Ecology Flashcards
A living plant animal or microbe is what
An organism
Define biodiversity
The diversity of a species in a given area
Define ecosystem
A community of organisms interacting with abiotic enviornmental factors
Result of burning and clearing of a tropical forest
Global warming would increase, less oxygen, decrease in biodiversity
Activities with negative impact on environment
Snow Avalanche, resurfacing a road, forest fire, nuclear explosion
Explain how top predators may increase the biodiversity of species lower on the food chain
Decreasing competition
Define non native species
Invasive, not normally found in the area, introduced into an area by humans
What is the most common explanation for population growth by a non native species
They have found many unoccupied niches
Which environmental factors are looked at when monitoring human pollution
Air quality, water quality, ocean currents
The maintenance of self sustaining ecosystem requires what
Cycling of materials between organisms and their environment
Why does each successive feeding level in a pyramid of energy have less biomass
Carnivore biomass is less than producer biomass as a result of energy being lost as it flows from producer to carnivore
What is the most likely succession in the repopulation of an aera
Lichens-grasses-shrubs-trees
What part of the ecosystem is not recycled through the earths ecosystems
Energy
Natural populations numbers increase and decrease around the carrying capacity when they reach a
Steady state
A group of similar looking organisms that breed with each other and produce fertile offspring make up a
Population
Invasive rabbit population increase what is logical reason
Few effective predators
Example of mutualism
E. coli bacteria living on human intestines
Example for parasitism
Heart worms in living dog
If a population grows larger than the carrying capacity
Death rate may rise
Nutrients move through the biosphere through
Biochemical cycles
Probably the most important factors affecting the distribution of biomes are
Climate and climax communities
De composers in nitrogen cycle AIDS in what
Restoration in nirogen compounds to the soil
What is the role of NO3 in the cycle
Used by plants for growth
Largest percentage of available energy found where on pyramid
Bottom
Growth rate
Birth rate to death rate
Biome with most biodiversity
Tropical forest
Exponential growth slows when
Resources become limited
The amount of energy in each tropic level of consumers is
10% of the level below it
Humpback whales and barnacles is example of
Communalism
Driving source for water cycle
Sunlight
What organism is responsible for nitrogen fixation
Bacteria
Nitrate return or soil
Decomposition
Role of species in community
Niche
Extinctions due today are becausw of
Loss of habitat
Detrivore
Feeds on dead animals
Biomass pyramid
Total mass of living tissue at each tropic level
What promotes competition in ecosystem
Limited resources
Water loss in stromata plants
Condensation
Dentrification
Nitrogen in soil goes back to atmosphere
Only eat producers
Herbivores
Primary succession
Community development in an essentially lifeless area with no soil remaining from the previous community
Secondary succession
Community development following the disturbance of a previously existing community (soil still there)
Ex forest fire flood
Pioneer community
First organism to move into new area
Climax
Last community to move in, stays same for very long, little change, highest species diversity
More diversity equals
More stable system
Dominant species
Species with most biomass
Keystone species
Removal has major effects
Ex kelp humans coral
What represents a dead end in food chain
Non native species
Population density
Number or organisms per area
Dispersion
Spacing of a population within an area
Uniform ex
Territorial animals
Black bears
Garden
Clumped
Bison
Pack herd animals
Random
Deer
Quadrat sampling
Known small area to count organisms smaller organisms larger area
Random sampling
Known number and randomly choosing sports
Line transept
Walk in straight line count as pass by
Mark and recapture
Capture tag release
Population growth rate
How fast population grows
Nataliry
Birth rate
Mortality
Death rate
Emigration a
Moving away from pop
Immigration
Moving into pop
Lag phase
No to slow growth
Exponential phase
Rapid uncontrolled growth
R strategists
Small organisms short life span produce many offspring
Controlled by density independent
Exponential growth
K strategists
Larger long life few offspring
Humans elephant follow logistic
Demography
Study of human pop
Pre reproductive
Under 20
Reproductive
20-44
Post reproductive
Above 44
Rapid
Fat to small graph
Slow growth is
Squiggly graph
No growth is s
Same size top bottom whole graph
Inter specific competition
Between organisms of same species
Predation
One organism feeds on other
How energy best recycled
Population
Particular species living Ina certain area
Community
Group of interacting populations that occupy same area
Ecosystem
Biological community with all the biotic and abiotic features
Organism affects biotic
Eats all food disease reproduction
Organism affects biotic
Breathe out co2
