Ecology Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

Photosynthesis

A

the process by which green plants and certain other organisms transform light energy into chemical energy
(producers creating their own energy)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Cellular Respiration

A

The process of all living organisms creating ATP (usable energy)
(Cells derive energy from glucose)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Photosynthesis Chemical Equation

A

Carbon Dioxide + Water -> Glucose + Oxygen
6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Cellular Respiration Chemical Equation

A

C6H12O6 + 6O2 –> 6CO2 + 6H2O + Chemical Energy (in ATP)
Glucose + Oxygen –> Carbon Dioxide + Water + Chemical energy (ATP)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Producer

A

An organism that makes its own food (through photosynthesis) (often at the bottom of the food chain)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Consumer

A

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)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Food Chain

A

A categorization of animals in any ecosystem, showing energy rising through levels and the trophic levels

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Trophic levels

A

The first level (producers), and upper levels (consumers), it sometimes include decomposers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Food Web

A

It consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem (shows energy transfer between organisms)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Biogeochemical Cycles

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Nutrient Cycles

A

It is a system where energy and matter are transferred between living organisms (biotic) and non-living parts (abiotic) of the environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Water cycle

A

Movement of water in different phases
Evaporation -> Condensation -> Precipitation -> Collection

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Carbon cycle

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Nitrogen cycle

A

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)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Biotic factor

A

Living organisms within an ecosystem

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Abiotic factor

A

Non-living things within an ecosystem (sunlight, air, carbon etc)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Competition

A

When two or more organisms rely on the same environmental source

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Predation

A

One organism preying on another (kills and eats it)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Mutualism

A

A symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Commensalism

A

An association between two organisms where one benefits, and the other remains unharmed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Parasitism

A

An association between two organisms, this relationship harms one and benefits the other

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Symbiosis

A

A close relationship between two dissimilar organisms (this can be mutualistic, communalistic, or parasitic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Carrying capacity

A

The number (population) of individuals (in a species) an environment can support without significant negative impacts to the given organism and its environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Tolerance Range

A

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)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Limiting Factor

A

A factor that limits a species’ population size
(Ex amount of sunlight for plants)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Primary Succession

A

Colonization of new areas by organisms
(Life forming in lifeless areas)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Secondary Succession

A

Colonization of a habitat that once supported life but was abandoned due to an ecological disturbance (natural disaster)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Biodiversity

A

The variety of living things in an ecosystem and the factors between them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Species Richness (Species diversity)

A

The number of different species in an ecosystem

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Chemical Control

A

The use of pesticides to control the population of invasive and/or unwanted species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Mechanical Control

A

The use of physical tools (fences, barriers) to control the population of unwanted/invasive species

32
Q

Biological Control

A

The addition of a new species to an ecosystem to balance invasive species populations

33
Q

Acid Precipitation

A

Acid rain is made up of sulphuric acid or nitric acid

34
Q

Clear cutting

A

The removal (cutting) of most trees in an area

35
Q

Shelterwood Cutting

A

The cutting of old parts of the forest to allow the natural establishment of seedlings under the cover of remaining trees

36
Q

Selective Cutting

A

The cutting of specific (inferior or defective) trees to allow the remaining trees more resources

37
Q

Natural fertilizers

A

Fertilizers derived from organic matter

38
Q

Synthetic Fertilizers

A

Fertilizers formed from human-made compounds (ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate, and potassium sulphate)

39
Q

No-Tillage

A

A farming technique (used on sloped terrain) which leaves soil untouched after a harvest to retain nutrients and reduce soil compaction.

40
Q

Crop rotation

A

The process of growing different crops sequentially on the same plot of land to improve soil health, optimize nutrients in the soil, and combat pest and weed pressure

41
Q

Crop Selection

A

Farmers select what crop to grow based on climate, geography, market demand, crop rotation, resource availability, and sustainability

41
Q

Pesticide Resistance

A

Natural selection causes the more resistant pests to survive and reproduce making the pesticides less effective

42
Q

Atmosphere

A

The layers of gases that surround planets (earth), are mostly made up of Nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%)
-helps keep Earth at moderate temperatures
-The ozone layer protects us against UV radiation

43
Q

Lithosphere (Geosphere)

A

-Is the outermost shell of the earth (includes everything on earth’s surface ie mountains, beaches, ocean floor etc)
-100 km thick, including the crust and solid top layer of the mantle and everything beneath it (molten rock)

44
Q

Hydrosphere

A

-Water covers approx 70% of earth’s surface
-Oceans, lakes, ponds, rivers, etc

45
Q

Biosphere

A

-Covers everywhere life is found
-Bacteria deep in the earth’s crust, microorganisms floating in the air, animals and plants etc

46
Q

Ecosystem

A

A geographic area where plants, animals and other organisms (biotic), as well as weather (chemical) and landscape (physical environment) (abiotic), work together to form a bubble of life

47
Q

Sustainable ecosystem

A

One that, over the normal cycle of disturbance events, maintains its characteristic diversity of major functional groups, productivity, and rates of biogeochemical cycling

48
Q

Radiant energy

A

Energy that is transmitted without mass (radiation)
Ie Electromagnetic radiation (Eg light, xrays etc)

49
Q

Light Energy

A

Visible forms of radiant energy (visible spectrum)

50
Q

Thermal Energy

A

An increase in temperature causes atoms/molecules to move faster (energy transferred when heating/cooling)

51
Q

Ecological Niche

A

The role or position occupied by a species in an ecosystem
(Ex Anteaters eat ants)

52
Q

Biome

A

An area classified according to the species that live in that location
Ex aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra

53
Q

Oligotrophic

A

Having a deficiency of plant nutrients that is usually accompanied by an abundance of dissolved oxygen
-A nutrient-poor body of water

54
Q

Eutrophic

A

Rich in organic and mineral nutrients and supports an abundant plant life, which in the process of decaying depletes the oxygen supply for animal life
-A nutrient-rich body of water

55
Q

Watershed (Drainage basin)

A

An area of land that catches rain and snow and drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater

56
Q

Equilibrium ecosystem

A

The ecosystem has a balance between the organisms and their needed resources

57
Q

Ecological Succession

A

The process by which the mix of species and habitat in an area changes over time

58
Q

Extirpated

A

(Local extinction) Extinction of a species in a chosen geographical region

59
Q

Endangered

A

A species on the brink of extinction or extirpation

60
Q

Special concern species

A

A wildlife species that may become a threatened or an endangered species because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats

61
Q

Threatened

A

A species that is likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed

62
Q

Invasive Species

A

A species that is introduced that harms its new environment (ecosystem)

63
Q

Bioremediation

A

A branch of biotechnology that employs the use of living organisms such as microbes and bacteria to decontaminate affected areas

64
Q

Agroecosystem

A

A modified natural ecosystem managed by humans to create food and other agricultural purposes

65
Q

Monoculture

A

The practice of growing a single crop on a plot of land

66
Q

Pest

A

A destructive insect or other animal that attacks crops, food, & livestock

67
Q

Leeching

A

The process by which components are removed from the soil as water passes through it
Ex Removing pesticides from crops as it rains (this water is now poisonous to the local community)

68
Q

Broad-Spectrum Pesticide

A

A pesticide that is effective against many different pest species

69
Q

Narrow-Spectrum Pesticide

A

A pesticide only effective against a few pest species

70
Q

Bioaccumulation

A

The concentration of a substance, such as a pesticide, in the body of an organism

71
Q

Bioamplification

A

The increase in the concentration of a substance (pesticide) as you move up on a food chain (ie higher trophic organisms accumulate more pesticide)

72
Q

Organic Farming

A

A system of agriculture that uses non-synthetic pesticides and fertilizers (Ie organic pesticides and fertilizers)

73
Q

Integrated Pest Management

A

A strategy to control pests that uses a combination of physical, chemical and biological controls

74
Q

Genetic diversity

A

Is the variety among individuals within a species.

75
Q

Energy flow in an ecosystem

A

It flows from the sun and abiotic (chemical) components to producers (plants) to consumers to decomposers to chemicals again

76
Q

Trophic pyramid

A

The energy available in higher trophic levels is much less than in lower ones
If the 1st trophic level (producers) produces 1000 energy, the 2nd trophic level receives 100 energy and the 3rd 10 energy etc