Ecosystems Flashcards
What is an Abotic factor ?
A non-living thing in an ecosystem
Abiotic factors include sunlight, water, sand and rocks.
What is Biodiversity?
The variety of living things in a particular area
High biodiversity makes an ecosystem more resilient because there are many species that can play the same role.
What is a Botic factor?
A living thing in an ecosystem
Biotic factors include corals, sea jellies, whales and seabirds.
What is a branching chain?
A polymer molecule that has side chains
Branching prevents polymer chains from packing close together. This makes a plastic lightweight and flexible.
What is the Carbon cycle?
The continual movement of carbon through ecosystems
The carbon cycle involves processes such as photosynthesis, respiration and decomposition.
What is Cellular respiration?
The reaction in living cells that releases energy for life processes
Cellular respiration converts sugar and oxygen into water and carbon dioxide, releasing usable energy.
What is Commensal?
Benefiting one species while the other species is not affected
The emperor shrimp rides on the nudibranch and picks up food. This does not appear to affect the nudibranch.
What is competition?
The struggle between organisms for the same resources
Competition occurs when resources are limited, either between organisms of the same species or of different species.
What is Consumer?
An organism that gets its food by eating other organisms
Animals are examples of consumers because they must eat other living things for energy.
What is a cross link?
A bond between two polymer chains
Cross-linking prevents polymer chains from sliding past one another. This makes a plastic stronger and more rigid.
it also means that this plastic can not be reshaped with heat.
What is a decomposer?
An organism that breaks down dead matter by releasing chemicals
Nudibranchs and sea cucumbers decompose waste and dead matter on the sea floor.
Ecology
The scientific study of ecosystems, a branch of biology
Ecologists investigate the relationships between organisms in an ecosystem and their dependence on non-living things.
What is an ecosystem?
A collection of organisms interacting with each other and their environment
A coral reef ecosystem includes a wide variety of living things and their non-living environment.
Energy
When applied to orgainsims
The ability to move, grow and function
Producers get energy from sunlight, while consumers get energy by eating other organisms.
What is a** food chain?**
One pathway of energy transfer between organisms
The arrows in a food chain show the transfer of energy from one type of organism to another.
What is a food web?
Connected pathways of energy transfer between organisms
A food web is built by connecting all the food chains in a particular ecosystem.
What is intermolecular force?
A force of attraction between molecules, such as the polymer chains in a plastic
Strong intermolecular forces make some plastics strong and dense.
What is matter?
Any substance that takes up space and has mass
Matter is cycled through ecosystems by processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, feeding and decomposition.
What is microplastic?
A piece of plastic that is less than 5 millimeters in size
Microplastics are small enough to be ingested by primary consumers and can then be passed up the food chain.
What is a monomer?
A piece of plastic that is less than 5 millimeters in size
Microplastics are small enough to be ingested by primary consumers and can then be passed up the food chain.
