Ecology 3 Flashcards
Bio geochemical cycles
Various nutrient circuits which involve both abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem
Water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus
Nitrogen cycle
Enters atmosphere in gaseous form n2
Nitrogen fixing bacteria
N2 to NH4 through nitrogen fixation
Ammonification
NH4 produced from decomposers when breaking down organic matter
Nitrification
NH4 to nitrite No2 then No3 nitrate
Assimilation
Using of nitrogen in a plant
Denitrifying bacteria
Nitrates back into n2 for release into the atmosphere
Primary succession
Nothing no soil to pioneering community to climax community
Why nothing?
Melting glaciers
Volcanic eruption
Landslides
Secondary succession
Re-establish ecosystem after a disturbance
Disturbance
Flood or fire
Population dispersion
How a population is spread in a area density
Types of population dispersion
Clumped, uniform, random
Random sampling
Take an area divide into quadrants
Capture mark release and recapture (Lincoln Peterson index)
Capture some organisms mark and release them and over a amount of time recapture and keep track of how many have been captured.