Ecology Flashcards
What’s the definition of population?
All members of one species in a certain place
What’s a community?
Different species that interact in a certain place
What’s an ecosystem?
Everything in a certain place that interacts with each other
What’s the definition of a limiting factor?
Resources necessary for survival or reproduction
What are 3 examples of limiting factors?
Food, habitat, light
What determines population size?
The most limiting factor
What are tolerance limits?
The min and max limits beyond which a species can’t survive
What are 3 examples of tolerance limits?
Temp, moisture level, space
What’s a species with high tolerance?
Squirrels
What’s a species with low tolerance?
Pandas
What’s an environmental indicator?
A species that indicates something about the ecosystem as a whole
What are 2 examples of environmental indicators?
Trout and mayfly nymph
What is divergent evolution and what are 2 other names for it?
Members of the same species evolve in different ways
Allopatric, adaptive radiation
What’s is convergent evolution?
Different species look the same to survive in the environment
What happened to European pepper moths?
Darker moths camouflaged better on the soot-covered trees, the first time humans forced natural selection
What are the 5 layers of the rainforest?
1) ground
2) shrub
3) under-canopy
4) canopy
5) emergent layer
What is a niche generalist? What are 2 examples?
A species with a broad niche, dogs and raccoons
What is a niche specialist? What is one example?
A species with a narrow niche, pandas
What is the law of competitive exclusion?
2 species won’t occupy same niche for long, eventually one dominates the niche
What are producers?
Autotrophs, they produce their own food
What’s a photoautotroph?
A species that gets food from light
What’s a chemoautotroph?
Species that get food from inorganic materials
What are consumers?
Heterotrophs, they eat something
What do scavengers eat?
Dead things they find
What do decomposes/ saprophytes eat?
Dead organics
What do predators eat?
Living things
What is primary productivity?
The number of producers creating biomass in an ecosystem
What 3 ecosystems are the most productive?
Estuartes, swamps, marshes
Which ecosystem is the 2nd most productive?
Rainforests
Which ecosystem is the least productive?
Deserts
What is coevolution?
2 or more species exert pressure on each other to evolve
What is a keystone species?
A species that influences the ecosystem
What 3 types of species are usually keystone species?
Top predators, eco engineers, micro organisms
What are 4 examples of keystone species?
Wolves, beavers, mangrove trees, sea otters
What is symbiosis?
2 or more species interact
What is commensalism? What’s an example?
One species is helped, there’s no effect on the other species
Cattle and cattle egrets
What is mutualism? What’s an example?
Both species are helped
Fungus + algae = lichen
What is parasitism? What are 2 examples?
One species is helped, the other is hurt
Lice, brown-headed cowbirds
What is Batesian mimicry? What’s an example?
Harmless species resembles harmful species
Monarchs and viceroy
What is mullerian mimicry? What’s an example?
2 or more harmful species resemble each other
Bees, wasps, hornets
What’s the definition of abundance of species?
Population of 1 species, increases poleward
What’s the definition of diversity?
Variety of different species, increases around equator
What 3 things do trophic levels measure?
Number of organisms, biomass, energy
What are the 6 levels of the trophic pyramid?
1) primary producers
2) herbivorous consumers
3) 1st level carnivores
4) 2nd level carnivores
5) 3rd level carnivores
6) top carnivores
What’s an example of a primary producer?
Phytoplankton
What’s an example of an herbivorous consumer?
Zooplankton
What’s an example of a 1st level carnivore?
Jellyfish
What’s an example of a 2nd level carnivore?
Larger fish
What’s an example of a 3rd level carnivore?
Squid
What’s an example of a top carnivore?
Sharks
What does the law of 10% say?
10% of the energy eaten will be stored in the organism
A hawk eats 500kg of energy but stores only 50 kg
What’s the difference between a food web and a chain? What’s an example?
A chain is one pathway through a food web
Grass>mouse>snake>owl>eagle
What’s is the #1 law of thermodynamics?
Energy isn’t created or destroyed
What’s an ecotone?
An area where 2 ecosystems meet
What’s the edge effect impact?
Species end up with no suitable habitat bc of fractured area
What’s succession?
Changes in plant or animal communities over time
What is primary succession? What are 2 examples where it happens?
Growth where no ecosystem existed before
Sand bed, volcanic flow
What is a pioneer species? What’s an example?
The first organisms to grow, lichen/ moss
What’s secondary succession? What are 3 examples where it happens?
Growth that follows a disturbance
Fire, farming, drought
What’s the order of primary succession?
Rock Lichen/ moss Grass Shrubs Full sun trees
What’s the order of secondary succession?
Annuals Perennials Shrubs Full sun trees Shade trees
What’s a climax community?
A stable community that resists further change
What are 4 characteristics of an invasive species?
Fast reproduction, no predators, niche generalists, tolerance for poor habitat
What are 3 characteristics of an extinction prone species?
High trophic levels, migratory, narrow habitat/ food requirements
What’s biological control? What’s an example?
Use of a species to control pests
Ladybugs and aphids
What are 2 concerns of biological control?
Overgrowth and infection
What happens in photosynthesis?
Light + H2O + CO2 = sugar
What happens in respiration?
Sugar + oxygen = CO2
What are 3 ways humans influence the carbon cycle?
Fossil fuels, fires, deforestation
What are 2 ways humans influence the phosphorous cycle?
Mining, eutrophication
What are 5 ways humans influence the nitrogen cycle?
Fertilizers, acidification, greenhouse gases, weeds, groundwater contamination
