Ecology Flashcards
Define Ecology….
the study of how organisms relate to one another and to their environment.
At what levels is Ecology studied?
The population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels.
Define population….
individuals of a single species that live together and may breed with each other
Define an ecological community…
All the different populations living and coexisting in an area.
Define non-living factors of an ecological community…
Parts of nature that are not living things, but interact w/ the living things in the community. Ex. Humidity, nutrients in soil, climate change.
Define ecosystem…
All the living populations, together with the non living factors of the environment coexisting and influencing one another.
Give some examples of some ecosystems…
Lake, Forest, Grassland, Ocean
Define Biosphere…
All of the ecosystems that support life on Earth…basically Mother Nature
What needs to be considered if you are going to study something at the ecosystem level?
Both the living animals/plants, and non living factors and how they influence each other.
Define Interspecific interactions…
Interactions between different species…
Define the mutualism interaction…
Both species benefit from each other.
Define the predation interaction…
The predator benefits from presence of prey and the prey harmed by presence of predator
Define the competition interaction…
Both species harm or negatively influence each other.
Define the symbiotic interaction…
Both species need to live in close proximity to each other…almost like passive mutualism
Define parasitic interaction
One species benefits, while the other is harmed.
Define the commensalism interaction…
One species benefits, but the other one isn’t affected.
Define foundation species, and give an ex.
The most abundant species that have the most impact in the community and most likely impact other species. Ex. Kelp in a kelp forest, act as shelter and food for many other species there.
Define a keystone species and give an ex.
Basically the second most important, may not be that abundant but do play a large role in the community, so much so that their removal will cause issues. Ex. Sea otters, their removal causes overgrowth of urchins, which eat all the kelp in the kelp forest.
Define introduced species.
A species brought into a community by humans either on purpose or by accident.
What type of organisms make up trophic level 1 in an ecosystem?
Producers such as Plants, algae, and cyanobacteria.
Define detritivore
A consumer that eats dead animals
Define decomposer
A producer that eats dead material
How much energy is stored as growth from a consumer’s food?
Only about 10%, the rest is lost in feces and heat
How does deforestation affect the water cycle?
It causes a decrease in transpiration, which can lead to a drought
Does photosynthesis and growth of producers add or remove CO2 from the air?
It removes CO2
Does aerobic respiration add or remove CO2?
It adds CO2
Do decomposers add or remove CO2?
It adds CO2
What houses most of the earth’s water?
The oceans
What houses most of the earth’s carbon?
The carbon stored in fossils and fossil fuels.
How do humans influence the global carbon cycle?
We significantly add to the amount of CO2 in the air by burning fossil fuels.
What is the most important organism in the nitrogen cycle?
Bacteria - they take Nitrogen gas from the air and convert it to ammonium
In what three main ways do humans impact the environment?
Large population size, high levels of consumption, use of high impact technologies.
What are the requirements for a source to be renewable?
It has to grow and be replenished by natural processes but also at a rate fast enough to keep up w/ human consumption.
Define physical disturbance and give an ex.
Physically altering an current ecosystem to turn it into something else for human use. Ex. converting forest into land development for houses.
Give an example of resource depletion.
Mining an area’s resources to the point where if they have been depending on it, it ruins the economy once run out.
Explain genetic diversity…
inherited variation among individuals within a single species or population. High genetic diversity would mean lots of different alleles in a population.
Explain species richness…
the number of different species within a community. High species richness would mean that many different species made up the community.
Explain ecosystem diversity….
a variety of distinct ecosystem types (habitats) within a region. Ecosystem diversity could be seen in a forest with streams, ponds, and meadows within it.
What is the potential harm of “Introduced Species”?
Sometimes an introduces species will compete with others almost to the point of extinction.
Explain the greenhouse effect
The natural process of Greenhouse gases absorbing and re-emitting heat, slowing its escape from the atmosphere.
Explain Global Warming
When gases emitted by humans cause too much greenhouse effect where too much heat gets trapped and climate gets warmer
What is some evidence of climate change?
Unprecedented temperatures, rise in sea level, permafrost defrosting, longer droughts
What is the difference between climate change mitigation and adaptation?
Mitigation seeks to reduce greenhouse emissions, adaptation seeks to make the best of the climate change situation
What are the main risks of ‘fracking’?
local contamination of ground and surface water, air pollution from leaked methane, and potentially unsustainable withdrawals of water to supply fracking fluid
