Ecology Flashcards
Quantative study
Records the numbers or amounts present
Adaption
Any alteration that improves an organisms chance of survival
Qualitative study
Records the presence or absence of something
Ecosystem
A group of clearly distinguished organisms that interact with their environment as a unit
Ecological niche
The functional role an organism plays in the community
Nutrient recycling
The way in which elements are exchanged between living and non-living organisms
Eutrophication
Addition of nutrients to fresh water in the form of slurry causes algal blooms. When algae die, bacteria decompose use up all oxygen, organisms die
Habitat
The place where a plant or animal lives
Symbiosis
2 organisms of different species live in close association and at least one benefits
Grazing food chain
Sequence of organisms in which each one is eaten by the next member in the chain
Ecology
The study of the interaction between organisms and between organisms and their environment
Exoparasites/ ectoparasites
Live outside the host e.g dog fleas, mosquitoes
Conservation
Wise management of natural resources in order to maintain a wide range of habitats and prevent the death and extinction of organisms
Denitrification
Conversion of nitrates to nitrogen gas
Inter-specific Competition
Occurs between members of a different species
Edaphic Factors
Relate to soil i.e pH, type, moisture,
air + mineral content
Parasitism
Two organisms of different species live in close association with one another and one organism (parasite) obtains it’s food from, to the disadvantage of the second organism (host)
Pyramid of Numbers
Represents the number of organisms at each tropic level
Biosphere
Part of the planet that contains living organisms
Intra-specific Competion
Takes place between members of the same species
Producers
Organisms that carry out photosynthesis
Consumers
Organisms that take in food from other organisms
Population
All members of the same species living in an area
Community
All the different populations in an
area
Contest competition
There is an active physical contest between two individual organisms
Scramble competition
All off the competing individuals get some of the resource
Predator
Organism that catches kills and eats
Prey
Organism eaten
Predation
Catching, killing, eating of an organism
Food Web
Consists of one or more interlinked food chains
Biotic Factors
Living factors
Abiotic Factors
Non-living factors
Nitrification
The conversion of ammonia and ammonium compounds to nitrite then nitrate
Pollution
Any harmful addition to the environment
Pollutants
Substances that cause pollution
Climatic Factors
Refer to weather over a long period of time
Competition
Occurs when organisms actively struggle for a resource that is in short supply
Endoparasites
Live inside the host e.g potato blight, bacteria of disease in the human body
Factors that control the size of a population
Competition, parasitism, predation, symbiosis
Nitrogen fixation
The conversion of nitrogen gas to ammonia (NH3), ammonium (NH4+), or nitrate (NO3-)
