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Ecology Flashcards

1
Q

Ecology

A

The study of the interactions between organisms and their environment

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2
Q

Two components of an organisms’s enviroment:

A

Physical (abiotic)

Living (biotic)

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3
Q

Physical environment includes:

A

climate, temperature, availability of light and water, and the local topology.

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4
Q

Biotic environment

A

All living things that directly or indirectly influence the life of the organism.

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5
Q

Organism

A

Individual unit of an ecological system.

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6
Q

Population

A

Group of organisms of the same species living together in a given location.

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7
Q

Species

A

Any group of similar organisms that are capable of reproducing with each other.

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8
Q

Community

A

Populations of different plants and animal species interacting with each other in a given encironment

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9
Q

Biotic environment

A

Only includes the population and not the physical environments

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10
Q

Ecosystem

A

Includes the community and the environment.

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11
Q

Biosphere

A

Includes all portions of the planet that support life- the atmosphere, the lithosphere (rock and soul surface) and the hydrosphere (oceans). RELATIVELY THIN LAYER

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12
Q

Photic zone

A

In water- the top layer through which light can penetrate. Where all of the photosynthesis takes place.

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13
Q

Aphotic zone

A

only animal life and other heterotrophic life exist

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14
Q

What is soil affected by?

A

Acidity
Texture of soil
Minerals (nitrates and phosphates) affect the type of vegetation that can be supported
Humus quantity is determined by the amount of decaying plant and animal life in soil.

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15
Q

Niche

A

Defines the functional role of an organism in its ecosystem.

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16
Q

Habitat

A

The latter is the physical place where an organism lives.

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17
Q

What does the niche describe?

A

What the organism eats, where and how it obtains its food, what climatic factors it can tolerate and which are optimal the nature of its parasites and predatos, where and how it reproduces and so on.

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18
Q

True or false: two organisms can occupy the same niche

A

FALSE

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19
Q

ORGANISMS occupying the same niche compete:

A

for food, water, light, oxygen space, minerals, and reproductive sites.

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20
Q

Why do herbivores have long digestive tracts?

A

This provides greater surface area and time for digestion.

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21
Q

Symbiotic bacteria of herbivores

A

Capable of digesting cellulose- inhabit the digestive tracts if herbivores.

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22
Q

Symbiosis

A

Close interrelationship of two different species.

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23
Q

what kind of organism if most adept at defense?

A

Herbivores because they are more often prey.

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24
Q

Obligatory symbiotic relationship:

A

One or both organisms cannot survive without the other.

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25
Q

Commensalism

A

When one organism is benefited by the association and the other is not affected.

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26
Q

Mututalism

A

Both organisms derive some benefit.

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27
Q

Parasitism

A

Parasite benefits at the expense of the host.

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28
Q

Ectoparasits

A

Use suckers or clamps

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29
Q

Endoparasites

A

Live within the host

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30
Q

All viruses:

A

parasites. Nonfunctional without the host

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31
Q

Disease bacteria and animals

A

Most bacteria are either chemosynthetic or saprophytic.

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32
Q

Saprophytic

A

Feed on decaying or dead matter

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33
Q

Disease fungi and animals

A

Most fungi are saprophytic

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34
Q

Worms and animals

A

Tapeworm. SUCCESSFUL parasites do not kill their host. The more dangerous the parasite, the less chance it will survive.

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35
Q

Predation includes both:

A

herbivores and carnivores

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36
Q

Saprophytism

A

Includes protists and fungi that decompose dead organic matter externally. Mold, mushrooms, bacteria of decay and slime molds

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37
Q

Scavengers

A

Are animals that consume that consume dead animals
Bacteria of decay may be considered scavengers
Vulture and hyena

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38
Q

What kind of environment do saltwater fish live in?

A

Hyperosmotic environment- lose water and take in salt. Drink constantly and excrete salt across their gills

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39
Q

What kind of environment do freshwater fish live in?

A

Hypoosmotic environment- intake of excess water and excessive salt loss. Seldom drink water, absorb salkts and excrete dilute urine.

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40
Q

Insects exctrete:

A

Solid uric acid crystals to converse water.

41
Q

Cuticles are ___ and prevent

A

WAXY, which prevents water loss from plants

42
Q

Why do leaves shed leaves in the winter?

A

To avoid water loss

43
Q

Desert plants have___ to limit water loss

A

spiny leaves, extra thick cuticles and only few stomata and fleshy stems to store water in.

44
Q

Poikilothermic

A

Cold blooded animals and plants, most of their heat energy escapes to the environment.

Body temperature close to that of their surroundings

45
Q

Homeothermic

A

Warm blooded- mammals and birds. Make use of the heat produced as a consequence of respiration

46
Q

How much heat produced from cellular respiration is transferred to ATP bonds?

A

only a fraction

60% of heat produced is given off as heat.

47
Q

Types of consumers of the food chain:

A

Producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers and decomposers.

48
Q

Producers are:

A

Autotrophic green plants and chemosynthetic bacteria- example :wheat plant

49
Q

Primary consumers

A

Herbivores

50
Q

Secondary consumers

A

Animals that consume the primary consumers- carnivoes

51
Q

Tertiary consumers

A

Animals that feed on secondary consumers

52
Q

Decomposers

A

Saprophytic organisms are included. Bacteria and fungi.

53
Q

Food web

A

The food chain is not a simple chain but an intricate web because almost every species is consumed by one or more other species.

54
Q

The greater # of pathways on the food web, the more ____ the commnity

A

STABLE

55
Q

Pyramid of energy

A

Each member of a food chain uses some energy it obtains from its food for its own metabolism and loses some additional energy in the form of heat.

56
Q

What contains the greatest amount of energy in the food chain

A

The producers at the bottom on the pyramid.

57
Q

What contains the least amount of energy in the food pyramid?

A

The consumers at the top.

58
Q

Pyramid of mass

A

Since energy is lost at each level, each level can support a smaller biomass.

59
Q

Pyramid of numbers

A

Consumer organisms that are higher in the food chain are usually larger and heavier than those farther down.

60
Q

In general, as you go up the pyramid, what happens?

A

Less energy content, less mass, and fewer organisms.

61
Q

What is the material cycle?

A

Material is cycles and recycled between organisms and their environments, passing from inorganic forms to organic forms and them back to the inorganic forms

62
Q

What the the nitrogen cycle?

A

An essential component of amino acids and nucleic acids, which are the building blocks for all living things.

63
Q

Elemental nitrogen

A

Chemically inert, cannot be used by most organisms. Lighting and N-fixing bacteria make it usable into nitrates.

64
Q

Nitrates:

A

Are absorbed by plants and synthesize specific animal proteins from the plant proteins. When animals and plants die, thye give off nitrogenous wastes

65
Q

Nitrogen locked up in wastes

A

Is released by the action of the bacteria of decay, which convert the proteins into ammonia

66
Q

Ammonica

A

1- Nitrified to nitrites by chemosynthetic bacteria and then to usable nitrates by nitrifying bacteria.
2. Rest is denitrified

67
Q

Denitrified

A

Ammonia is broken down to release free nitrogen, which returns to the beginning of the cycle.

68
Q

What are the four types of bacteria involved in the nitrogen cycle?

A

Decay, nitrifying, denitrifying, nitrogren-fixing.

The bacteria have no use for excretory ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and nitrogen they produce. Essential for other living organisms.

69
Q

Carbon cycle

A

Gaseous CO2 enters the living world when plants use it to produce glucose via photosynthesis

Carbon atom from CO2 are bonded to hydrogen and other carbon atoms to form glucose- the plants uses the glucose to make starch, proteins, and fat.

Animals eat plants and use the digested nutrients to form carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Metabolically produced CO2 is released to the air. Rest of the organic carbon remains locked within an organism until its death at which time bacteria decay and return to CO2 air.

70
Q

What does a stable ecosystem require?

A

Constant energy source, and a living system incorporating this energy into organic compounds.

71
Q

Cycling

A

Materials between in the living system and its environment is critical.

72
Q

Climax community

A

Stable, living part of the ecosystem

73
Q

What happens once the equilibrium is upset?

A

New climax condition are produced and new communities will be established in the ecosystem.

74
Q

Ecological succession

A

Orderly process by which one biotic community replaces or succeeds another climax community is established

75
Q

Sere

A

Each community state- identified by the dominant species

76
Q

Successive communities must be able to

A

Survive in the environment that lead to the demise of the community preceding it.

77
Q

The evolutionary origin of plants and animals are:

A

traced to the seas

78
Q

Biome

A

Each geographic region is inhabited by a distinct community called a biome.

79
Q

How are land biomes characterized and named?

A

By the climax vegetation of the region

80
Q

What does the climax vegetation of the region determine?

A

The climax animal population.

81
Q

Desert biome

A

Only small plants and animals, which live in burrows

82
Q

Grassland biome

A

Low rainfall. No shelter for herbivores from carnivores. Animals have long legs and hooves. Prairies, pampas and steppes

83
Q

Tropical rainforest biome

A

Jungles. High temperatures and torrential rains. Dense growth of vegetation that does not shed its leaves.

Sunlight doesn’t each flood- which is inhabited by saprophytes living off dead organic material

84
Q

Epiphytes

A

Plants growing on other plants

85
Q

Temperate deciduous forest biome

A

Cold winters, warm summers, and moderate rainfall. Leaves shed during winter. Deer, fox, woodchuck and squirrel.

86
Q

Temperate coniferous forest biome

A

Cold, dry, and inhabited by fir, pine, and spruce trees.

87
Q

Taiga biome

A

Less rainfall than temperate forest, have long, cold winters and are inhabited by a single coniferous tree. Moose.

88
Q

Tundra biome

A

Treeless, frozen plain. Short summer. Lichens, moss, polar bears, musk oxen , and artic hens

89
Q

Polar

A

frozen no vegetation and terrestrial animals. Animals that do inhabit polar regions generally live near the polar oceans

90
Q

As much as 90% of earth’s food and oxygen production happens in the:

A

water

91
Q

True or false: plants control a lot of aquatic biomes.

A

FALSE

92
Q

Two types of major aquatic biomes

A

marine and freshwater

93
Q

Intertidal zone

A

Type of marine zone. Region exposed at low tides that undergoes variations in temperature and periods of dryness. Algae, sponges, clams snails, sea urchins, starfish, and crabs.

94
Q

Littoral zone

A

Marine. Continental shelf that contains ocean area with depths up to 600 feet and extends several hundred miles from shores. Algae, crabs and some fish.

95
Q

Pelagic zone

A

Region typical of the open seas and can be divided into photic and aphotic.

96
Q

Photic zone

A

Sunlit layer. 250-600 feet. Plankton: passively drifting masses of microscopic photosynthetic and heterotrophic organisms (sharks, fish, whales) and nekton. DIATOM: algae

97
Q

Aphotic zone

A

No sun. No photosynthesis. Only heterotrophs.

Nektons and benthos. Fiercely competitive.

98
Q

Freshwater biomes

A

Rivers lakes ponds and marshes: links between ocean and land

99
Q

What are factors affecting life in marine biomes?

A

Temperatre, transparency, depth of water, available CO2 and oxygen, and salt concentration

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