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Ecology Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Ecology

A

The study of the interactions of organisms with their physical environment & with each other

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2
Q

Population

A

Group of individuals of 1 species in 1 area who can interbreed & interact with each other

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3
Q

Community

A

Consists of all organisms living in 1 area

Populations that interact with environment & with each other

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4
Q

Ecosystem

A

All organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic (nonliving factors) with which they interact

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5
Q

Abiotic Factors

A

Nonliving factors

Include temperature, water, sunlight, wind, rocks & soil

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6
Q

Biotic Factors

A

All organisms with which an organisms might react

Birds, prey, insects, predators & parasites

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7
Q

Biosphere

A

The global ecosystem

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8
Q

Niche

A

What an organisms eat & needs to survive

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9
Q

Size (in population)

A

Total number of individuals in a population, 4 limits:

Number of births & deaths, immigration & emigration

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10
Q

Density (in population)

A

Number of individuals per unit area/volume

Use “mark & recapture” technique

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11
Q

Dispersion (in population)

A

Pattern of spacing of individuals within area the population inhabits
Clumped, uniform, random

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12
Q

Biotic Potential

A

The maximum rate at which a population could increase under ideal conditions
Affected By: age, life span, reproductive periods, offspring

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13
Q

Exponential Growth

A

Unrestrained/exponential growth with no predation, parasitism, competition, immigration or emigration in environment with unlimited resources

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14
Q

Carrying Capacity (K)

A

A limit to the number of individuals that can occupy 1 area at a particular time
Can change as environmental conditions change

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15
Q

Limiting Factors

A

Those factor that limit population growth;

density-dependent & density-independent

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16
Q

Density-Dependent Factors

A

Limiting Factor
Those factors that increase directly as the population density increases composition for food, buildup of wastes, predation & disease

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17
Q

Density-Independent Factors

A

Limiting Factor
Those factors whose occurrence is unrelated to the population density
Earthquakes, storms, naturally occurring fires & floods

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18
Q

Competition

A

2 possible outcomes, 1 will evolve & 1 will become extinct
“2 species cannot coexist in a community if they share a niche, that is, if they compete for the same resources”

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19
Q

Predation

A

Animal eating another, or animal eating plants

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20
Q

Aposematic Coloration

A

Defense against predation

Bright colors warns possible predators to avoid them

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21
Q

Batesian Mimicry

A

Defense against predation

Harmless butterfly looks like poisonous one

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22
Q

Mullerian Mimicry

A

Defense against predation

2/more poisonous species resemble each other & gain an advantage from their combined numbers

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23
Q

Carnivores

A

Feeding

Eat other animals

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24
Q

Herbivores

A

Feeding

Eat plants

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25
Q

Detritivores

A

Feeding

Eat dead plants/animals

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26
Q

Mutualism

A

Relationship based of feeding behaviors

Both organisms beneift, +/+

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27
Q

Commensalism

A

Relationship based of feeding behaviors

One organisms benefits, other is neither helped/harmed, +/0

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28
Q

Parasitism

A

Relationship based of feeding behaviors

Parasite benefits, host is harmed, +/-

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29
Q

Food Chain

A

The pathway along which energy is transferred from one trophic/feeding level to another

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30
Q

Producers (Food Chain)

A

Convert light energy to chemical bond energy - have greatest biomass of any trophic level

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31
Q

Primary Consumers (Food Chain)

A

Eat producers - are herbivores

32
Q

Secondary Consumers (Food Chain)

A

Eat primary consumers - are carnivores

33
Q

Tertiary Consumers (Food Chain)

A

Eat secondary consumers - are carnivores

Top of food chain, fewer than any organisms of food chain

34
Q

Productivity

A

The rate at which an organic matter is created by producers

When ecologists study energy transformations within ecosystems

35
Q

Gross Primary Productivity

A

The amount of energy converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis per unit time in an ecosystem

36
Q

Net Primary Production

A

The gross primary productivity minus the energy used by the primary producers for respiration

37
Q

Biological Magnification

A

Organisms at higher trophic levels have a greater concentration of accumulated toxins stored in their bodies than those at lower trophic levels

38
Q

Decomposers

A

Organisms that play a vital role in ecosystem & that recycle dead organic matter

39
Q

Biomes

A

Very large regions of Earth whose distribution depends on amount of rainfall & temperature in an area

40
Q

Marine (Biome)

A

Largest biome
Most stable with temp. that vary little & can absorb lots of heat
Provides most of Earth’s food & oxygen

41
Q

Tropical Rainforest (Biome)

A

Greatest diversty of animal species
Near equator, abundant rainfall with high humidity & stable temp.
Cover 4% of Earth, >20% of Earth’s net carbon fixation

42
Q

Desert

A

Experience most extreme fluctuations in temperature of any biome, hot days & cold nights
<10 in. rainfall/year

43
Q

Temperate Grasslands

A

Cover huge areas in both temperate & tropical regions

Low annual rainfall & uneven occurence so inhospitable for forests

44
Q

Temperate Deciduous Forest

A

Northeast America, south of taiga - trees that drop leaves in winter
Vertical stratification of animals - some on ground, treetops,…
Rich soil due to decomposition of leaf litter

45
Q

Conifer Forest - Taiga or Boreal Forest

A

Northern areas, largest territorial biomes with seasonal temperatures (more than 70C)
Dominated by evergreens, dotted with lakes, ponds,…
Abundance of rainfall, trees dominated landscape, heavy snowfall

46
Q

Tundra (Biome)

A

Far northern parts of North America, Europe, Asia
Permafrost, permanently frozen subsoil
Frozen desert, little rainfall that cant penetrate frozen ground
Treeless, many lakes, ponds,…
Low number of different species

47
Q

Water Cycle

A

Water evaporates from Earth, forms clouds, rains over oceans & land

48
Q

Carbon Cycle

A

Process of photosynthesis & respiration

49
Q

Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria

A

Convert free nitrogen (N2) into ammonium ion (NH4)

50
Q

Nitrifying Bacteria

A

Convert ammonium ion (NH4) into nitrites (NO2) & then into nitrates (NO3)

51
Q

Denitrifying Bacteria

A

Convert nitrates (NO3) into free atmospheric nitrogen (N)

52
Q

Decomposers

A

Bacteria that break down dead organic matter, into ammonia (NH4)

53
Q

Eutrophication

A

Process that cause a runoff from sewage & manure from pastures increase in lakes & cause excessive growth of algae & other plants

54
Q

Greenhouse Effect

A

Carbon dioxde & water vapor in air absorb much of infrared radiation reflecting off Earth, causing average temperature on Earth to rise

55
Q

Global Warming

A

Increase in average temperature of Earth, due to greenhouse effect

56
Q

Pesticides

A

Chemicals that kill undesirable organisms

Save lives by increasing food production & killing animals that carry/cause disease

57
Q

Mark & Recapture

A

Organisms are captured, tagged & then released

Some time later, the same process is repeated & a special formula is used to determine the density of the population

58
Q

Factors that can cause a population crash

A

Predation, parasitism, severe competition, an end to resources, and/or too much waste that poisons the environment

59
Q

r-Strategists

A

Opportunistic, reproduce rapidly when the environment is uncrowded & resources are vast

60
Q

K-Strategists

A

Tend to maximize population size near the carrying capacity for an environment

61
Q

Competitive Exclusion Principle

A

2 species cannot coexist in a community if they share a niche, that is, if they compete for the same resources

62
Q

Resource Partitioning

A

Instead of extinction, a species will evolve through natural selection to exploit different resources

63
Q

Character Displacement

A

Instead of extinction

Divergence of adaption, like finches on Galapagos Islands

64
Q

Diatoms (Producer)

A

Photosynthetic algae that drift in the oceans

65
Q

Phytoplankton (Producer)

A

Algae & photosynthetic bacteria that drift passively in aquatic environment

66
Q

Ecological Succession

A

Process of sequential rebuilding of the ecosystem after drastic destruction of a community or an entire ecosystem

67
Q

Primary Ecological Succession

A

Soil building

Rebuilding in a lifeless area where even soil has been removed

68
Q

Pioneer Organisms

A

First organisms to inhabit a barren area

69
Q

Climax Community

A

Final stable community that remains until another blowout

70
Q

Blowout

A

A disaster that destroys the ecosystem

71
Q

Secondary Succession

A

When an existing community has been cleared by some disturbance that leaves the soil intact

72
Q

Epiphytes

A

Photosynthetic plants that grow on other trees rather than supporting themselves

73
Q

Vertical Stratification

A

Some species live on ground, some in low branches, some in the treetops

74
Q

Eutrophication

(as photosynthetic organisms die) FIRST

A

Organic material accumulates on the lake bottom & reduce the depth of the lake

75
Q

Eutrophication

(as photosynthetic organisms die) SECOND

A

Detritivores use up oxygen as they decompose the dead organic matter
Impossible for fish to live, decomposers expand activity & oxygen decrease until lake disappears

76
Q

Acid Rain

A

Nitrogen & sulfur pollutants in the air turn into nitric, nitrous, sulfurous & sulfuric acids
Cause pH of rain to be less than 5.6

77
Q

Biological Control

A

Crop Rotation
Introduce natural enemies of the pests
Use natural plant toxins instead of synthetic ones
Use insect birth control

Biology (17 decks)

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