Echology Flashcards
Limiting Factors
- Birth potential
- capacity of survival
- length of reproductive life
- breed frequency
Breed frequency
Number of times that a species reproduces in a year
Birth potential
Maximum number of offspring per birth
Capacity of survival
Number of offspring that reach the reproductive life
Length of reproductive life
The age of sexual maturity, and the number of years an individual can reproduce
Carrying Capacity
The maximum population size that an ecosystem can maintain over an extended period of time
Population sizes -Limiting Factors
- internal factors (biological)
* external factors (abiotic, biotic)
Law of minimum (Leibig’s Law)
The nutrient in the least supply limits the growth of the production
Law of Tolerance
Too much of sth is also harmful. Organisms survive within a particular range of an biotic factor
Abiotic (non-living)
Plants:
Soil type, moisture, humidity, temperature
Animals:
Temperature, water sources, shelter
Biotic (living)
1) competition for resources
2) predators
3) parasites
Competition for resources
Intraspecific: members of a same group
Interspecific: member of different species
Predators
Consumption of one organism by another
Parasites
One organism (the parasite) benefits from another (host)
Sample populations
A small portion of a population is taken and then the average is calculated
•transect~> moving species
•quadrant~> many section o the same size within an ecosystem are chosen, usually fir stationary species
Comunity
Multiple populations, same time, same area
Ecosystem
The communities along with physical and chemical environment (biotic and abiotic compounds)
Factors affecting ecosystems
- density-independent: affects members of a population regardless of population density
- density-dependent: affects members of a population because of population density
Niche
The role that the species member plays in an ecosystem (like a job)
Ecotone
The dividing area between two ecosystems
Ecosystems Unbalanced factors:
- hunting
- deforestation
- natural disaster
- source of food dies out
- fire
- human influence ( building roads thru, pollution)
Indicator Species
A species that is sensitive to small changes in an ecosystem that provides an early indication that sth is wrong within the system
Toxonomy
The practice of classifying living things
Kingdoms
Aristotle classified organisms as either plant or animal. Hackle added the third kingdom “protista”
6 kingdoms:
1) platae
2) animalia
3) archaebacteria
4) fungi
5) eubacteria
6) protista
3 domains:
1) bacteria
2) eukarya
3) archaea
Archeabacteria
Live in extreme environments (extreme hot/cold)
Eubacteria
Oldest known living things
Fungi
- break down organic matters
- immobile
- do not fossilized
- include mushrooms
Protista
- multicellular and single celled
- subdivided: protozoans algae
- include diatoms, algae, ameobas
Animalia
- primarily multicellular
- include sponges to insects to humans
Plantare
- mostly single complex cells
- have roots and shoots
- produce energy via photosynthesis
- include mosses to pine trees
Classification
Carl Linaeus ~> the classification system based on physical and structural features
Linnaeus’s groups:
- phylum
- class
- order
- family
- genus
- species
Habitat
An area or place in biome with a specific set of characteristics in which a species like.
Range
Geographical area where the population of species is found
Species
Group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring
