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Ecology Powerpoint Flashcards

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0
Q

What is species richness?

Provide examples of species included

A

The variety of life present in the community.

E.g. Different plants, animals, fungi, protists and monerans

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1
Q

What is diversity?

A

Variation in the number of differences

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2
Q

What is genetic diversity?

A

The diversity in the gene pool of the species

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3
Q

What is ecosystem diversity?

A

The number of different ecosystems in an area- e.g. Mangroves, coral, reef, rainforests, etc

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4
Q

What is the basic definition of biodiversity(species richness biodiversity)?

A

The basic definition of biodiversity is species richness; the number of species in a given habitat or worldwide

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5
Q

What is a genetic characteristic?

A

A genetic characteristic is a feature or trait produced by genes which have been inherited

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6
Q

What is genetic biodiversity?

A

Genetic biodiversity is the level of genetic diversity within a species, which may influence the species’ future growth

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7
Q

Why are species with low genetic diversity less likely to survive?

A

Species with low genetic diversity are less likely to survive because of environmental stresses, because they have fewer genetic options when problems occur.

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8
Q

Why are species with high genetic biodiversity more likely to survive?

A

As they have more genetic options when environmental problems occur.e.g. Amphibians are able to breathe in water and on land giving them more genetic choices.

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9
Q

Statement:
Life on earth is distributed among many types of habitats, each of which provides a suitable living environment for specific kinds of organisms.

A

No answer, it was a statement:p

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10
Q

What effect could the loss of an ecosystem have?

A

Many ecosystems at made up of species that have adapted to life under u usual conditions. The loss of these unique ecosystems can wipe out the many species that are highly specialized in the ecosystems and are unable to shift to other areas.e.g.hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor

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11
Q

What gives ecosystems favourable conditions?

A

Abiotic factors (temperature, light, pH, water, etc) and Biotic factors (mating, competition, predators, prey, etc)

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12
Q

What is an example of an ecosystem with a high amount of productivity and why does it have a high a out of productivity?

A

Rainforests, they have good abiotic and biotic factors. Animals and plants have access to lots of water and sunlight, etc

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13
Q

How can biodiversity be increased or decreased?

A

By changing the abiotic and biotic factors that affect the ecosystem

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14
Q

Is an ecosystem with rich biodiversity considered healthy? If so why

A

An ecosystem with a rich species diversity is generally more healthy. Food webs in these ecosystems will be more complex and the removal or reduction of one species is less likely to have a radical effect on the ecosystem as food and she,Ted may be found elsewhere

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15
Q

What is ecology?

A

The study of how living things relate to each other and to their environment

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16
Q

What does environment in ecology refer to?

A

Environment refers to all the conditions in which the organism lives that affect the growth and development of the organism. Abiotic and biotic factors

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17
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with one another and their non-living environment within a particular area

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18
Q

Does the earth count as an ecosystem?

A

The earth itself is a true ecosystems no part of it is completely isolated from the rest.
Ecosystem=Community+Environment

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19
Q

Define Community

A

The sum of the different organisms inhabiting the same area at the same time

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20
Q

Define Communities (PowerPoint definition)

A

Populations of different species of organisms

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21
Q

Define population (PowerPoint definition)

A

A group of organisms of the same species living together in a defined geographical area.

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22
Q

What is the Biosphere?

A

The part of the earth inhabited by living organisms, including land,Moran and the atmosphere in which life can exist.
It is the global ecosystem.

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23
Q

What is a Habitat?

A

The particular place within the ecosystem where an organism lives and to which it is adapted.
-What is your habitat?

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24
Define Niche
The functional role of an organism in an ecosystem
25
What to adaptations refer to?
Adaptations refer to the inherited structures, functions and behaviours that makes it well suited to its environment and lifestyle. Organisms may become highly specialized depending on their niche
26
What are abiotic factors?
These are the non-living features of an ecosystem. | I.e. The physical and chemical conditions that affect the community
27
What are some examples of abiotic factors?
Temperature, light, air speed, water current, humidity, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, nitrate, phosphate, and other plant nutrients, etc
28
What are biotic factors?
Biotic cofactors are the living features of an ecosystem that affect the other members of the community
29
What are some examples of biotic factors?
Plants for food and shelter, Predators, prey, parasites and pathogens Decomposes, competitors, pollinators, etc
30
What are the environmental factors of an aquatic environment?
Light penetration, currents, wave action (also considered as abiotic factors)
31
What are producers (Autotrophs)?
Organisms capable of making t heir own food by photosynthesis. E.g. Green plants
32
Statement: Autotrophs undergo photosynthesis or chemosynthesis to convert inorganic matter (from an external source) into organic matter.
Statement: primary producers are the first members of a food chain
33
What are consumers (heterotrophs)?
Organisms that feed on other organisms. They cannot make their own food.
34
What are the types of consumers?
There are 3 types of consumers: Primary consumers- feed on producers ( herbivores ) secondary consumers- feed on primary consumers ( usually omnivores, may be carnivores sometimes ) Tertiary consumers- feed on secondary consumers (carnivores)
35
What are herbivores?
Herbivores are consumers that graze directly on producers and are called first-order or primary consumers
36
What are carnivores?
Carnivores are consumers that eat other consumers. They are predators: they catch live prey. second-order or secondary consumers are carnivores that feed on herbivores .
37
What are omnivores?
Consumers that feed on both animal no plant material
38
What are parasites?
Specialized consumers that live and feed on the surface of, or inside other organisms(the host)
39
What are scavengers?
Consumers that eat dead animals
40
What are detritivores?
Consumers that eat small particles of the dead plant and animal matter that has accumulated as detritus (a layer of dead and decaying organic matter)
41
What are decomposers?
Consumers that break down (decompose) dead and decaying organic material and convert it into inorganic material. Bacteria and fungi are decomposers, they secrete enzymes onto dead material and absorb the broken down products
42
What are saprophytes?
A type of decomposer (mainly fungi and bacteria) that feed on dead and decaying matter by dissolving and then absorbing the organic material
43
What kinds of competition are there?
Competition between populations may be interspecific (between organisms of DIFFERENT species) or intraspecific (between organisms of the SAME species)
44
What is competition?
The struggle for an environmental resource that is in limited supply
45
What happens because of competition?
It results in one species being forced out of a particular habitat by its competitor . " survival of the fittest "
46
What can cause fossil fuels to form? | What are some examples of fossil fuels?
Lack of oxygen Heat and pressure Examples of fossil fuels are: oil, gas, coal, peat.
47
What is a predator/prey relationship?
A predator/prey relationship is one in which one species kills and eats a living animal
48
What is grazing?
Grazing occurs when one organism eats a living plant
49
Define Symbiosis
A relationship where two different organisms live and function together in close association to the benefit of at least one of them.
50
What are the 3 types of symbiosis?
Mutualism Commensalism Parasitism
51
What is mutualism?
A close association between two organisms of different species from which both benefit
52
What is Commensalism?
A close association between two organisms of different species from which only one benefits
53
What is parasitism?
A close association between organisms in which one benefits (the parasite) at the expense if the other (the host)
54
What is collaboration?
When a group of organisms work together to obtain a resource
55
Statement: | Ecosystems are unable to function unless there is a constant input of energy from n external source - the sun
Statement: | The sun is the primary source if energy for our planet -earth
56
What is energy flow?
The pathway of energy transfer from one organism to the next in an interview co system do to feeding.e.g. Along a food chain
57
What does feeding allow energy to do?
Feeding allows energy to flow from one organism to another in an ecosystem
58
What is a food chain?
An energy flow diagram that begins with a producer and shows how food/energy is passed through a series of organisms in a community using arrows to represent the direction of energy flow. Each organism feeds on the one before it.
59
When does a food chain end?
A food chain ends when there is not enough energy to support another organism
60
What is a food web?
A chart showing all the feeding connections in the habitat/ecosystem
61
What are the tropchic levels from top to bottom in order?
Tertiary consumers Secondary consumers Primary consumers Primary producers
62
What does 'tropchic level' refer to?
The position of an organism in a food chain.
63
What occupies the trophic levels?
Plants are the first trophic level (T1) Herbivores occupy the second trophic level (T2) Carnivores that eat herbivores are at the third trophic level (T3) The fourth trophic level (T4) is often occupied by the top carnivore.
64
What is energy transfer through an ecosystem?
The flow of into the ecosystem from the sun; and within the ecosystem through the different trophic levels along food chains, and finally out of the ecosystem into the atmosphere as heat loss due to respiration, death and decay
65
What do ecological pyramids show?
Information about the numbers of organisms at each trophic level
66
How much energy is transferred down the trophic levels?
10%
67
Statement- food chains contain no more than 4 or 5 levels because of the large amount of energy loss from one trophic level to the next
Statement: Pyramids of energy are never inverted as energy is always lost as you move up the trophic levels: - ------ --- --- ----- -
68
What does a pyramid of energy show?
The amount of energy input into each trophic level in a given area of an ecosystem over an extended period of time , often one year.
69
What does a pyramid of biomass do?
Records the total dry organic matter of organisms (biomass) at each trophic level in a given area of an ecosystem. Time is not taken into account.
70
What is energy measured in?
Kj | Kilojoules
71
What is biomass measured by ?
Kg/M^2 | Kilograms per metre squared
72
What is biomass?
The dry weight of organic matter present in all living tho gas in a given space within an ecosystem. Biomass varies depending on the environmental conditions prevailing in the ecosystem. Measured in (Kg/m^2/yr)
73
When is it likely that biomass will be high?
When the abiotic factors at favourable (light, temp, wate, etc).
74
Biomass is lost from an ecosystem at successive stages along a food chain. What causes this loss?
Cellular respiration Death Excretion Elimination/egestion Inedible body parts for the next trophic level(get broken down by decomposers) Removal to another ecosystem (washed away in a flood, carried away by winds, migration) Approximately 90% is lost at each trophic level
75
what is productivity?
The rate of production of organic matter by producers, typically as a result of photosynthesis, in a given area over a given period of time. Also known as primary productivity.
76
What is gross primary productivity?
The chemical energy produced in the form of or Tania matter by producer organisms over a given period of time (GPP)
77
What is Net Primary Productivity?
The amount of chemical energy in organic matter stored by producers and available as 'food' to consumers. (NPP) I.e. The amount of energy left over after respiration. NPP= GPP-Respiration. Measured in kJ/m^2/yr
78
Statements: there is a limited amount of nutrients on earth.e.g. You are probably aware of the water cycle-where water is constantly being recycled in nature. There are similar cycles for all nutrients. When plants and animals die there nutrients are not wasted .
Statements: bacteria and fungi decompose the remains and release the nutrients back into the abiotic environment (I.e. Into the soil, nearby water, air). These nutrients are then taken up by other plants and used to make new organic material. This material is passed on down the food chains and is reused by all the chain members.
79
Statement: when death occurs for these members the nutrients are again returned to the abiotic environment and the cycling of nutrients continues in their circular way.
Continue>>>>>>>>
80
What does nutrient recycling ensure?
That there is no real long-term drain on the earths nutrients, despite millions of years of animal and plant activity.
81
What is the law of conservation of matter/energy?
Matter/energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another
82
How is carbon dioxide removed from the environment?
Photosynthesis in plants, and under certain conditions, over long periods of time, some of these plants may form fossil fuels such as coal, oil, natural gas and peat
83
How is carbon dioxide returned to the environment?
By: 1. Respiration in plants, animals and micro-organisms 2. Decay caused by micro-organisms 3. Combustion(I.e. Burning fossil fuels)
84
Statement: Carbon forms part of all organic nutrients- through carbohydrates, fats and proteins
All organisms need nitrogen for protein, DNA and RNA manufacture Nitrogen gas must first be 'fixed'.i.e. Changed to a suitable form (ammonia or nitrate) before it can be used.
85
What do nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil do?
Convert N2(little 2) gas in the air into ammonia (NH3)(little 3 down the bottom)
86
What can produce nitrates?
Lightning storms and fuel burning in a car. | The nitrates are then washed away by rain into the soil water
87
What are Nitrates absorbed by?
Plant roots. They are then converted to plant protein
88
What happens to plant protein?
They are passed along the food chain to become animal protein When organisms die their proteins are converted to ammonia by bacterial decomposition, nitrifying bacteria in the soil then convert ammonia into nitrates.- nitrates can be absorbed by other plants to continue the cycle
89
What converts soil nitrates into gas?
Denitrifying bacteria- causes a loss of N2 ( little 2 by the bottom) from the cycle
90
How might nitrate also enter the cycle?
Nitrate also enters the cycle through the addition of nitrogen rich fertilizers to the soil- made industrially from nitrogen gas.
91
Leguminous plants......
Live in symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria
92
What are Rhizobium?
Rhizobium are bacteria. | Rhizobium bacteria are a type of nitrogen fixing bacteria
93
Where do Rhizobium live?
Root nodules

Biology (2 decks)

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