Answer 2

is a community & the physical environment it interacts with

Question 3

Respiration & photosynthesis

Answer 3

can be described as processes with inputs, outputs & transformations of energy and matter

Question 4

Respiration (Atmung)

Answer 4

is the conversion of organic matter into carbon dioxide & water in all living organisms, releasing energy.

Question 5

Aerobic Respiration

Answer 5

glucose + oxygen & dioxide + water

Question 6

During Respiration:

Answer 6

large amounts of energy are dissipated (zerstreut) as heat, increasing the entropy (unavailable energy)/high organization

Question 7

Primary producers

Answer 7

can convert the energy in the light (phototroph and autotroph) or the energy in inorganic chemical compounds (chemolithotrophs) to build organic molecules, which is usually accumulated in the form of biomass and will be used as carbon and energy source by other organisms (e.g. heterotrophs and mixotrophs)

Question 8

Photosynthesis reaction

Answer 8

carbon dioxide + water + oxygen

Question 9

Photosyntheisis produces:

Answer 9

raw material for producing biomass

Question 10

Biomass

Answer 10

the total quantity or weight of organisms in a given area or volume

Question 11

Trophic Level

Answer 11

is the position that an / group of organisms occupy in a food chain

Question 12

Producers (Autotrophs)

Answer 12

are typically plants or algae & produce their own food using photosynthesis and form the first trophic level in a food chain. Exceptions include chemosynthetic organisms which produce food without sunlight.

Question 13

Feeding relationships involve

Answer 13

produceers, consumers & decomposers. These can be modeled using food chains, food webs & ecological pyramids

Question 14

Ecologycal Pyramids include

Answer 14

pyramids of number, biomass & productivity. Quantitative models are usually measured given time and area.

Question 15

Second law of Thermodynamics

Answer 15

= a tendancy for numbers & quantities of biomass & energy to decrease along foo dchains, thefore the pyramids become narrower towards the apex (Spitze)

Question 16

Bioaccumulation

Answer 16

is the build-up of persistent/non-biogradable pollutants within an organism or tropic level because they cannot be broken down

Question 17

Biomagnification

Answer 17

is the increase in concentration of persistent or non - biodegradable pollutants along a food chain

Question 18

Pyramids of numbers can sometimes

Answer 18

display different patterns, eg when individuals at lower trophic levels are realtively large (inverted pyramids)

Question 19

Pyramid of Biomass represents

Answer 19

the standing/stock storage of each trophic level measured in units such as gramds of biomass per quare metre or Joules per square metre (Units of Biomass or energy)

Question 20

Pyramid of productivity refer to

Answer 20

the flow of energy through a trophic level indicating the rate at which that stock/storage is being generated. They show a decrease along the food chain for entire ecosystms in a year

Question 21

Species

Answer 21

a group of organisms that share common characteristics and that interbreed (Kreuzen) to produce fertile offspring

Question 22

habitat

Answer 22

the environment in which a species normally lives

Question 23

niche

Answer 23

a part of the environment into which a species fits & to with it is adapted

Question 24

fundamental niche

Answer 24

the full range of conditions and resources in which a species could survive and reproduce.

Question 25

abiotic factors

Answer 25

non-living, physical factors that influence the organisms and ecosystem - such as temperature, sunlight, pH, salinity and precipitation

Question 26

biotic factors

Answer 26

interactions between the organisms - such as predation (Raubtier), herbivory (Pflanzenfresser), parasitism (Parasit) , mutualism, disease and competition

Question 27

Interactions

Answer 27

the influences each species has on the population dynamics of others, and upon the carrying capacity of the others environment.

Question 28

population

Answer 28

a group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time, and which are capable of interbreeding

Question 29

S and J population curves

Answer 29

generalized response of populations to a particular set of conditions (abiotic and biotic factors)

Question 30

Limiting factors

Answer 30

slow population growth as it approaches the carrying capacity of the system

Question 31

realized niche

Answer 31

actual conditions and resources in which a species exists due to biotic interactions

Question 32

Symbiosis

Answer 32

species living together

Question 33

Commensalism

Answer 33

the relationship between individuals of two species in which one species obtains food or other benefits from the other without either harming or benefiting the latter

Question 34

Parasitism

Answer 34

the relationship between two different organisms where the parasite harms the host eg When worms live in a dog and take nutrients from the dog, this is an example of parasitism

Question 35

Mutualism

Answer 35

a relationship which benefits two organisms

Question 36

Diversity indices

Answer 36

quantitative measure that reflects how many different types (such as species) there are in a dataset (a community), and simultaneously takes into account how evenly the basic entities (such as individuals) are distributed among those types.

Question 37

eutrophication

Answer 37

excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.