Ecology Unit Flashcards
Autotroph
A producer
Atmosphere
The layer of gases extending upwards for hundreds of kilometres.
Made of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen gases.
Remaining one percent included argon, water vapour, carbon dioxide and other gases
Provides insulation for earth that moderates the temperature.
Blocks most ultraviolet rays from the sun.
Lithosphere
The rocky outer layer of Earth. (Made of Montaigne, ocean floors and all other solid landscape.
Hydrosphere
All the water on, above and below the Earths surface. (Ex/ oceans, lakes, groundwater, ice, clouds)
Biosphere
The area when the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere mix to create an area where life can exist.
Ecosystem
All the living organisms that share a specific region and interact with each other and with abiotic their arts of their environment.
Community
Formed from the interaction of many population. Ex/ the community of a forests may include different populations of birds, squirrels, trees,etc.
Biotic factor
All living organisms in an ecosystem and their remains, their wastes or products.
Abiotic factors
All the non living things in an ecosystem
Habitat
The place an organism lives
Ex/ bears live in dens, owls live in trees, beavers live in dams, sharks live in water.
Niche
The role of job that an organism does in its ecosystem (how it interacts with biotic and abiotic factors)
Population
A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area
Individual
A single member of a species. Ex/ a single moose
Sustainability
The ability to maintain ecological balance.
Producer
A plant or created that creates energy for itself through photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis reaction
Water + carbon dioxide + light energy —> glucose + oxygen
Consumers
An organism that cannot make their own food do they depend on eating plants and animals for survival.
What are consumers classified as?
Herbivores- only eat plants
Carnivores- only eats meat
Omnivores- eats both meat and plants
Scavengers- eats dead or decaying plant and animal matter
Decomposers
Decomposers are the most tropic level because the chemically break down organic matter to its nutrients. The nutrients are then returned to the soil so they can be recycled.
Ex/ moulds, yeast, mushrooms, earthworms, bacteria
Limiting factor
Any factor that restricts the size of a population. It can be biotic or abiotic.
Competition
Two individuals going after the same resource.
Intraspecific competition
Competition between members of the same species
Interspecific competition
Competition between members of different species.
Predation
One individual feeds on another.
Symbiosis
A close relationship between species when members of one species live in, on, or near another species.