Ecology Lessons 1-3 Flashcards
The study of the relationships between organisms & their environment.
Ecology
Someone who studies how organisms interact with each other & their environment.
Ecologist
A biological community of organisms & the environment they live in.
Ecosystem
Three abiotic factors:
Water, Sunlight, Soil
Two biotic factors
Fish, eagles, & worms
An organism which produces its food using the abiotic aspects of its habitat. (ie. sunlight & soil)
Producer
An organism which eats other organisms for food.
Consumer
An organism which eats the dead remains of animals.
Scavenger
An organism which breaks down organic material.
Decomposer
The place where an organism lives.
Habitat
Two types of ecosystems:
Terrestrial & Marine Ecosystems
The role which an organism plays in its habitat.
Niche
Two examples of decomposers
Bacteria & Fungi
Two examples of scavengers
Crows & Vultures
A sequence of organisms through which energy is passed.
Food Chain
A complex relationship of food chains.
Food web
Each step in the series of feeding relationships.
Trophic level
Pyramid which describes the energy flow among the trophic levels.
Energy Pyramid
Pyramid which shows the total amount of living material at each trophic level.
Biomass pyramid
What are the four steps in the water cycle?
- Solar energy heats earth & causes evaporation.
- Evaporated water condenses into clouds.
- Water returns to earth as precipitation.
- Precipitation falling on land is taken up by plants, runs off along the surface, or enters the groundwater.
Steps of the carbon cycle
- Plants use CO2 to produce glucose
- Animals eat plants & produce CO2 after using glucose during cellular respiration
- When plants & animals die, their remains become fossil fuels containing CO2
- CO2 is released when fossil fuels are burned
Photosynthesis formula
Sunlight + CO2 + H2O into glucose & O2
Cellular Respiration Formula
O2 + Glucose into CO2 & H2O
Nitrogen Cycle Steps
- Bacteria turn nitrogen gas into nitrate & ammonia in roots of legumes
- Plants convert nitrate & ammonium in legume roots into plant proteins
- Herbivores & omnivores convert plant protein into animal protein
- Some bacteria turn the proteins of dead organisms into nitrate & ammonia, others turn them back into N2 (denitrification).
Why do plants need nitrogen?
To form chlorophyll, & amino acids.
How can volcanoes disturb the carbon cycle?
Volcanic activity can breakd own rocks containing carbon compounds, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere.
What does lightning do in the nitrogen cycle?
It tears apart the bonds between atmospheric nitrogen molecules.
What two compounds is most atmospheric nitrogen turned into?
Nitrate & ammonia
