Ecology Flashcards
Photosynthesis
the process by which green plants and certain other organisms transform light energy into chemical energy
(producers creating their own energy)
Cellular Respiration
The process of all living organisms creating ATP (usable energy)
(Cells derive energy from glucose)
Photosynthesis Chemical Equation
Carbon Dioxide + Water -> Glucose + Oxygen
6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2
Cellular Respiration Chemical Equation
C6H12O6 + 6O2 –> 6CO2 + 6H2O + Chemical Energy (in ATP)
Glucose + Oxygen –> Carbon Dioxide + Water + Chemical energy (ATP)
Producer
An organism that makes its own food (through photosynthesis) (often at the bottom of the food chain)
Consumer
An organism that cannot produce its own food and must eat other plants (producers) and/or animals (other consumers) to get energy (and makes ATP through cellular respiration)
Food Chain
A categorization of animals in any ecosystem, showing energy rising through levels and the trophic levels
Trophic levels
The first level (producers), and upper levels (consumers), it sometimes include decomposers
Food Web
It consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem (shows energy transfer between organisms)
Biogeochemical Cycles
the movement and transformation of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms (biotic), the atmosphere and the Earth’s crust (abiotic)
Ex Nitrogen cycle, water cycle, carbon cycle
Nutrient Cycles
It is a system where energy and matter are transferred between living organisms (biotic) and non-living parts (abiotic) of the environment
Water cycle
Movement of water in different phases
Evaporation -> Condensation -> Precipitation -> Collection
Carbon cycle
Carbon dioxide -> Absorbed by plants (photosynthesis) ->Dead/decaying organisms create organic carbon (fossil fuels) -> Factory’s emissions generate carbon dioxide, as well as animal and plant respiration
Nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen gas (N2) -> Nitrogen fixation (Nitrogen fixing bacteria) into ammonia (NH3) -> NH3 and waste products get converted into Nitrate (NO3) (Nitrification) ->Some NO3 get used in soil (assimilation), some gets converted to nitrogen gas (N2) via denitrification (denitrification bacteria)
Biotic factor
Living organisms within an ecosystem
Abiotic factor
Non-living things within an ecosystem (sunlight, air, carbon etc)
Competition
When two or more organisms rely on the same environmental source
Predation
One organism preying on another (kills and eats it)
Mutualism
A symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit
Commensalism
An association between two organisms where one benefits, and the other remains unharmed
Parasitism
An association between two organisms, this relationship harms one and benefits the other
Symbiosis
A close relationship between two dissimilar organisms (this can be mutualistic, communalistic, or parasitic
Carrying capacity
The number (population) of individuals (in a species) an environment can support without significant negative impacts to the given organism and its environment
Tolerance Range
The range in which a species can tolerate (survive) with a given factor
The species will die if there is too much or not enough of the given factor
(Ex Humans survive in a limited temperature range)
Limiting Factor
A factor that limits a species’ population size
(Ex amount of sunlight for plants)
Primary Succession
Colonization of new areas by organisms
(Life forming in lifeless areas)
Secondary Succession
Colonization of a habitat that once supported life but was abandoned due to an ecological disturbance (natural disaster)
Biodiversity
The variety of living things in an ecosystem and the factors between them
Species Richness (Species diversity)
The number of different species in an ecosystem
Chemical Control
The use of pesticides to control the population of invasive and/or unwanted species