Ecology - 4.1 Species, Communities and Ecosystems Flashcards
Ecology
study of relationships between living organisms and their environment
Species
group(s) of organisms that:
- possess similar physiological, morphological and behavioural characteristics
- can interbreed to produce fertile offspring
- are genetically distinct from one another
- have a common phylogeny (evolutionary history)
- have either an autotrophic or heterotrophic method of nutrition
Population
group(s) of organisms of the same species, living in the same area, capable of interbreeding
Community
group(s) of populations living and interacting w/ each other in a habitat
Ecosystem
community and its interactions w/ an abiotic (non-biological) environment - they have the potential to be sustainable over long periods of time
Biomes
Regions w/ similar climate, (weather, temp, etc.) animals and plants
Biosphere
total of all areas where things are found eg. deep ocean, the lower part of the atmosphere
environment
the biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors that affect organisms
Abiotic factors
physical factors (ie. non-living) eg. light, wind, temp, etc
Biotic factors
the living environment/factors (eg. food supply/chain, predators etc.)
Habitat
the environment in which a certain species normally lives/are found
species and reproduction
members of a species may be reproductively isolated in separate populations
- extinct populations CAN NOT interbreed (normally as classified on morphological grounds)
- Asexually reproducing organisms CAN NOT interbreed (normally as classified on basis of appearance/biochemical similarities)
Hybrids
organisms that are combined from 2 different species - USUALLY INFERTILE
Autotrophy / autotrophs
eg. flowers
- self-feeding
- organisms that produce their own food from organic molecules
- obtains inorganic nutrients from the abiotic environments
photoautotrophic (producer)
- produce energy via photosynthesis (ie light) - light energy is absorbed and converted to chemical energy
- light energy is used to make organic compounds (eg. sugars) from inorganic sources (eg. CO2)
chemoautotrophy (producer)
- produce energy via chemosynthesis (ie via chemicals)
heterotrophy
- other source feeding - ingest these organic compounds and use them for growth, respiration by releasing inorganic by-products (slipt into consumers and decomposers)
consumer
ingest organic matter which is living or recently killed
decomposer
derive energy from non-living organic matter - not only a source of energy to other heterotrophs but are important for cycling inorganic chemicals
primary eat producers/consumers (consumer)
herbivores
secondary eat other consumers (consumer)
carnivores and omnivores
detritivores (decomposer/heterotrophy)
eg. worms
ingests non-living organic matter by INTERNAL digestion (ie eating it)
saprotrophs (decomposer/heterotrophy)
eg. bacteria / fungi
ingests non-living organic matter by EXTERNAL digestion (ie. via through secreting digestive enzymes that degrade food material and then absorbed through diffusion)
feeding method
- the process in which energy and nutrients is carried throughout the food chain.
- the return of inorganic nutrients to soil ensures the continual supply of raw materials for the autotrophs
Nutrient cycle
- the supply of inorganic nutrients is maintained by nutrient cycling
- refer to notes for diagram
the carbon cycle
- refer to notes for diagram + explanation
mesocosms
best in open tanks / sealed glass vessels
- allows you to study a range of ecosystems
- model mini-ecosystem used to show that an ecosystem has the potential to be sustainable over long periods of time
- an experiment used to bring a small part of the natural environment under controlled conditions (provide a link between observational field studies and controlled laboratory experiments)
= THEY MUST BE SELF SUSTAINING (respiration generate H2O and CO2)
