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Ecology Flashcards

1
Q

What is Environment?

A

Sum total of all External Factors, conditions and Influences that surround and affect an organism, a community or system.
It encompasses natural as well as man-made elements

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2
Q

What are the components of an environment?

A
  • Abiotic (non-living)
  • Biotic (living)
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3
Q

What are biotic factors?

A
  • Living organisms in the Environment
    e.g. Plants, Animals, Fungi, Bacteria, Viruses, Humans etc.
  • They interact with each other
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4
Q

What is the Importance and Impact of Biotic Factors in an Environment?

A
  • They shape the ecosystem and Food Chains
  • Changes in them can lead to shifts in Population dynamics
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5
Q

What is the Importance and Impact of Abiotic Factors in an Environment?

A
  • They determine the physical characteristics of environment
  • Change in them can disrupt ecosystem and habitats
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6
Q

How are Biotic factors further classified?

A
  • Autotrophs (Producers)
  • Saprotrophs (Decomposers)
  • Heterotrophs (Consumers)

Heterotrophs are further divided into:
- Primary Consumers
- Secondary Consumers
- Tertiary Consumers
- Quaternary Consumers

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7
Q

How are Abiotic factors further classified?

A
  • Climatic Factors (Physical): Rain, Light, Wind, Temperature etc.
  • Edaphic Factors (Inorganic and Organic): Soil, pH, Minerals, Topography
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8
Q

What is an Habitat?

A
  • Physical Environment in which an organism lives. A habitat can be shared by multiple organisms if they have common requirements.
  • Multiple habitats together make up Environment
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9
Q

Are all environments habitats? and Vice Versa?

A

All habitats constitute environment, whereas all environments are not habitats

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10
Q

What is Ecology?

A
  • Study of relationship of living organisms with each other and their environment.
  • Derived from Greek words “oikos” and “logos”, meaning “Home” and “Study”
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11
Q

What are the sub-categories of Ecology?

A

Auto-Ecology and Synecology

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11
Q

What is Autoecology?

A

Study if individual organisms or species with their environment

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11
Q

What is Synecology?

A

Study of group of organisms of different species which are associated together as a unit or community.

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12
Q

What are the Levels of an Ecology?

A
  • Individual
  • Population
  • Communit
  • Ecosystem
  • Biome
  • Biosphere
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13
Q

Differentiate between Individuals and Species.

A
  • Individual: A living organism of a particular species that can act independently without breeding with individuals of other species.
    e.g. Plants, Bacterium, Animals, Fungi etc.
  • Species: A group of similar living organisms capable of exchanging genes by interbreeding.
    e.g. Homo Sapiens
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14
Q

Define population as per Ecology.

A

Group of inter-breeding organisms occupying a defined area during a Specific time

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15
Q

Define Community in an ecosystem. How are they named?

A

Populations in a specific area at a given time. It contains the populations of organisms of different species.
Their named after the dominant plant forms
Example: grassland community

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16
Q

What are minor communities in an ecosystem?

A
  • Minor communities depend on neighbouring communities and are often called societies.
  • They are secondary aggregations within a major community
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17
Q

Define ecosystem in terms of ecology.

A
  • Structural and functional unit of ecology where living organisms interact with each other and their surrounding environment
  • Ecosystem can be as small as a single tree or as large as entire forest
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18
Q

Define biome in an environment

A
  • geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups that are adapted to that particular environment
  • It’s a set of ecosystems sharing similar characteristics with their abiotic factors
  • No two biomes are alike
  • The climate determines the boundaries of a biome and abundance of plants and animals
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19
Q

Define biosphere as per environment

A
  • Region above and below the art surface where life exists
  • highly integrated and interacting zone comprising atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere
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20
Q

On what parts of the earth is biosphere not present? And why?

A

Biosphere is absent at the extreme of the north and South poles, highest mountains and deepest oceans, because of existing hostile conditions, not able to support life.

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21
Q

What is an ecosphere as per environment?

A
  • Ecosphere is used to denote biosphere along with its three components
  • Ecosphere = biosphere + lithosphere + hydrosphere + atmosphere
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22
Q

What is an ecological niche?

A

A unique functional role or place of a species in an ecosystem
Ecological are unique for species , no two species can have exact identical niches

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23
Q

What are guilds in terms of ecological niches?

A

Group of species with comparable roles and niche dimensions within a community

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24
Q

What are ecological equivalents?

A

Species that occupy the same niche in different geographical regions (continents and major oceans)

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25
Q

What are the different types of niche in an environment?

A
  • Habitat niche
  • Food niche
  • Reproductive niche
  • Physical and chemical niche
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26
Q

What is a habitat niche in an environment?

A

Specific physical environment where a species lives

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27
Q

What is food niche in an environment?

A

Types of foods a species consumes and its dietary preferences

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28
Q

What is reproductive niche in an environment?

A

Reproductive strategies and behaviours of a species, including breeding seasons and methods

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29
Q

What are physical and chemical niches in an environment?

A

Specific physical and chemical conditions which is species can tolerate or requires to thrive

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30
Q

Differentiate between habitat and niche in terms of environment

A
  • Habitat focuses on how the environment impacts the organism, A niche focuses on how the organism impacts the environment
  • Habitat has a number of niche, whereas niche does not have any components
  • habitat supports a number of species, whereas niche supports single species
  • Species does not change its habitat, whereas it may live in more than one niche in different stages of its life cycle
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31
Q

What is competitive exclusion principle in an environment?

A

No two species in a habitat can have the same niche because of competition with one another until one is displaced

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32
Q

What is an ecotone?

A

A transition zone where two communities/ecosystems/biomes meet and integrate, having characteristics of both ecosystems

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33
Q

Why are ecotones known as zone of tensions?

A

Because they have conditions intermediate to the adjacent system, which can cause competition

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34
Q

What is edge effect of an ecotone?

A

Tendency of increased variety and density of some organisms
Example: in terrestrial ecosystem, birds show edge effect

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35
Q

What are edge species in an ecotone?

A

Species that occur primarily in ecotones

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36
Q

What are narrow and wide ecotones?

A

Narrow: Very limited area e.g. Between grassland and forest

Wide: Vast area e.g. Between Forest and desert

37
Q

Mangrove Forest are ecotones between which ecosystems?

A

Marine and terrestrial ecosystems

38
Q

Grasslands are ecotones between which ecosystems?

A

Forest and desert ecosystems

39
Q

What is an ecoline?

A
  • Physio-chemical gradient of a characteristic of a species across specific geographical range
  • Deals with traits such as pH variation, salinity variation, water density variation and chemical variation
  • It’s a zone of gradual but continuous change from one ecosystem to another with no sharp boundary in terms of species composition
40
Q

What are the ecological factors which have impact on species distribution?

A

Abiotic factors:
- Edaphic:
Soil
- Topographic:
Latitudes and Altitudes
Direction of mountain
Steepness of mountain
- Climatic:
Temperature
Sunlight
Atmospheric pressure
Humidity
Water

Biotic factors:
- Positive interactions:
Mutualism
Commensalism
Neutralism
- Negative interactions:
Predation
Competition
Parasitism
Ammensalism

41
Q

Explain how temperature affects species distribution

A

Based on their thermal tolerance, level, organisms are displaced

42
Q

What are eurythermal organisms?

A

They can withstand large variations in temperature
Example: cow, human, monkey, sheep etc.

43
Q

What are stenothermal organisms?

A

They have narrow temperature range tolerance
Example: seals, salmon, reptiles, etc.

44
Q

What are endotherms?

A

They are warm blooded animals, who maintain relatively high body temperature using heat by their own metabolism
Example: birds and mammals

45
Q

What are ectotherms?

A

They are cold blooded animals who regulates their body temperature using the surrounding temperature.
Example: insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish, etc.

46
Q

Explain how water affects species distribution

A

Water availability dictates organism adaptations and influences plant life. Water quality including salinity and chemical composition, impacts species distribution.

Example: all plants do not have adaptations to survive in desert Biomes

47
Q

What are Xerophytes?

A

They are plant species who have unique features for adaptation and for storing and conserving water
These are especially plants that live in the desert

48
Q

What are Halophytes?

A

Plants that can survive in High Salinity environments like Mangroves

49
Q

What are Phreatophytes?

A

Plants that grow extremely long roots, allowing them to acquire moisture

50
Q

What are chasmophytes?

A

Plants that grow in rocks, which get exposed to a comparatively low intensity of light and for a shorter duration

51
Q

On the basis of light penetration what are the sub-zones of an aquatic ecosystem?

A
  • Photic Zone
  • Aphotic Zone
  • Abyssal Zone
52
Q

How does soil affect species distribution?

A

Soil characteristics mostly depend on the parent rock
Since soil is a combination of various organic and inorganic matters, with the variation in content -> water retention capacity of the soil, the fertility and the presence of mineral changes leading to different species inhabitation
If the soil is acidic, does certification can take place and ruins the chances for plant habitat

53
Q

What is carrying capacity in an ecosystem?

A
  • The maximum population size that an ecosystem can support
  • It is impacted by limiting factors such as decomposers and other biotic and abiotic factors
54
Q

What are limiting factors in an ecosystem?

A
  • Organisms need resources to survive which are limited in nature and therefore called limiting factors
  • They regulate how many organisms can live in an ecosystem, by restricting size or growth rate of a population
  • Example: sunlight and oxygen are limiting factors of aquatic ecosystem, moisture and temperature are limiting factors of territory ecosystem
55
Q

What are intra-specific interactions and inter-specific interactions?

A

Intra: Interactions occurring among individuals of same species

Inter: Interactions among individuals of different species

56
Q

What is Amensalism?

A

It is a negative interaction where one species is inhibited and other species is unaffected

Example: fungi on a bread, large tree shading a small plant

57
Q

What is predation?

A
  • A negative interaction where one species (predator) benefits, while the second species (prey) is harmed
  • Predators are usually larger than prey
  • Examples: leopard, tiger, cheetah, insectivorous plants like Dionaea, pitcher plant, Venus flytrap etc.
58
Q

What is parasitism?

A
  • It’s a negative interaction which is beneficial to one species (parasite) and harmful to another species (host)
  • Parasite gets his nourishment and often shelter from its host
  • Parasites are usually smaller than the host
  • Examples: tapeworms, lice etc
59
Q

What is competition in an ecosystem?

A
  • It is a negative interaction which adversely affects both species
  • 2 populations of species need a common vital resource that is in short supply
60
Q

What is commensalism in an ecosystem?

A
  • It is a positive interaction where one species (commensal) benefits while the other species (host) is neither harmed nor inhibited
    Examples: Climbers are plants with weak stems, they use other systems as their support.
61
Q

What is mutualism in an ecosystem?

A
  • It is a positive interaction where it is favourable to both species
    Example: Lichens -> Algae (photosynthesis) + Fungus (reproduction)
62
Q

What is symbiosis?

A

Some mutualisms are so intimate that their interacting species can no longer live without each other as they depend totally on each other to survive

63
Q

What is neutralism in an ecosystem?

A

It is a positive interaction where neither species affects the other

This occurs mostly between unrelated populations of different species

64
Q

What is adaptation as per ecology?

A

Changes in appearance/behaviour/structure/mode of life of an organism that allows the plants and animals to survive in a particular particular environment

65
Q

Define morphological adaptation as per ecology?

A

Changes in physical appearance
Example: Camouflage by a chameleon

66
Q

Define physiological adaptation as per ecology

A

Biological changes on a cellular level

67
Q

What is a Hyperthermopile?

A

An organism that thrives in extremely hot environments

68
Q

What is acclimatisation?

A

Small changes that take place in the body of a single organism over short periods to overcome small problems due to changes in the surroundings.

69
Q

What is behavioural adaptation as per ecology?

A

Results from adapted behaviour based on environmental stimuli, they are:

  • Migration
  • Hibernation
  • Aestivation
70
Q

What is hibernation?

A

A winter survival technique by slowing its heart rate to save energy and survive the winter without eating too much

It is also known as winter sleep

71
Q

What are the 11 animals that hibernate found in Indian ecology?

A
  • Box turtles
  • Wood frogs
  • Common poorwills (bird)
  • Bats
  • Hedgehogs
  • Skunks
  • Snails
  • Bumblebees
  • Snakes
  • Groundhogs
  • Fat-tailed dwarf lemur
72
Q

What is Aestivation?

A

It is a state of animal dormancy, very similar to hibernation, but taking place in the summer rather than winter
Example: Desert animals

73
Q

What are the adaptations done by plants to survive the desert?

A
  • Succulence: Stems that can store water
  • Wax coating on the leaves and stem, preventing water loss
  • Drought tolerance: deep tap-roots that help reach underground water source
  • Small leaves: reducing evaporation
  • Modified leaves: reduce loss of water
74
Q

What are some adaptations done by animals to survive the desert?

A
  • Animals such as kangaroo rat, never drink water
  • Ability to produce concentrated urine and produce dry excreta
  • Desert animals are burrowing animals to escape intense sunlight
75
Q

What are Halophytes?

A

Plants, such as mangroves, which grow in saline soils

76
Q

What are the adaptations done by Halophytes?

A
  • Pneumatophores: Also called breathing roots, they compensate for the lack of soil aeration
  • In addition to normal roots, many stilt or prop roots are developed for efficient anchorage in loose soil
  • Viviparous: mode of germination
  • Presence of salt glands to reduce excess salt
77
Q

What are some common adaptations by aquatic animals?

A
  • Streamlined bodies
  • Gills
  • Fins
  • Blowholes
  • Permeable skin: helps aquatic amphibians breathe in water
  • Paddle like tales: helps aquatic amphibians swim
78
Q

What is Osmoregulation?

A

Control of water content and the concentration of salt in the body of freshwater animals

79
Q

What are Ecophenes (Ecads)?

A
  • Variations in phenotypes (observable physical characteristics)
    Example: An European living in Africa may have different features (like skin colour) than one living in Europe
  • This is also known as morphologically changed forms
  • differences among ecophenes are temporary morphological variations and are reversible as there is no change in the genetics
80
Q

What is ecotype?

A
  • It occurs when ecophenes remain in their new environment for an extended period, resulting in genetically fixed morphological changes
  • Morphological changes become permanent, however, interbreeding among two ecotypes can still produce viable of spring.
81
Q

What are ecospecies?

A

Animals or plants of the same species, isolated in different environments for an extended period

82
Q

What is speciation?

A

Process of formation of new species

83
Q

What is allotropic or geographical speciation?

A

Geographical isolation leading to speciation

84
Q

What is sympatric speciation?

A

New species developing spontaneously despite no physical barriers to interpreting
(Example: Due to different food sources)

85
Q

What is mutation?

A

Changes in genetic material which results from an error in DNA replication, causing the rise of new genes

86
Q

As per Darwin and Wallace theory, what is natural selection?

A
  • Process by which species adapt to their environment
  • It is an evolutionary force that selects among variations of genes, that help the organism to have better chances of surviving, reaching reproductive age and passing on suitable adaptations to their progeny
87
Q

What is evolution?

A

Process by which living organisms change over time through changes in the genome

88
Q

Who gave the theory of evolution and when?

A

Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace
1859

89
Q

What is Neo-Darwinism?

A

The theory of evolution, extended in light of progress in genetics, is known as Neo-Darwinism

90
Q

Describe the evolution of humans based on the theory of evolution

A
  • Hominids
  • Australophecus
  • Paranthropus
  • Homos:
    • Homo Habills
    • Homo Erectus
    • Homo Sapiens
91
Q

What is extinction?

A

Complete disappearance of a species from earth primarily due to environmental changes, biological competition or inability to evolve fast enough to cope with the changing environment.

92
Q

Currently which mass extinction is going on and what is the reason for it?

A
  • 6th Mass extinction (anthropogenic extinction)
  • Human induced:
    • Over-exploitation/miss use of natural resources
    • Fragmentation/loss of natural habitats
    • Destruction of ecosystems
    • Pollution
    • Global climate change

Environment (5 decks)

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