Ecology Flashcards
What is independence?
one change can affect all species
What is the biosphere?
the volume of earth and its atmosphere whcih supports life
What is an ecosystem?
All organisms and the nonliving enviroment found in a particular place
What is a community?
All the interacting organisms in an area
What is a population?
Individual organisms of a single species
What is Acclimation?
When an organisms gradually adjusts to the environment
What are conformers?
Organisms that do not regulate their internal conditions; they change with he enviroment
What are regulators?
Use energy to control some of their internal conditions
What is a niche?
a way of life or a role in an ecosystem
What are producers?
Photosynthetic and make carbohydrates by using energy from the sun
What is a food chain?
A single pathway of energy transfer
What is a food web?
A network showing all paths of energy transfer
What are the two main steps in the carbon cycle?
Photosynthesis and cellular respiration
What do nitrogen fixing bacteria do?
Change nitrogen gas into a usable form of nitrogen for plants
What is predation?
Interaction in which one organism captures and eats all or part of another organism
What is mimicry?
Adaptation in which a species gains an advantage by resembling another species or object
What is mutualism?
Both interacting species benefit
What is commensalism?
One species benefits and the other is not affected
What is species richness?
Number of species in a community
What is species evenness?
Relative abundance of each species
Where is species richness greater?
Equator
What is ecological succession?
Change in the species composition of a community over time
What is primary succession?
Assembly of a community on newly created habitat
What is secondary succession?
Change in a community following a disturbance
What is climax community?
When a community reaches a stable end point usually after a disruption
What is tundra?
Cold biome characterized by permafrost under the surface of the ground
What are tropical forests?
Receive abundant rainfall and have stable temps
Which biome has the greatest species richness?
Tropical forest
What is a temperate forest?
Have coniferous trees which seed in cones.
Have deciduous trees, shed leaves annually
What is taiga?
Cold, but warmer than tundra and receive percipitation
What forests are in Taiga?
Coniferous forests
What are temperate grasslands?
Cold winters and hot summers.
What is a savanna?
Tropical grasslands with wet and dry seasons
What is a Chaparral?
Found in coastal regions with warm , dry summers and mild winters
Dense, spiny shrubs
What is a desert?
Receive less than 25cm of rain
Species conserve water
What is the photic zone?
Receives light
What is the aphotic zone?
Does not receive light
What is the Intertidal zone?
Organisms must be able to tolerate drying and pouding by waves
What is the Neritic zone?
Receives nutrients from the bottom of the ocean and from land. Richest in number of species
What is a Estuarie?
Productive area where rivers and streams flow into the sea
What is an Oligotrophic zone?
Clear and lacking in nutrients
What is a limiting nutrient?
Essential thing to species but is scarce
What is the greenhouse effect?
Situation in which heat is retained by greenhouse gasses such as co2
What is symbiosis?
A mutual benefiting relationship between two organisms
What factors define a biome?
Abiotic ones such as climate and assemblage of plants
What are phytoplankton?
Photosynthetic organisms which are found near the surface of ocean and form part of a plankton
What are zooplankton?
Tiny animals which form part of the plankton
What is population density?
Number of induviduals per unit of area
What three factors affect population size?
Number of births
Number of deaths
Number which enter or leave population
What is k?
Carrying capacity
What is carrying capacity?
Largest number of individuals of a population which an environment can support
What is sustainable use?
Way of using resources without depleting them
What is soil erosion?
The wearing away of soil by water and wind
What is desertification?
Productive areas turned to deserts
What is deforestification?
Loss of forests
Why is biodiversity important?
Species have provided us with food, medicines, like pain killers
What is biological magnification?
Substances such as metals are eaten up the food chain and by birds and it is concentrated further
What is the ozone layer?
A large concentration of ozone
What is global warming?
The increase in temp of the biosphere
What are causes of global warming?
Increased amount of co2 by human ativitis and other greenhouse gasses
What are Denitrifying bacteri?
Make nitrogen gas
What are invasive species?
Oranisms which reproduce rapidly. Drives native species to extinction
