Ecosystems/biodiversity + experimental skills Flashcards
What is an ecosystem? give an example
A community of living organisms (biotic factors) interacting with their non-living environment (abiotic factors).
Example: A rainforest, where plants, animals, and microbes interact with soil, sunlight, and rainfall.
abiotic factors
Non-living physical and chemical components of an environment.
Example: Temperature, light, water, and soil nutrients.
biotic factors
Living organisms that influence or interact with each other in an ecosystem.
Example: Plants providing food for herbivores, predators hunting prey, or microbes decomposing organic matter.
habitat
The natural environment where an organism lives, grows, and reproduces.
Example: A pond is a habitat for frogs, fish, and aquatic plants.
microhabitat
A small or specialized part of a habitat that supports specific organisms.
Example: Underneath a rotting log in a forest, where insects, fungi, and worms thrive.
niche
A specific role an organism plays and or habitat with specific conditions which it occupies.
Example: Dung beetles collect and decompose animal faeces.
Structural Niche
The physical and spatial role of a species in its environment.
Example: Coral reefs providing a structure where fish can live and breed.
feeding niche
The role a species plays in the food web, including its diet and how it obtains food.
Example: Bees as pollinators and primary consumers feeding on nectar.
Ecological Niche
The role and position a species has in its environment, including interactions with other species and resources.
Example: A jaguar is a top predator that controls herbivore populations.
species
A group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
Example: Humans (Homo sapiens).
population
A group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area.
Example: A herd of elephants in a savanna.
Community
All the populations of different species living and interacting in an area.
Example: A forest community with trees, birds, insects, and mammals.
biodiversity
The variety of life in a particular ecosystem, including species diversity, genetic diversity, and ecosystem diversity.
Example: The Amazon Rainforest has high biodiversity, with millions of species.
stratification
The vertical layering of different organisms within an ecosystem.
Example: In a rainforest, there are canopy, understory, and forest floor layers.
zonation
The horizontal distribution of organisms in an ecosystem based on environmental conditions.
Example: Mangroves show zonation with salt-tolerant plants closest to the water.
photosynthesis
The process by which green plants and some bacteria convert sunlight into chemical energy (glucose).
Example: A sunflower converting sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar.
producer
Organisms that make their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.
Example: Grass in a meadow is a producer.
consumer
Organisms that obtain energy by eating other organisms.
Example: A lion eating an antelope.
decomposers
Organisms that break down dead organic material into nutrients.
Example: Fungi decomposing fallen leaves.
autotroph
(producers) Organisms that produce their own food using light or chemical energy.
Example: Cyanobacteria in oceans.
heterotroph
(consumers) Organisms that rely on consuming other organisms for energy.
Example: Humans eating plants and animals.
biomass
The total mass of living organisms in a given area.
Example: The biomass of a forest includes all its trees, animals, and microorganisms.
primary succession
The development of an ecosystem in a previously uninhabited area.
Example: Lichens growing on volcanic rock.
secondary succession
The re-establishment of an ecosystem after a disturbance.
Example: Forest regrowth after a wildfire.
competition
Interaction between organisms or species competing for the same resource.
Example: Plants competing for sunlight in a dense forest.
predation
A biological interaction where one organism (the predator) hunts and eats another (the prey).
Example: A cheetah hunting a gazelle.
Mutualistic Symbiosis
A relationship between two species where both benefit.
Example: Bees pollinating flowers while feeding on their nectar.
keystone species
A species that has a disproportionately large impact on its ecosystem relative to its abundance.
Example: Sea otters controlling sea urchin populations to maintain kelp forests. The kelp forrest then provides food and shelter for many other species.
photosynthesis equation: producers harness the Sun’s energy through photosynthesis (give equation)
carbon dioxide + water = oxygen and glucose
6CO2+6H2O→C6H12O6+6O2
human impact
we have caused pollution through littering, hunting, land clearing, pollution, introduced species in
trophic levels
quaternary consumers ( vulture)
tertiary consumers (snakes)
secondary consumers (frog, birds)
primary consumers (insects, rats, small animals)
producers (grass)
goes from bottom to top
carnivore
herbivore
producer
decomposer
Describe how biotic factors change abiotic factors and visa-versa
Biotic factors, such as plants, animals, and bacteria, can change the geology and geography of an area. For example, beavers build dams that slow the flow of water and create ponds.
Abiotic factors, such as temperature, sunlight, soil, and water, determine which biotic factors will survive and how many there will be. For example, plants need sunlight and water for photosynthesis.
best way to protect a species
protect its natural ecosystem. all the abiotic and biotic factors of the ecosystem
hypothesis
a prediction that can be tested.
if independant varible increase/decreases the dependent variable with increase/decrease
indépendant and dépendant varible
independent is the one ur r controlling which should have an influence on the defendant variable the one ur measuring
factors to hold constant
accuracy, reliability, validity and precision?
reliability, if the same results are measured on multiple trials,
precision is how well the measurements of the same item are the same to one another (less scatter in results means higher precision)
accuracy is how close the values are to the true value (the acceptable value you are trying to get from the experiments)
validity, whether the experiment is measuring what it is intended to measure
