Ecology Flashcards by Jasmine Lawrence

Changes in the way that humans view the world

Paradigm Shifts

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Means that the system can meet the needs not only of our present human population, but also those of the future

Sustainability

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The way that humans view the world

Paradigm

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is the scientific study of the interactions of organisms and their enviroment

Ecology

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is a community of organisms and the physical enviroment in which it lives

Ecosystem

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are nonliving factors which affect life in any ecosystem

Abiotic factors

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Abiotic Factors include:

Space- all organisms require enough space or territory
Temperature- enviromental temperature affects biological processes and the ability of most organisms to regulate their temperature
Oxygen- organisms require oxygen for cellular respiration, which is a process that releases energy from food
Sunlight- is the ultimate source of energy for all photosynthetic organisms which in turn provide the resources for other living things
Water- is necessary for all life
Inorganic and Organic Soil Nutrients- promote the growth of bacteria, fungi, and a host of other organisms beneficial to the soil

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living environment and include all other organisms that interact with the individual both of the same species and all other species

Biotic Factors

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another word for a cold blooded organism

Ectotherm

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another word for a warm blooded organism

Endotherm

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biotic factors include:

Detritus- is decomposing matter
Diesease- infection by fungi, bacteria, virus, and other pathogens
Predator/Prey- is an animal that kills and eats another animal for food, the prey is the hunted animal
Competition- is a struggle for survival that occurs between two organisms either of the same or different species

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INTRAspecific

within the species

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intERspecific

between different species

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biotic relationships in which two different organisms live in close association with each other to the benefit of at least one

Symbiotic Relationships

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is the type of symbiosis resulting in mutual benefit to both of the organisms in the relationship

ex: the fungi penetrate the roots of plants and make soil nitrogen, receiving carbohydrates in return

Mutualism

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relationship in which one organism benefits from the relationship but the other organism seems to neither be harmed nor benefited

Commensalism

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relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed. the organism that benefits is called the parasite, the organism that is harmed is called the host

Parasitism

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is similar to parasitism, one organism benefits but the other is eventually killed a sort of slow death

Parisitoidism

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is where the interaction is beneficial to one species and detrimental to the other

Predation

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The five trophic structures are:

Primary Producers
Primary Consumers
Secondary Consumers
Tertiary Consumers
Decomposers

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refers to the feeding relationships within the ecosystem

Trophic Structures

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another word for a producer

Autotroph

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organisms that obtain nutrients from other organisms, they can not synthesize their own food so they must obtain it ready made

Consumers

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are organisms of decay, these are also called saprobes

Decomposers

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animals that feed only on plants

Herbivores

animals that feed on other animals

Carnivores

animals that feed on both plants and animals

Omnivore

light colors that reflect

Albedo

a biological process, uses the energy of sunlight to manufacture sugar

Photosynthesis

6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight energy -------> C6H12O6 + 6O2 what is this formula called?

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis and ___________ are necessary for each other

Cellular Respiration

C6H12O6 + 6O2 ---> 6CO2 + H2O what does this formula represent?

Cellular Respiration

about ___ % of the energy stored in one trophic level is actually transferred to the next trophic level

dry mass is known as

Biomass

is a graphical representation of the total biomass of all the members of each trophic level

Pyramid of Biomass

means that there is an ecological balance between the various organisms that make up the food web, and because of this balance the ecosystem is self-sustaining over long periods of time

Stability

the total amount of living species

Biodiversity

a ____________ species is considered so important to the stability of the ecosystem, that if there was a decline in that species, the community would not be able to maintain its stability and may even collapse

Keystone

refers to the series of ecological changes that every community undergoes over long periods of time

Ecological sucession

a final, sustainable, stable, or self-perpetuating community, of dominant organisms is known as a _____________ community is also the final stage of ecological sucession

Climax Community

refers to a sequence beginning in an area where there is no soil or previous forms of life

Primary Sucession

occurs in an area in which an existing community has been partially destroyed and its balance upset

Secondary Sucession

Important enviromental conditions that affect sucession include:

* climate * soil * geographical features

Causes of upset in ecological succession are:

* natural | * human influenced

refers to the role that a species plays within its ecosystem

Niche

refers to the place where an organism lives

Habitat

exists in every ecosystem

Competition

competition between the same species is called

intraspecific competition

competition between different species is called

interspecific competition

a wildlife species that no longer exists

Extinct

a wildlife species that no longer exists in canada, but occuring elsewhere

Extirpated

a wildlife species facing a imminent extirpation or extinction

Endangered

a wildlife species that may become a threatened or an endangered wildlife species because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats

Special Concern

a wildlife species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk of extinction given the current circumstances

Not At Risk

are scientists who study the type of chemical compounds that are found in living things

Biochemists

biological processes include:

* respiration * decomposation * excretion * photosynthesis * assimilation

in which the atmosphere is gradually heating up

Enhanced greenhouse effect

is essential for the production of amino acids used to synthesize proteins, and nucleic acids which are used to carry the hereditary or genetic code

Nitrogen

The atmosphere is about ___ % nitrogen gas

Two points of nitrogen fixation:

* lightning | * bacteria

is the process which plants use the nitrate ions to make amino acids, proteins, and DNA

Assimliation

process by which bacteria and some fungi break down these nitrogen compounds to make ammonia

Ammonification

nitrites are changed to nitrogen gas which returns to the atmosphere

Denitrification

The earth's atmosphere contains ___ % oxygen

is a form of oxygen

Ozone

human activites have led to the destruction of the ozone layer, which is called

Ozone Depletion

What is depleting the ozone layer?

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

some of this deflected energy is retained within the atmosphere of the earth by _____________ _______ which prevent the energy from passing into space, thereby preserving heat

Greenhouse gases

A lake that: •is a deep blue •contains high oxygen •low nutrients

Oligotrophic

A lake that: •is shallow and green •has low oxygen levels •high nutrients

Eutrophic

_______________ were used in the manufacture of laundry detergents

Phosphates

include seasonal peaks in temperature, sudden changes in water supply, or sudden but limited human impact

Short term stress

climate change (global warming), infestation by foreign plants and animals (exotic species), and permanent human influence (habitat destruction, acid deposition, etc.) are all examples of _____________________

Long term change

a non-renewable resource

Soil

the uppermost layer known as _____________ and consists of fine textured and organic material known as humus

Topsoil

Below the topsoil is the layer known as the _____________ is more coarse textured and has less organic material

Subsoil

below these two layers is the __________, which is not considered a soil layer, but the support for all the layers above

Bedrock

Factors which affect the ability of soil to support plant life are:

* soil fertility * water storing capacity * soil pH * salinity * porosity to air (oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide)

a large geographical region that has a particular type of climax community

Biome

factors of biome distribution:

* latitude * altitude * soil * temperature * precipitation * light

The four terrestrial biomes are:

* taiga * tundra * deciduous forest * grassland biomes

living organisms that are not wanted around us

Pests

pesticides who were fat-soluble leads to a problem known as

Bioaccumulation

What is IPM?

Integrated Pest Management

makes use of chemical pesticides in the control of insect pests

Chemical control

The first problem of chemical control is:

bioaccumulation

the second problem of chemical control is:

that the use of chemical pesticides kills most but not all of the pest population, leaving those pets which are resistant to reproduce a new population

the third problem of chemical control is:

related to the lack of specificity which means that the chemical pesticide tends to kill beneficial organisms as well as the pest organism targeted

makes use of natural predators, disease organisms, or competitors to reduce the size of the pest population

Biological control

The least three disadvantages of the use of bacteria are:

* the bacteria are washed off * they become less effective after a few days * bacteria tends to be expensive

are chemical "perfumes" produced by the female to attract a male

Pheromones

DDT is

bioaccumulation

fat-soluble pesticides:

- > dissolves in fat - > stay in the food chain because they stay in the fatty cells/tissues of organisms - > passed on to offspring in breastmilk also found in egg shells

water-soluble pesticides:

- > dissolves in water | - > washed away in ecosystem

Nitrogen is

Nitrate is

NO3-

Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria is:

N2 -> NH3 -> NH4+

Nitrifying Bacteria is:

NH4+ -> NO2- -> NO3-

Denitrifying Bacteria is:

- cold desert - precipitation:snow - polar bear, musktax, arctic hare - climax community:shrubs - permafrost:permanently frozen soil

Tundra

- precipitation:rain and snow - climax community: conifers (fir, spruce) - moose, bear, rabbit

Taiga

- moderate precipitation:rain - climax community: deciduous trees--(leaf, bearing, oak, maple) - squirrels, birds, owls, hawks, deer

Temperature Deciduous

- higher precipitation:rain - climax community:grasses - bison, buffalo, deer, rodents, grasshoppers

Grassland