Ecology Flashcards
Ecology
Is the study how living things relate to each other and to their environment
Community
All the plants and animals living in a particular place
Ecosystem
A community of living organisms interacting with one another and their non living environment within a particular arar
Biosphere
Is that part of the earth I habituated by living organisms
Population
A group of organisms of the same species
Habitat
Is the place within the ecosystem where an organism lives and where it is adapted
Abiotic factors
Non living factors
Temp, light intensity, PH, air speed, water current
Biotic factors
Living factors
Plants for food and shelter, predators, decomposers, prey, pollinators
Climatic factors
Weather conditions
Temp, rainfall, humidity, wind, day length
Edaphic
Soil
Soil type, soil PH, mineral content
Aquatic factors
Light penetration, wave action, currents
Sun
Primary source of energy
Energy flow
The pathway of energy transfer from one organism to the next in an ecosystem due to feeding
Feeding
Allows energy to glow from one organism to another
Food chain
Is a feeding relationship between organism through which energy can flow
Grazing food chain
One where the initial plant is living
Grass–>grasshoppers–>frogs–>hawks
Detritus food chain
Is one where the chain begins with dead organic matter and animal waste
Food web
A set of interconnecting food chains in a habitat
Producers
Are organisms capable of making their own food by photosynthesis
Primary producers
The first members of a food chain
Consumers
Are organisms that feed on other organisms
Consumers
Primary feed on producers
Secondary feed on primary
Tertiary feed on secondary
Tropic level
Position of an organism in a food chain
Pyramid of numbers
A diagram that represents the numbers of organism of each tropic level in a food chain
Niche
The functional rate or an organism in an ecosystem
Nutrient recycling
The way in which dead matter is broken down so that minerals in it are returned to the environment to be used again by new growing organisms in a continuous cycle
Role of bacteria in nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen fixing bacteria convert nitrogen gas into nitrates
Bacteria involved in decomposition convert nitrogen containing compounds into ammonia
Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia and nitrites and nitrates
Population
All the individuals of the same species living in a habitat
Factors that control population
Competition
Predation
Parasitism
Symbiosis
Competition
Is when organisms ‘fight’ for the same resource which is in limited supply
Type of competition
Contest
Scramble
Contest competition
An active physical confrontation between two organisms where one wins the resource
Scramble competition
Is where each organism tries to acquire as much as the resource as possible, all individuals get some of the resource
Predator
An animal that catches kills and eats other animals
Prey
Is the organism that a predator kills for food
Effects of predation
Predation stabilised the community
Predators control the number of herbivores and prevent overgrazing
Predators eliminate less well adapted prey
Predator adaptions
Good sighting/ sense of smell- enables predators to locate prey -hawk
Mouthparts- suited to catching certain prey-ladybird
Camouflage-to conceal predator while hunting
Migration- to find food which is in short supply
Ability to change diet- in the event of reduced numbers of prey
Symbiosis
Where individuals of one species live near on or in individuals of another species for at least part of their life cycle
Commensalism
Where one organism benefits from the relationship but has no effect on the other species
Eg nest in trees
Mutualism
where both types of organism in a relationship benefit from it
Eg lichen an alga and a fungus
Parasite
An organism that lives on or in another loving organism from which it obtains all its nutrition to the detriment of the host
Host
The organism that a parasite lives on or in
Exoparasites
Parasites outside of body
Endoparasite
Parasite inside the body
Population dynamics
Refers to the factors that cause changed to the numbers in a population
Factors contribute to predator-prey relationships
Availability and abundance of food
Movement if prey and predators
Factors affecting human population
Famine
War
Disease
Contraception
Famine
Lack of food leads to malnutrition and death due to disease
Move about food distribution then food shortage
Disease
Advances in disease control have helped reduce the death rate and increase human numbers
Vaccines
Antibiotics
War
Reduces population
Temporary effects
Contraception
Incred availability has reduced birth rates since 1960s
Human impact on an Eco system beneficial: agriculture
Increased food production
Breeding genetic engineering of new species
Pest resistant crops
Human impact on an Eco system beneficial: health +medicine
Improved foot preparation
Better water quality
Improved sewage
Human impact on an Eco system beneficial: transport+communication
Tech has improved availability of info
- weather
- oil pollution
- animal migration
Human impact on an Eco system harmful: pollution
Transport
Electricity generation
Poor waste disposal
Human impact on an Eco system harmful: shortage of certain resources
Answer^
Human impact on an Eco system harmful: extinction of some species
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Pollution
Putting any substance into the environment that is harmful to life
Pollutant
Substance which when out into the environment causes pollution
Waste management
Problems with waste disposal Spreads disease Contaminated water supplies Eutrophication Land fill sites
Eutrophication
Is the over enrichment of water with nutrients
Conservation
Protection and wise management of our environment
Benefits of conservation
Existing environments are maintained
Endangered species are preserved
Balance of nature is maintained
Pollution and its effects are reduced
decomposers
Break down matter in landfill site
Mixed farming
Is a farming system where both are arable and pastoral farming is carried out
Climate
Long term prevailing conditions
Weather
Short term atmospheric conditions
