intro Flashcards
what are the 6 levels of ecological structure?
- Individual
- Population
- Community
- Ecosystem
- Biome
- Biosphere
Define ‘population’,
Group of conspecifics
Define ‘community’
Group of heterospecifics that sometimes interact with each other
Define ‘ecosystem’
biotic and abiotic factors that affect each other
Define ‘biome’
groups of similar ecosystems which form a large area of similar space
Define ‘biosphere’
the entire planet and the atmosphere (incoming radiation included)
in terms of varying colour patterns on prey animals, how does morphology aid survival?
predators may be habituated to hunt only one morphological group.
is the carbon cycle a closed open system?
closed total mass of carbon never changes on the planet
what is primary production?
the process of synthesising organic compounds from sunlight and atmospheric CO2.
what is the equation for primary production?
∆B(change in biomass between time 1 and time 2)= B1(biomass at time 1)- B2(biomass at time 2)
Define biomass
mass off an organism per unit of land
what two things are used to ‘catch’ sunlight?
chlorophyl and phycobilin
define ‘chemoautotroph’
normally bacteria that obtains energy from hydrogen sulphide and carbon
what is assimilation
photosynthesis
true or false: assimilation is an oxidative reaction
false, it is a reduction reaction
what is dissimilation?
respiration
true or false: respiration is an oxidative reaction.
true O2 is added to the product
define primary productivity
rate of biomass production per unit of of area
define gross primary production
total energy synthesised from sun
define net primary production
the actual production rate of consumable biomass
define net
ecosystem production
the actual export of consumable biomass for the entire ecosystem
how do you measure aquatic primary production?
incubate a light and dark bottle and subtract O2 change in the dark from O2 change in the light one. Only respiration will occur in the dark and both assimilation and respiration will occur in the light.
what is the equation for gross primary production?
∆B(change in biomass between time one and two)+ L(biomass loss due to death/plant parts+ biomass loss to consumer)
