Final: Chapter 24- Environmental Microbiology Flashcards
What is microbial ecology?
The study of microbes in their natural environment
How are biotic factors different from abiotic factors?
Biotic factors are living factors and abiotic factores are non living factors
Terrestrial biomes are characterized by what three factors?
1) dominant plant species
2) temperature
3) precipitation
What are communities and populations?
Communities are grouped of many species living in the same habitat
Populations are groups of the same species
What is unique about the species Desulforudis audaxviator?
It is able to metabolize using inorganic nutrients that it leaches from rocks
Why are primary producers essential to all ecosystems?
They are the only organisms that can produce organic matter from inorganic matter. They provide energy for all other organisms, and organisms would not be able to continually reproduce if they did not exist
Why are there always fewer organisms at the top of the food pyramid, compared to the base?
Energy gets lost as it makes its way up the pyramid
What molecule makes up approximately 79% of the atmospheric content?
Nitrogen
What is the relationship Rhizobia and legumes?
A symbiotic relationship
What nutrient is often most limited in an environment, and thus sets the rate of growth for species in that environment?
Phosphorus
