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Grade Nine - Science > Ecology > Flashcards

Ecology Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

what is an organism?

A

a single biotic element; an individual life form

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2
Q

what is a population?

A

a group of members of the same species that live in the same area

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3
Q

what is a community?

A

made up of populations of different species that live and interact in an area

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4
Q

what is an ecosystem?

A

all living and nonliving things in an area, and how they interact with each other

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5
Q

what is a biome?

A

ex. tundra, rainforest, grassland, etc.

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6
Q

what is the lithosphere?

A

earth’s solid outer layer; includes mountains, ocean floors, and the rest of the earth’s solid surface; provides habitat and food for animals, allows plants to anchor and grow

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7
Q

what is the atmosphere?

A

gas layer around our planet; includes nitrogen, oxygen, water vapour, carbon dioxide, etc.; regulates surface temperature and filters radiation

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8
Q

what is the hydrosphere?

A

all the water on, above or below the earth’s surface; includes oceans, lakes, ice, clouds, and groundwater

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9
Q

what is a natural ecosystem?

A

ecosystems that are NOT created by humans; forest, pond, marsh, etc.

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10
Q

what is sustainability?

A

how sustainable an ecosystem is

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11
Q

what does abiotic mean?

A

a non-living organism

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12
Q

what does biotic mean?

A

a living organism

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13
Q

what is photosynthesis?

A

the process of using sunlight energy and converting it to chemical energy in the form of sugar (glucose)

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14
Q

what is cellular respiration?

A

the process by which the chemical energy contained in sugars (glucose) is converted to a usable form by organisms

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15
Q

what is a species?

A

a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding

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16
Q

what is the carbon cycle?

A

a series of processes that moves carbon dioxide between abiotic and biotic parts of an ecosystem

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17
Q

what is a carnivore?

A

consumers that eat mostly meat

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18
Q

what is a herbivore?

A

consumers that feed on plants only

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19
Q

what is an omnivore?

A

consumers that eat both plants and animals

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20
Q

what are scavengers?

A

carnivores that eat remains of dead animals

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21
Q

what are decomposers?

A

consumers that break down organic matter and release nutrients back into the ecosystem. They do not feed directly but release chemicals that break down organic matter and are then absorbed

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22
Q

what is an ecological niche?

A

the function a species serves in its ecosystem

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23
Q

what is a food chain?

A

a sequence of organisms, each one feeding one the next, showing how energy is transferred within an ecosystem

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24
Q

what is a food web?

A

the representation of the feeding relationships within a community; multiple food chains put together

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25
Q

what is a trophic level?

A

the level of organization of an organism in an ecosystem based on its feeding position along the food chain

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26
Q

what is a top carnivore?

A

the animal that is not hunted by any other animal in the ecosystem

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27
Q

what is predation?

A

animals that catch and feed on other live animals

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28
Q

what are the levels of biological organization?

A
  • cell
  • tissue
  • organ
  • organ system
  • organism
  • population
  • community
  • ecosystem
  • biome
  • biosphere
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29
Q

what is the formula for photosynthesis?

A

carbon dioxide + water + sunlight -> glucose + energy + oxygen

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30
Q

what is the formula for cellular respiration?

A

glucose + oxygen -> carbon dioxide + water + energy

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31
Q

what is the biosphere?

A

anywhere that life can sustain itself on earth

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32
Q

what is an artificial ecosystem?

A

an ecosystem that is created and maintained by humans; farms, gardens, urban parks, etc.

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33
Q

what is an autotroph (producer)?

A

an organism that can perform both photosynthesis and cellular respiration

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34
Q

what is a heterotroph (consumer)?

A

an organism that can only perform cellular respiration

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35
Q

what is a primary consumer?

A

2nd on the trophic levels

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36
Q

what is a secondary consumer?

A

3rd on the trophic levels

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37
Q

what is a tertiary consumer?

A

4th on the trophic levels

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38
Q

what is a quarternary consumer?

A

5th on the trophic levels

39
Q

what are abiotic limiting factors?

A
  • natural disasters

- appropriate climate in habitat (e.g light, temperature, soil, acidity)

40
Q

what is a tolerance range?

A

conditions in which a species can survive, at upper and lower ends, species experiences

41
Q

what is an optimal range?

A

condition in which a species is best adapted to survive

42
Q

what are biotic limiting factors?

A
  • mates
  • predators
  • space
  • competition for resources
  • predation
  • food (water, oxygen, nutrients, temperature)
43
Q

what is competition?

A

when two organisms compete for the same resources

44
Q

what is mutualism?

A

when two organisms interact in a way that benefits both

45
Q

what is parasitism?

A

when a parasite lives on or in a host organism and feeds off of it

46
Q

what is commensalism?

A

when one organism benefits while the other neither benefits nor is harmed

47
Q

what is soil?

A

soil is a mixture of minerals, air, water, decomposing organic matter, dissolved nutrients

48
Q

what are fertilizers?

A

can be added to soil to return nutrients

49
Q

what are pesticides?

A

chemicals designed to killed pests

50
Q

what is leaching?

A

when nutrients are removed from the soil when water passes through it

51
Q

what is eutrophication?

A

when excess nutrients from fertilizers cause increased growth of plant life that leads to the mass death of aquatic life

52
Q

what is bioaccumulation?

A

fat-soluble pesticides are stored in fatty tissues of organisms

53
Q

what is bioamplification?

A

fat-soluble pesticides concentration increases as you move up the food chain

54
Q

what are invasive species?

A

a non-native species that negatively impact the natural environment

55
Q

what is biodiversity?

A

the variety of life in an ecosystem

56
Q

what are negative factors of invasive species?

A
  • may compete with other species

- may feed on other species; causes a decrease in native species

57
Q

what are negative factors of plastic at sea?

A
  • organisms may think it’s food, causing them to consume harmful chemicals
  • plastics may tangle around them
58
Q

what are negative factors of acid precipitation?

A
  • rivers/lakes may become more acidic; some organisms cannot survive in acidic waters
  • soil is chemically changed; these changes may not be resourceful to organisms growing from it
59
Q

what negative factors of pesticides?

A
  • may spread to areas that were not supposed to be targeted

- the concentrate is increased in trophic level

60
Q

what are the two different types of fertilizers?

A

natural and synthetic

61
Q

what are factors of synthetic fertilizers?

A
  • nutrients are released too quickly
  • causes water pollution
  • amounts of units can be measured more accurately
62
Q

what are factors of natural fertilizers?

A
  • made from natural materials such as plant and animal wastes
63
Q

what are synthetic fertilizers?

A

man-made unnatural compounds - usually derived from the petroleum industry

64
Q

what are natural fertilizers?

A

derived from plant and animal matter

65
Q

what are methods of removing carbon from the atmosphere?

A
  • photosynthesis

- fossil fuels

66
Q

what methods release carbon into the atmosphere?

A
  • natural methods

- human methods

67
Q

what is primary succession?

A

when an ecosystem forms after no previous life

68
Q

what is secondary succession?

A

when an ecosystem restores after a natural or caused disaster partially destroys life

69
Q

what is carrying capacity?

A

the maximum population size of a species that a given ecosystem can sustain

70
Q

how do you identify if something is biotic?

A

biotic: all the living parts of an ecosystem

this includes: all organisms, their remains, their products

71
Q

how do you identify if something is abiotic?

A

abiotic: all the nonliving parts of an ecosystem

this includes: physical and chemical parts e.g temperature, air, water, minerals

72
Q

explain the benefits of ecosystems?

A
  • cultural benefits; ex. recreation, education, and spirituality
  • ecosystem products; ex. lumber, paper, cardboard, honey, maple syrup, fruits, and medicine
  • ecological services; ex. protects against erosion and flooding, oxygen production, moderates climate, and filters pollutants
  • economic benefits; ex. forestry, and ecotourism
73
Q

what are negative factors of oil spills?

A
  • cause pollution

- hard to clean

74
Q

what are the different types of energy?

A
  • UV energy
  • light energy
  • chemical energy
  • thermal energy
75
Q

what are factors of UV energy?

A
  • invisible forms of radiant energy
76
Q

what are factors of light energy?

A
  • visible forms of radiant energy
77
Q

what are factors of chemical energy?

A
  • energy stored in cells and released when needed

- used by all organisms to perform functions (growth, movement, reproduction)

78
Q

what are factors of thermal energy?

A
  • energy transferred during heating and cooling

- keeps the earth warm, evaporates water, produces wind

79
Q

what is the importance of biodiversity?

A
  • resistance to disturbances

- higher probability of niche redundancy

80
Q

what factors affect carrying capacity?

A
  • light
  • water
  • nutrients
  • temperature
  • predators
  • space
  • disease
  • removing or adding resources
  • invasive species
81
Q

what are problems with using pesticides?

A
  • low concentration of nutrients
  • release of nutrients may be slower than desired
  • not easy to measure the quantity of nutrients
  • may be difficult to apply
  • production is energy intensive
  • causes water pollution
  • nutrients lost from soil through leaching
  • can cause an imbalance of soil micro-organisms
82
Q

what are problems with using fertilizers?

A
  • low concentration of nutrients
  • release of nutrients may be slower than desired
  • not easy to measure the quantity of nutrients
  • may be difficult to apply
  • production is energy intensive
  • causes water pollution
  • nutrients lost from soil through leaching
  • can cause an imbalance of soil micro-organisms
83
Q

what is no-tillage farming?

A

farmers leave ground undisturbed after the crop is harvested

84
Q

what is crop rotation?

A

the rotating or changing of crops planted on a certain area of land on a regular biased

85
Q

what is crop selection?

A

choosing to grow crops better suited to the local growing conditions

86
Q

what are the advantages of no-tillage farming?

A
  • helps retain soil nutrients
  • reduces soil compaction and water loss
  • improves soil quality
87
Q

what are the advantages of crop rotation?

A
  • reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides
88
Q

what are the advantages of crop selection?

A
  • less need for irrigation
89
Q

what are the four classes of pesticides?

A
  • herbicides
  • insecticides
  • fungicides
  • bactericides
90
Q

what are the problems with pesticides?

A
  • spraying non-target organisms
  • bioaccumulation
  • pesticide resistance
91
Q

what are the benefits of succession?

A

allows ecosystems to maintain their long-term sustainability, recover from natural or human-caused disturbances and provides hope that even severe environmental damage may be reversed

92
Q

what are the nutrients in soil?

A
  • potassium
  • nitrogen
  • phosphorus
93
Q

what are the carbon processes?

A
  • photosynthesis
  • cellular respiration
  • decomposition
  • ingestion
  • combustion
  • defusion
  • sedementation
  • compaction
94
Q

what is the molecule that captures the suns energy?

A

chlorophyll

Grade Nine - Science (7 decks)

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