Populations and ecology Flashcards
What is a population?
Members of the same species living in one habitat
What is an individual?
A living thing
What is an ecosystem?
A group of organisms of different species and their biotic and abiotic factors in one area.
What is a community?
A group of organisms of different species and their biotic factors in one area
What is the biosphere?
The part of the earth that contains all ecosystems
What is a biome?
An area in the biosphere that contains one type of vegetation.
What is an ecological niche?
The role and position a species has in its environment, for food and habitat
What is a species niche?
All interactions with biotic and abiotic factors
What are biotic factors?
Living factors, e.g. plants
What are abiotic factors?
Non-living factors, e.g. sunlight
What is interspecific competition?
Competition between different species
What is intraspecific competition?
Competition within a species.
Which encounter more competition broad niches or narrow niches?
Broad niches
What happens when niches overlap?
This leads to competition
What is a habitat?
The physical or abiotic part of an ecosystem
What is a species?
A group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring.
What is a producer?
An organism that produces food from carbon dioxide and water using photosynthesis
What is an autotroph?
An organism that can produce its own food
What is a heterotroph?
An organism that obtains energy and mass from other organisms
What is symbiosis?
Organisms living together in a close relationship
What is mutualism
Two organisms living together for mutual benefit
What is commensalism?
A relationship in which only one organism benefits
What do arrows in food webs and chains represent?
The movement of energy
What do blocks in ecological pyramids of numbers represent?
The numbers of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain
What do blocks in ecological pyramids of biomass represent?
The dry mass of an organism (as water doesn’t store energy). Usually a normal pyramid as energy is lost down the food chain.
What is primary succession?
Organisms populate an area for the first time. At this point there is no competition since this is the base of building the community. Takes a long time.
What is secondary succession?
Occurs after a smaller disturbance or after primary succession. Other surrounding organisms may return to how they used to be.
What is ecological succession?
This describes how the make-up of a community develops over time after a disturbance to the environment, this can be beneficial
What is a climax community?
The theoretical point at which a community has completed all stages of succession and has reached a state of stability.
What is the intermediate disturbance hypothesis?
Intermediate disturbances are ideal. This would allow there to be more niches and more biodiversity without too much destruction.
