Ecology Flashcards
What is ecology?
The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
What are the two types of interactions?
Biotic and abiotic factors.
How does temperature impact with how we behave?
Feeling cold/feeling hot is interaction.
What are abiotic factors?
Factors that involve non living organisms.
What are biotic factors?
Factors that involve living organisms.
What are examples of abiotic factors?
water, salt, food, temperature
What are biotic factors?
animals and plants
What are the four levels of organization?
- Population
- Community
- Ecosystem
- Biosphere
What is a population?
A group of individuals all of the same species living in a particular geographic area.
What is a community?
All the populations living in a given area.
What is an ecosystem?
The community plus the nonliving environment.
What is a biosphere?
All the ecosystems .
What is a niche?
The functional role and organism plays in an ecosystem.
What are examples of niches?
- how you interact with the people around you
- food-what you eat and when you eat it
- Where you live.
What is the survivorship curve?
When there’s a low infant mortality and the offspring have a good chance of surviving. Most individuals die of old age. There’s a low birth rate and a high level parental care.
What is the infant mortality of growth curve one?
Low because they survive well into adulthood.
What kind of animal does the 1st growth curve represent?
Humans, dogs, and other higher mammals.
What is the birth rate of the survorship curve 1?
low
What is the level of parental care in survivorship1?
high
What is the rate of death for the second curve?
constant rate of death
What are examples of organisms in population curve 2?
small mammals, plants
What is the birth rate of survivorship curve 3?
produces a lot of offsprings
What is the parental care of 3 like?
little or no parental care
What are examples of organisms in 3?
fish, trees
What do they produce in large numbers?
Thye produce in large numbers because most of the offsprings die before they are born
What is the first growth curve?
exponential growth curve
What is the exponential growth curve?
The population grows bigger and faster
What is higher in the exponential growth rate?
birth rate
Under what circumstance does this circumstance happen?
abundant water
food
no pollution
What happens as the population increases?
The population ruins their perfect environment
What is the carrying capacity?
max population an organism can support with no lasting damage
How long can organism stay at its carrying capacity?
not long
What is the exponential growth with a crash?
When the crash takes place long before it reaches the K because of lack of resources
What is density?
How crowded a population can be