Marine ecology Flashcards
what is ecology
a branch of biology which studies the relationship between living organisms and their environment
what do abiotic or biotic factors influence
how organisms grow
abundance
distribution
fecundity
give some examples of abiotic factors
temperature
salinity
wave action
water pressure
give some examples of biotic factors
predation
mutualism
competition
define community
all populations of organisms in a defined area
define habitat
the physical place where an organism lives
define niche
the resources that an organism uses to grow, survive and reproduce
define ecosystem
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
what resources limit population size
nutrients
space
light
oxygen
carbon dioxide
what is exponential growth
when each individual has more than one offspring and the total number increases with every generation
what is carrying capacity
the point where the resources limit the abundance of organisms in a given area aka K
what is an r select species
produce a large number of offspring
little parental care
low juvenile surviorship
early sexual maturity
shorter life expectancy
small
what is a K select species
small number of offspring
large parental involvement
long lived
large
when does competition occur
when organisms require the same resources that is limited in space and time
what is the difference between intra and interspecific competition
intra= competition between individuals of the same species
inter= competition between individuals of different species
what is the difference between a fundamental niche and a realised niche
fundamental= where an individual could live in the absence of competition or predation
realised= where an individual actually lives in the presence of competition and predation
list some different predation avoidance techniques seen by prey species in the ocean
schooling
camouflage
armour
mimicry
mutualism
what is symbiosis
when one species has a close and long term biological interaction with a second species
what are the two different types of symbiosis
facultative= when it is convenient but not essential
obligate= when the interaction is essential for survival
what is mutualism
when both species benefit
what is commensalism
when one species benefits with no harm to the other
what is parasitism
when one species benefits at the cost to the other
what are benthic organisms/benthos
organisms which live on the bottom or buried and are often sessile and attached to one place
what are pelagic organisms
organisms which live in the water column
what are planktonic organisms
organisms which drift at the mercy of currents
what are nekton organisms
organisms which can swim against the current and can be benthic
outline characteristics of the plelagic subdivisions
split int the neritic zone above the continental shelf and the ocean zone which is the deep sea
the ocean zone is made up of the epipelagic (photic zone) and the mesopelagic (has light but not enough for photosynthesis)
