Ecology Flashcards
What is the definition of ecology?
The study of ecosystems - how communities interact with each other and their habitat.
What is a population?
A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area that react and interbreed with each other.
What is a community?
All the populations of different species living in the same area.
What is an ecosystem?
A community of organisms in a specific climate.
What does the producer do in a food chain?
Makes its own food from inorganic materials.
What is photosynthesis?
The way in which green plants make glucose for food.
What does the consumer do in a food chain?
It cannot make food - it uses ‘ready-made’ food.
What is a decomposer?
A detritus feeder.
What is symbiosis?
The relationship between individuals of two or more species living together.
What is parasitism?
Symbiosis where one species feeds off and harms the other.
What is mutualism?
Symbiosis where all species gain.
What is the definition of a biotic factor?
The effect of other living organisms on an organism.
What is the definition of an abiotic factor?
The effect of non-living things on an organism.
Give four examples of a biotic factor.
Fungi, protists, plants and animals.
Give four examples of an abiotic factor.
Water, air, temperature and light.
What is the definition of a climatic factor?
The effect of the average weather conditions over time.
What is the definition of an edaphic factor?
The effect of soil conditions.
What is pH?
pH tells us how acidic or alkaline something is on a scale of 1-14, 1 being very acidic and 14 being very alkaline.
What is a food chain?
When organisms are arranged according to which organism they eat. They show the flow of energy and nutrients.
What is a trophic level?
A level of a food chain.
What is a food web?
A network of food chains or feeding relationships.
What are scavengers?
Scavengers feed on dead animals.
What is interdependence?
How organisms rely on each other.
Why are food webs better at representing feeding relationships than a food chain?
Firstly, it creates a more realistic picture of feeding relationships in a habitat. Secondly, they show how many animals can survive changes in their environment.
Why do feeding relationships rarely have more than three or four consumers?
As you move up the food chain, energy is lost at each trophic level.
How is energy lost in a food chain?
Energy is lost as heat when organisms carry out life processes.
What is a pyramid of numbers?
This shows the number of organisms at each level of a food chain.
What is a pyramid of biomass?
This shows the mass of organisms at each stage in a food chain.
What is biomass?
Biomass is living or recently dead tissue.
How is a pyramid of biomass more useful than a pyramid of numbers when showing energy flow in an ecosystem?
It shows the total mass of living organisms at each trophic level, giving a clearer picture of energy flow in the ecosystem.
