Ecology Flashcards
what is an organism?
a single biotic element; an individual life form
what is a population?
a group of members of the same species that live in the same area
what is a community?
made up of populations of different species that live and interact in an area
what is an ecosystem?
all living and nonliving things in an area, and how they interact with each other
what is a biome?
ex. tundra, rainforest, grassland, etc.
what is the lithosphere?
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
what is the atmosphere?
gas layer around our planet; includes nitrogen, oxygen, water vapour, carbon dioxide, etc.; regulates surface temperature and filters radiation
what is the hydrosphere?
all the water on, above or below the earth’s surface; includes oceans, lakes, ice, clouds, and groundwater
what is a natural ecosystem?
ecosystems that are NOT created by humans; forest, pond, marsh, etc.
what is sustainability?
how sustainable an ecosystem is
what does abiotic mean?
a non-living organism
what does biotic mean?
a living organism
what is photosynthesis?
the process of using sunlight energy and converting it to chemical energy in the form of sugar (glucose)
what is cellular respiration?
the process by which the chemical energy contained in sugars (glucose) is converted to a usable form by organisms
what is a species?
a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding
what is the carbon cycle?
a series of processes that moves carbon dioxide between abiotic and biotic parts of an ecosystem
what is a carnivore?
consumers that eat mostly meat
what is a herbivore?
consumers that feed on plants only
what is an omnivore?
consumers that eat both plants and animals
what are scavengers?
carnivores that eat remains of dead animals
what are decomposers?
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
what is an ecological niche?
the function a species serves in its ecosystem
what is a food chain?
a sequence of organisms, each one feeding one the next, showing how energy is transferred within an ecosystem
what is a food web?
the representation of the feeding relationships within a community; multiple food chains put together
what is a trophic level?
the level of organization of an organism in an ecosystem based on its feeding position along the food chain
what is a top carnivore?
the animal that is not hunted by any other animal in the ecosystem
what is predation?
animals that catch and feed on other live animals
what are the levels of biological organization?
- cell
- tissue
- organ
- organ system
- organism
- population
- community
- ecosystem
- biome
- biosphere
what is the formula for photosynthesis?
carbon dioxide + water + sunlight -> glucose + energy + oxygen
what is the formula for cellular respiration?
glucose + oxygen -> carbon dioxide + water + energy
what is the biosphere?
anywhere that life can sustain itself on earth
what is an artificial ecosystem?
an ecosystem that is created and maintained by humans; farms, gardens, urban parks, etc.
what is an autotroph (producer)?
an organism that can perform both photosynthesis and cellular respiration
what is a heterotroph (consumer)?
an organism that can only perform cellular respiration
what is a primary consumer?
2nd on the trophic levels
what is a secondary consumer?
3rd on the trophic levels
what is a tertiary consumer?
4th on the trophic levels
what is a quarternary consumer?
5th on the trophic levels
what are abiotic limiting factors?
- natural disasters
- appropriate climate in habitat (e.g light, temperature, soil, acidity)
what is a tolerance range?
conditions in which a species can survive, at upper and lower ends, species experiences
what is an optimal range?
condition in which a species is best adapted to survive
what are biotic limiting factors?
- mates
- predators
- space
- competition for resources
- predation
- food (water, oxygen, nutrients, temperature)
what is competition?
when two organisms compete for the same resources
what is mutualism?
when two organisms interact in a way that benefits both
what is parasitism?
when a parasite lives on or in a host organism and feeds off of it
what is commensalism?
when one organism benefits while the other neither benefits nor is harmed
what is soil?
soil is a mixture of minerals, air, water, decomposing organic matter, dissolved nutrients
what are fertilizers?
can be added to soil to return nutrients
what are pesticides?
chemicals designed to killed pests
what is leaching?
when nutrients are removed from the soil when water passes through it
what is eutrophication?
when excess nutrients from fertilizers cause increased growth of plant life that leads to the mass death of aquatic life
what is bioaccumulation?
fat-soluble pesticides are stored in fatty tissues of organisms
what is bioamplification?
fat-soluble pesticides concentration increases as you move up the food chain
what are invasive species?
a non-native species that negatively impact the natural environment
what is biodiversity?
the variety of life in an ecosystem
what are negative factors of invasive species?
- may compete with other species
- may feed on other species; causes a decrease in native species
what are negative factors of plastic at sea?
- organisms may think it’s food, causing them to consume harmful chemicals
- plastics may tangle around them
what are negative factors of acid precipitation?
- 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
what negative factors of pesticides?
- may spread to areas that were not supposed to be targeted
- the concentrate is increased in trophic level
what are the two different types of fertilizers?
natural and synthetic
what are factors of synthetic fertilizers?
- nutrients are released too quickly
- causes water pollution
- amounts of units can be measured more accurately
what are factors of natural fertilizers?
- made from natural materials such as plant and animal wastes
what are synthetic fertilizers?
man-made unnatural compounds - usually derived from the petroleum industry
what are natural fertilizers?
derived from plant and animal matter
what are methods of removing carbon from the atmosphere?
- photosynthesis
- fossil fuels
what methods release carbon into the atmosphere?
- natural methods
- human methods
what is primary succession?
when an ecosystem forms after no previous life
what is secondary succession?
when an ecosystem restores after a natural or caused disaster partially destroys life
what is carrying capacity?
the maximum population size of a species that a given ecosystem can sustain
how do you identify if something is biotic?
biotic: all the living parts of an ecosystem
this includes: all organisms, their remains, their products
how do you identify if something is abiotic?
abiotic: all the nonliving parts of an ecosystem
this includes: physical and chemical parts e.g temperature, air, water, minerals
explain the benefits of ecosystems?
- 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
what are negative factors of oil spills?
- cause pollution
- hard to clean
what are the different types of energy?
- UV energy
- light energy
- chemical energy
- thermal energy
what are factors of UV energy?
- invisible forms of radiant energy
what are factors of light energy?
- visible forms of radiant energy
what are factors of chemical energy?
- energy stored in cells and released when needed
- used by all organisms to perform functions (growth, movement, reproduction)
what are factors of thermal energy?
- energy transferred during heating and cooling
- keeps the earth warm, evaporates water, produces wind
what is the importance of biodiversity?
- resistance to disturbances
- higher probability of niche redundancy
what factors affect carrying capacity?
- light
- water
- nutrients
- temperature
- predators
- space
- disease
- removing or adding resources
- invasive species
what are problems with using pesticides?
- 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
what are problems with using fertilizers?
- 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
what is no-tillage farming?
farmers leave ground undisturbed after the crop is harvested
what is crop rotation?
the rotating or changing of crops planted on a certain area of land on a regular biased
what is crop selection?
choosing to grow crops better suited to the local growing conditions
what are the advantages of no-tillage farming?
- helps retain soil nutrients
- reduces soil compaction and water loss
- improves soil quality
what are the advantages of crop rotation?
- reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides
what are the advantages of crop selection?
- less need for irrigation
what are the four classes of pesticides?
- herbicides
- insecticides
- fungicides
- bactericides
what are the problems with pesticides?
- spraying non-target organisms
- bioaccumulation
- pesticide resistance
what are the benefits of succession?
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
what are the nutrients in soil?
- potassium
- nitrogen
- phosphorus
what are the carbon processes?
- photosynthesis
- cellular respiration
- decomposition
- ingestion
- combustion
- defusion
- sedementation
- compaction
what is the molecule that captures the suns energy?
chlorophyll
