Ecosystmes Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

define ecology

A

the study of organisms and the environment in which they live in as well as how they both interact

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

define habitat

A

a natural home or environment of an animal, pan or other organism

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

define population

A

the total number of inhabitants in a particular place

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

define community

A

a group of species living in the same place

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

define ecosystem

A

the interaction betweeen a community of living and non-living parts of their environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

define interdependance

A

all the organisms in an ecosystem are dependant on each other to survive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

define stable community

A

the species and environmental factors are in balance so population size remains relatively constant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what are the two types of competition

A
  • intraspecific competition
  • interspecific competition
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what is itraspecific competition

A

competition between the same species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what is interspecific competition

A

competition between different species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what do plants compete for

A
  • light
  • space
  • mineral ions
  • water
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what do animals compete for

A
  • food
  • water
  • territory
  • mates
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

what are abiotic factors

A

non-living factors (light intensity, temperature)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

what are biotic factors

A

living factors (food availability, new predators)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what cna the change in an abiotic or biotic factor lead to

A

the increase or decrease in size of the popution in a community

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what is a trophic level

A

a feeding stage within a food chain

17
Q

what trophic level are producers in

A

1

18
Q

what trophic level are tertiary consumers in

A

4

19
Q

what is biomass

A

the total amount of living material in an organism

20
Q

what do pyramids of biomass show

A

the amount of living material in each level of a food chain

21
Q

what happens to the energy at each step along the food chain

A

it decreases because of heat, bones etc

22
Q

how much of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next

A

10%

23
Q

wha are the reasons for loss of biomass

A
  • heat
  • energy used in repiration
  • not all ingested (bones and urine)
24
Q

what is interdependance shown in

A

food webs

25
Q

explain a predator prey relationship

A
  • if the population of prey increases then the population of predators will increase after a lag period
  • the increase in predators causes a decrease in prey
  • this then causes a decrease in number of prey available so predators decrease
  • the decrease means prey will increase
26
Q

define adaptation

A

features whihc enable an organism to survive in the conditions in which they live in

27
Q

what are the different types of adaptation

A
  • structual = body structure
  • behavioural = behaviour (hibernation etc)
  • functional = internal chnages (urine levels)
28
Q

what are extremophiles

A

organisms that live in very extreme conditions (high temp, high pressure, high salt concentration)