Ecology and Earth science Flashcards
What is competition and what are some
examples of it?
When organisms both try to obtain the same thing. They fight/compete for it.
E.g., baby birds competing for food by attracting their mother’s attention.
What is Predation and some examples of it?
When organisms kill/eat the other. The one
killing is the predator and the one being killed is the prey.
E.g., Praying mantis eats a cricket. The mantis is the predator and the cricket is the prey.
What is parasitism and examples of it?
A relationship where one organism benefits from the relationship while the other is harmed.
E.g., A parasitic wasp lays eggs on caterpillar but when they hatch, they eat the caterpillar.
What is Mutualism and example of it?
When two organisms live closely together and they both benefit from the relationship.
E.g., Cleaning fish and the fish being cleaned.
What is commensalism and examples of it?
A relationship where one organism benefits and the other is unharmed.
E.g., barnacles attached to a whale tail, collects food but does not harm the whale.
What are abiotic factors and examples of it?
Abiotic factors are the non-living physical and chemical factors of the environment.
E.g., Sunlight, soil, rain, temperature, wind and humidity.
What are biotic factors and examples of it?
Biotic factors are all the living parts of the environment.
E.g., Plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, disease and organism interactions.
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These living and non-living components interact with each other through nutrient cycles and energy flows.
How does oxygen affect living organisms?
Living organisms need oxygen to be able to grow, reproduce and turn food into energy. They carry out a process called respiration. For humans, we do this by breathing through the nose and mouth. Even though other organisms’ breath through different organs, they still get oxygen in their bodies through respiration.
What are organisms?
organisms are living animal, plants or single celled life form
What is interspecific competition?
Interspecific competition is when different species are competing for the same resource.
E.g., Sharks and Orcas might compete for the same type of fish. Or, predators compete for the same prey.
What is intraspecific competition?
Intraspecific competition is when species of the same population compete for the same resource or mate.
E.g., two male birds of the same species compete for the same mate. Or, barnacles compete for space on rocks. Animlas can also compete for resources like water, food or shelter.
what are invasive species?
Invasive species are organisms that were introduced to an area and can cause great harm to that native ecosystem
E.g., Cane toads were brought to Australia to stop beetles from eating sugar cane. This quickly backfired because the cane toad has competition advantages, where they reproduce quickly, have less disease and less predators because anything that try to eat the cane toad is poisoned and dies. They are killing native species.
What are generalist species?
Generalist species is are animals that can live in a wide variety of environments and have a wide diet.
what are pests?
A pest is any organism that attacks or destroys food, crops or livestock.
