Introduction Flashcards
What is are fundamental and realised niches?
Fundamental niche is the entire set of conditions under which an animal can survive and reproduce itself.
Realized niche is the set of conditions actually used by given animal, after interactions with other species have been taken into account.
What is a conformer?
An animal where the value of a variable is equal in its internal environment to its external environment.
What is a regualtor?
An animal that controls its internal environment so that variables are not the same as the external environent.
What is the first law of thermodynamics?
Energy & Matter cannot be created or destroyed
→What goes in, must come out… (waste, heat, mass)
What is the second law of thermodynamics?
Systems tend toward increasing entropy (disorder)
→Think of the body as one part of a bigger system
→It takes energy to gain order (think about active uptake)
→No energetic transfer is 100% efficient (food chains)
What are the four types of primary tissue in animals?
- Muscle – 3 main kinds: Skeletal, cardiac, smooth
- Nervous – transmit electrical impulses
- Epithelial – sheets & glands
- Connective – cells dispersed in an extracellular matrix
What are the primary tissue types in plants?
Epidermis, ground tissue, vascular tissue, OR
Meristematic v Permanent
What are the 4 levels of organisation within an organism?
- cells
- tissues
- organs
- systems
What is homeostasis?
The internal environment of the organism is actively maintained at a constant by
the function of cells, tissues and organs organised into negative feedback systems
What is bioenergetics?
The balance sheet of energy intake, storage & utilisation
→Intake (‘assimilation’): net energy from food (after digestion & absorption)
→Expenditure… Maintenance & repair, growth, reproduction, locomotion, heat
