LAB 11 - Ecology Flashcards
What is ecology?
- study of interactions among living organisms
- and between organisms + their environment
What are the 2 types of factors in an environment?
- abiotic
2. biotic
What are abiotic factors?
-water, sunlight, oxygen, temperature, soil, climate etc.
What are biotic factors?
-other living organisms that share that same habitat
What is a population?
- group of individuals of the same species
- occupy given area (habitat)
What is biocoenosis?
- biological community
- all the interacting organisms living together (all populations)
- in specific habitat or biotope
What is an ecosystem?
community + environment
What is a biosphere?
-sum of all the planet’s ecosystems
What is an example of a marine ecosystem?
coral reef
What is a food chain?
-just one path of energy
What is a food web?
-everything is connected
What are producers?
autotrophic
What are consumers?
heterotrophic
How much energy from sunlight does a plant capture?
1%
What does the plant do with the energy from the sun?
transform it into ATP
How much stored energy does each trophic (feeding) level pass on to the next?
10%
What are predators?
animals that feed on herbivores
What are herbivores?
animals that feed on plants
What are examples of primary producers?
-plants, algae, some bacteriaq
What is biomass?
amount of living or organic matter present in an organism
What is a pyramid of biomass?
-total mass of the organisms at each trophic level
What is a first consumer?
herbivore
What is a 2nd consumer?
carnivore or omnivore
What is a 3rd consumer?
carnivore or omnivore
What are 4 examples of decomposers/saprobes?
- fungi
- bacteria
- earthworms
- insects
What are examples of parasites?
- fleas
- tapeworms
- mistletoe
What are bioassays?
test the effect of pollutants on the indicator organisms
What is an example of a bioassay?
-Coliform bacteria as indicators of fecal contamination in water
What is LC50
- lethal concentration 50
- concentration that ills 50% of the indicator organisms within a specific time of exposure
What was tested in lab in relation to pollution?
Daphnia magnia
