Ecology Flashcards
Define ecology.
Ecology is the study of the interactions between living things (organisms) and between organisms and their environment
What is the biosphere?
The biosphere is the part of the planet containing living organisms
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a group of clearly distinguished organisms that interact with their environment as a unit
What is a habitat?
A habitat is the place where a plant or animal lives
What is a population?
A population is all the members of the same species living in an area
What is a community?
A community is all the different populations in an area
What are abiotic factors?
Abiotic factors are non-living factors
What are biotic factors?
Biotic factors are living factors
What are climatic factors?
Climatic factors refer to weather over a long period of time
What are edaphic factors?
Edaphic factors relate to soil
What are producers?
Producers are organisms that carry out-photosynthesis
What are flora?
Flora is all the plants in an ecosystem
What are consumers?
Consumers are organisms that take in food from another organism
What are fauna?
Fauna is all the animals in an ecosystem
What are decomposers?
Decomposers are organisms that feed on dead organic matter
What are detritus feeders?
Detritus feeders are organisms that feed on small pieces of dead organic matter
What is a food chain?
A grazing food chain is a sequence of organisms in which each one is eaten by the next member in the chain
What is a trophic level?
A trophic level is a feeding stage in a food chain
What is a food web?
A food web consists of two or more interlinked food chain
What is a pyramid of numbers?
A pyramid of numbers represents the number of organisms at each trophic level (or stage) in a food chain
What is a niche?
The ecological niche of an organism is the functional role it plays in the community
What is a nutrient recycling?
Nutrient recycling is the way in which elements (such as carbon and nitrogen) are exchanged between the living and non-living components of an ecosystem
What is nitrogen fixation?
Nitrogen fixation is the conversion of nitrogen gas into ammonia (NH3), ammonium (NH4+) or nitrate (NO3-)
What is nitrification?
Nitrification is the conversion of ammonia and ammonium (NH4+) compounds to nitrite and then to nitrate
What is denitrification?
Denitrification is the conversion of nitrates to nitrogen gas
What is pollution?
Pollution is any harmful addition to the environments
What is pollutants?
Pollutants are harmful additions to the environment
What is conservation?
Conservation is the wise management of the existing natural resources in an ecosystem, in order to maintain a wide range of habitats and prevent the death and extinction of organism
