Ecology Flashcards
Biotic
Living organisms on an ecosystem
Abiotic factor
No living things in ecosystems
Ecology
Relationships between biotic and abiotic factors
Population
Number of a particular type of organism
Community
Interacting group of varying species
Niche
(Remember 3)
Sum of all activities and relationships
Habitat, relathionships, nutrition
Equilibrium
Describes state of ecosystems with relatively constant conditions
4 Necessary parts of equilibrium
Energy\nutrient cycles
Stable and healthy populations
Biodiversity
Sustainable
Atmosphere
Gasses around earth
Lithosphere
Solid outer layer of the earth
Hydrosphere
Earths water in any form
Biosphere
Zones of earth with life
Producer
Autotroph, 1st tropic level, plants
Primary consumers
Second tropic level, herbivore
Secondary consumer
3rd tropic level carnivore
Tertiary consumer
4th tropic level top carnivore
Arrows show
Energy transfer
%of energy moves up to the next trophic level
10
Photosynthesis is? Equation
Plants make their own food (some bacteria can top)
CO2+H2O+Sun=O2+C6H12O6 (glucose)
Cellular respiration is?
Word equations
Sugar being made energy
O2+C6H12+O6=H2O+CO2+ATP
Carbon cycle
Photosynthesis and cellular respiration
Atmosphere-Plant-(carbon fixation)-animal-(death and decomposition)-fossil fuel-burned-atmosphere
Nitrogen cycle, %of atmosphere, found in… done by, steps
78%of the atmosphere, proteins and DNA,
All done by prokaryotes/bacteria
Atmospheric nitrogen (N2) -(fixation)-Ammonia (NH3) -(Nitrification)-Nitrates (NO4) -(Denitrification)-N2
Phosphorus cycle, found in, not in… steps
DNA, cell membranes,
Not in atmosphere because it’s a solid
Rocks-(erosion)-soil (phosphate (PO4)) -(assimilation)-plants-animals-(feces)-soil
The higher you are on the food chain the more
The toxin you accumulate
% of toxin taken when eaten
100
Bioamplification
A toxin in a food chain
Bio accumulation
Amount in one organism
Toxins must be
Fat soluble otherwise they’d be pooped out
Extinction
Not on earth
Extirpated
No longer in Canada
Endangered
Close to extinction in part or all of Canada
Threatened
May become endangered if nothing changes
Vulnerable
Low or declining numbers
Factors influencing risk status 6
Size
Diet
Biotic potential
Range of species
Range of individual
Human interaction
Size
Larger animals need more food and space (smaller is better)
Diet
Carnivores diet may die out, there will always be plants. Specific diet is also bad.
(Herbivore=good)
Biotic potential
Birth rate (high is good)
Range of species
How much land a species can live on (high is good)
Individual range
How far an individual must go for food, mates etc
(Low is good)
Human interaction
We’re dangerous
Why is a more diverse community better
If there is only 1 kind and environmental change happens everything will die out
Biodiversity index, range
Number of species/number of organisms
0-1
The closer to 1 the better
Species richness
Count number of species
Not accurate
Relative abundance
Number of individuals/number of organisms X 100 = %
Competition
The interaction between two or more organisms for the same resource in a given habitat
When can competition occur
Members in same species, different species, simillar species
4 reason that organisms compete
food, light space, space/territory, mate
Predation
when an organism eats another organism to obtain food
Ways that prey animals have adapted to avoid being eaten
Physical attributes: speed mimicry camouflage
Physical defences: quills, bad taste
Chemical defences: odor ink spray
examples of disease causing organisms
bacteria, fungi parasites
Cooperation is..
Occurs between the same type of organisms or species, live together to help each other, shared food and childcare sesponisbilities, groom each other and take care of sick, hunt in packs and provide protection
3 types of symbiotic relationships
Parasitism-benefits one species, harms other (+, -)
Commensalism-benefits one no effect on other (+,0)
Mutualism-both benefit (+,+)
Carrying capacity
maximum number of individuals an organism can support without reducing its ability to support futre generations of the same species. The population overshoots the carrying capacity it has a negative effect on the environment
Predator-prey relationship
As prey number increas the predator can capture prey more easily. Since the predators are well fed they can have more offspring, so their population increase. The increase in predators causes a decrease in prey. As more prey arer aten the predator food supply decrease and so does the predator population. With fewer predators the prey population recovers repeating the cycle.
Sustainability
For an ecosystem to be sustainable no one population in the community can excedd its carry capacity for very long or by very much. The goal of sustainability is to meet the needs of the present without affecting the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Lake simcoe watershed
excuding great lakes = largest lake in ontario
More people in the area has increased phosphorus in the water this affected the water quality
Watershed
Land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks streams and rivers and eventually to outflow points such as reservoirs bays and the ocean
Three indicators of water quality
Bacteria levels: detiction of coliform bacteria a bacteria that come from human intestines indicating that there is human poop in the water
Dissolved Oxygen: The concentration of oxygen that is dissolved in water. These oxygen molecules are used in cellular resperiation. Health of fish shows amount of D.O. The type of fish and other organisms living in the water indicates the level of dissolved oxygen.
Healthy Trout = high oxygen levels
Carp and Catfish = low oxygen levels
No fish = very low oxygen levels
Biological Dissolved oxygen demand: how much oxygen consumers in a lake need
Water pollutants
organic solid waste- (source? sewage, animal poop, decomposing plants): oxygen in water is consumed to break down matter
Organisms that cause disease-(source? sewage & animal waste) can trigger disease
Inorganic solids and dissolved minerals-(source?acids released by factories, road salt, fertilizers, soil erosion) kills bacteria harms trees, organisms die, algae blooms causes decomposers to take more of the oxygen, makes water cloudy
heat (source? electricity plant) takes fresh lake water and replaces with warm reduces solubility of oxygen
Organic chemical products (source? oil and fat, pesticides, phosphate) toxic, makes algae grow faster
Acid rain (source? chemicals) acidifies the lake
Oakville climate change issue
Mosquitoes and an increase in west nile virus
More perciptation and higher temps increasing breeding for mosquitoes leading to more cases of WNV
Mitigation
Remove any areas around your house that could become breeding grounds. (filled with water)
Remove swampy bush areas around or on your property
Adaptation
Wear light coloured clothes
Cover up with long pants and shirts
Apply insect repellent before going out
Avoid going out when mosquitoes are most active
Resilience
Halton is tracking the West Nile Virus
Spraying mosquito larvicide around breeding areas
Easter Island
The native people deforested the forest, killing the animals that they used to eat and they started starving which led them to all eat each other.
Regenerative agriculture
Regenerative Agriculture’ describes farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity – resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle. Can use Hooved animals
Nitrogen cycle
in the atmosphere, makes up human mass, get nirtogen from eating producers, producers get nitrogen from roots assimilation.
Nitrogen fixation: N2-NH3 (atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia)
Nitrification: NH3-NO3 (amonia to nitrate in the soil)
denitrification: NO3-N2 nitrate to atmospheric nitrogen
phosphorus cycle
in all living things, found in rocks sediments, in things, they die and run off returns it to the soil
carbon cycle
photosynthesis -> cellular respiration
whne dead bodies decompose and release CO2
What is biological organization
Biome-ecosystem-community-population-organism
