ecology Flashcards
Ecosystem
all living ecosystems and their physical and chemical environment
population
group of the same spices together in an area
biotic factors
living things, remains, nests as well
adiotic factors
non living things and chemical components of a ecosystem
sustainability
the ability to maintain a balance in a ecosystem and maintain constant characteristics over a long time in a ecosystem
community
different spices together in an ecosystem
habitat loss
when the area where organisms live cannot support that life anymore
fragmentation
dividing up a region into smaller pieces
the second most threat to sustainability
species may not be able to survive
climate change
1 threat to sustainability
how the worlds climate+ temperatures are changing when CO2 is released causing the earth to warm
animals who live in colder areas have to move
adapt to new condition s
maybe cause death
acid precipitation
effects of land and water
precipitation made acidic from chemicals that mix with the atmosphere produced by burning fossil fuels LAND changes soil less nutrients for plants= flow growth hard to breath rust and dissolves concrete WATER less food when producers get effected makes water look clear limestone stops the effects (neutralize)
over exploitation
using a resource faster than it can be replaced
causes extinction
poaching
type of over exploitation when animals are killed for parts of them
ex: ivory, medicine and skin
pollution
harmful contaminants that go into the environment
some have purposes like pesticides
while others are by-products (exhaust)
oil spills
water pollution that occurs when tankers spill
oil is toxic and slow to break down
hard to clean up
bad for birds and fish
cleaning oil spills
SWIMMING VACCUMING: to vacuum up the floating oil
BIO REMEDATION: use micro organisms to creak down and consume the oil
BURNING- to burn the floating oil and causing it to burn away
this causes more pollution in the atmosphere
DISPERSAL AGENTS: detergents that break up the oil in to small particles to be eaten by organisms
plastics
can be at sea and do not chemically degrade
can last for thousands of years
broken into pieces and ingested by animals
or the pieces can entangle animals
symbiosis
close interactions between two species in a relationship
multualism
both spices benefit from the interaction
commercialism
one species benefit while the other has no effect
parasitism
one benefits and the other is harmed
energy flow
shows the amount of energy transferred between tropics
at each level energy is lost by 10%
ex a rabbit gets 10% of the energy in a plant while a fox who eats the rabbit only gets 10% of that 10% the rabbit has
numbers
number of animals at each tropic level
biomass
total mass of organisms at a particular tropic level
predator
an animal that preys on other animals for food
prey
an animal that is hunted for food
4 ways to avoid being eaten
speed and endurance: use endurance to run for longer to escape a animal that can only run in short bursts
camouflage: hide as something else so the predator doesn’t eat it
poison: doesn’t taste good so the predator doesn’t eat it
mimicry: make themselves look like another animal
prodicer
organism that makes it’s own food through photosynthesis
also called autotrophs
consumer
organism that gets its energy by eating other organisms primary consumer- eats plants secondary consume tertiary consumer also called heterotrophs
pests
things that damage crops and humans try to eleiminate can be: plants- weeds insects- mosquitoes rodents- mice
monocultures
when there is only a single type of crop growing in the fields
it is a good environment for pests and if one plants becomes diseased the rest become as well
pesticides
common method to eliminate pests
some can be short lived (days) or long lives (years)
broad spectrum pesticides are effective against many types of pests
narrow spectrum are only effective against a few pests
non target species
when pesticides kill organisms that are not intended this can cause: beneficial organisms like bees to die a chain reaction humans and animals getting sick
bio-accumulation
when pesticides (toxins) accumulate in organisms if they keeping the food that has pesticides in it the toxins are then passes through the food chain
bio-amplification
the increasing in concentration of a toxin as it moves of the food web
meaning that there will be a very high concentration on toxins in higher predators
pesticide resistance
when certain species become resistant to the pesticides sprayed
causing humans to spray more or stronger pesticides
what to do instead of pesticides
- organic farming
- leave crops alone after farming for a season (improves soil+nutrients)
- grow crops that work with the local conditions
human impacts on ecosystms
humans can effect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems differently
human impacts on aquatic ecosystems
LIGHT: humans can block light with buildings and garbage
NUTRIENTS: runoff from environments brings too much nutrients (nitrogen) and can cause algal blooms
ACIDITY: C02 build up causes acid rain causing too much acidity in water, can cause fish to die
TEMP: heated water (waste) is released by by power plants or other industries and heats up water causing fish to die
SALINITY: winter salting causes too much salt in water
human impacts on terrestrial ecosystems
LIGHT: removing trees takes away the shade that the organisms need and adding buildings makes it have less sun less plant growth
WATER: dams causes flooding in areas and lack of it in others
irrigation (too much watering) causes an area to be too wet
NUTRIENTS: farming causes animals to get nutrients through fertilizers that is good
can decrees nutrients by soil leaching
TEMP: global warming creates less suitable habitats for cold climate animals
nitrogen cycle
the process of turning nitrogen gas (N02) into nitrates (N03)
using nitrogen fixation
to do nitrogen fixation you use nitrogen fixing bacteria
then goes through ammonification
creates amnion
aluminum- nitrification
creates a nitrate
Nitrification
using nitrifying bacteria to create a nitrate (N03)
invasive species
a non native species who’s introduction to an ecosystem has become negative on the natural environment
can cause decline in other native species
impacts of invasive species
ECOLOGICAL- they can cause a population decline in other animals and change the dynamic and nutrient cycles in a ecosystem
ECONOMIC- damage crops and other foods
bring diseases that kill trees and crops
TOURISM- bring down the water quality
less people will fish and go to cool at the wildlife
waterways become chocked so no boats pass as well people fish less because pf the decline in biodiversity
HEALTH- causes diseases and sometimes people use pesticides on them and it is bad for the health
chemical control
the use of pesticides to eliminate invasive species
bad for the rest of the environment
may kill other species and damage air water and soil
mechanical control
use man made things to stop the invasive species from effecting the ecosystem
ex: barriers for fish, hunting and trapping animals and burning plants and trees
biological control
intentionally releasing organisms to control and reduce the population
can backfire and the added organisms can become invasive species too
carrying capacity
the maximum population size of a certain species that i ecosystem can have
can be altered when resources are removed or added
limiting factor
any factor that gives a population a cap
can be biotic- food or lack of
or abiotic- water, sun
also caused by human interference
tolerance ranges
the specific range that a certain spices can survive with an abiotic factor
ex: range of temperature fish can survive in
generalist species
a species that can live in many different climates and can adapt easily
can eat a variety of food
may be out competed in specific areas
specialist species
a species that can only live in a specific location and can not adapt easily
they eat certain foods and need certain climates
more likely to become extinct
very adapted in their home space
food chain/web
chain= sequance of organisms each feeding on the next energy transferred from organism to another
the arrow goes from grey to predator
web= a large mass of connected food chain
trophic level
level of an organism in the ecosystem
depending on their feeding position in the food chain
photosynthesis
C02+WATER— GLUCOSE+OXYGEN
the prosses in which producers turn the suns energy into a chemical energy
they do it for enerdy and so that they can build matter
cellular respiration
GLUCOSE+OXYGEN=CO2+WATER
done my all living things not just producers
occurs continuously
equilibrium
An ecosystem having a constant conditions over time in a ecosystem means it is in equilibrium
most natural ecosystems are in equilibrium
major biomes are
being in equilibrium is health
equilibrium in the population means an equal number of births and deaths
atmosphere
the layers of gases around the earth staying there because of gravity it moderates temperatures stops suns raditaion need it to live 78% nitrogen 21% oxygen
lithosphere
earths solid outer layer
mountainous ocean floors rocks and minerals
hydrosphere
all of the water on in or around the earth
in all the states of matter
biosphere
zone around the earth where there are all the spheres are present and life can exist
anthrophosphere
part of the environment made or modified by humans or human activities
carnivores
organisms that only eat meat
herbivores
organisms that only eat plants
scavengers
animals that feed on dead animals or plants
decomposes
a organism that break down organic material
detritivores
animals that feed on organic matter and doesn’t release it into the environment
omnivores
animals that eat both meat and plants
biodiversity
variety of life in a ecosystem
measured by counting species in an ecosystem
highest biodiversity in the rainforest
species richness
number of species in an area
a more diverse place means it has a higher richness
there is a higher richness closer to the equator
extirpated
doesn’t live in the wild or a specific area but lives elsewhere
endangered
in a real danger of becoming extinct or extraperated
threatened
are likely to become endangered if current trends and threats continue
special concern
may become threatened or endangered because of a combination of factors
extinct
died out
no longer exists on earth
eutrophiction
when excess nutrients enter a body of water due to run off from farms
causes algae to form
creating an algae bloom on the surface of the water blocking out sunlight and causing plants to die
when the plants break down bacteria forms to eat it
an increase in bacteria means less oxygen in the water
if all is used up the water becomes anoxic water causing all the living things in the water to die
carbon cycle
carbon and how it cycles through all of the spheres as well as biotic and abiotic factors
carbon cycle in the ocean
it starts with the CO2 in the atmosphere that goes into the water by diffusion or photosynthesis for oceanic plants
it is then released back into the atmosphere by cellular respiration
carbon cycle on land
CO2 in the atmosphere is used in photosynthesis by plants to help them grow
then when a animal eats the plant it get the C02 and releases it into the atmosphere through cellular respiration
sometimes a animal doesn’t eat the plant so it dies and beaks down releasing the CO2 into the soil through decomposition
this then turns into fossil fuels like coil oil and gas that are taken by humans and then released back into the atmosphere
