Ecology Flashcards
decribe how the flow of matter and energy through an ecosystem
engery: one-eay flow
mattef: recycled
distinguish between biotic and abiotic factors an three examples of each
biotic: any living parts of an enviroment ( animals, plants, bacteria)
abiotic: nonliving parts of the enviroment ( sunlight, heat, wind )
what is the main source of energy of all life?
sunlight
why are producers important to an ecosystem?
store energy in forms that make it available to other organisms that eat them
what is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
food webs are more complex
construct a food chain for the following: insect, leaves, hawk, & sparrow
leaves -> insect -> sparrow -> hawk
about how much energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next
10%
Give at least three examples of human activities that upset the balance of the stable ecosystem
mining and burning fossil fuels
the cleaning of land for building and farming
burning of forrests
Manufacture and use of fertilizers
how are fossil fuels formed?
buried organic materials over millions of years
coil oil natural gas
strip mines big hole in the ground
how is the carbon in fossil fuels eventually returned to the atmosphere?
carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by volcanic activity or by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels
what is the main cause of global warming? what gas is given off during this activity?
earth’s temperature is getting warmer see ice is melting sea level is rising
carbon dioxide
(green house effect -> causes earth to get warmer)
list three factors that affect population growth?
birth rate
death rate
the rate at which individuals enter or leave the population
compare exponential and logistic growth
e- growth pattern in which the individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate
l- growth pattern in which a populations growth slows and then stops following a period of exponential growth
define carrying capacity and population density
cc- largest number of individuals of a particular species that a particular enviroment can support
pd- number of indiviuals per unit area
differentiate between density independent and density dependant limiting factors
di- affect all populations in similar ways regardless of population size and density
dd- operate strongly only when population density reaches a certain level
give an example of a density independent limiting factor
hurricanes, droughts, floods
what are three density dependent limiting factors
competition, predation, parasitism
why are predator/prey relations important in an ecosystem?
it may cycle up and down over time
why is an invasive species? examples
species that colonize new lands and negatively effect the enviroment they grow on because of limiting factors
hydrilla , ashboard, zebra muscles
what impact do invasive species have on the ecosystems they invade?
they slowly take over native habitat
what is biodiversity?
total of the variety of organisms in the biosphere
why is biodiversity important?
lots of variations in an ecosystem
contributions to medicine and agriculture and good and services
what are some factors that contribute to species extinction?
natural disasters
shortage of food
not being able to survive well
explain the difference between ecology and evolution
ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organism and between organisms and their physical enviroment
