Principles of Ecology Flashcards
refers to the scientific study of relationships between
organisms and their environment
Ecology
Everything that takes up space and has mass.
matter
is the material of which things are made
matter
is the capacity to do work, such as moving matter over a distance.
energy
What energy contained in moving objects
kinetic energy
is stored energy that is latent but available for use.
Potential energy
stored in the food you eat and the gasoline you put in the car, is also a potential energy that can be released to do useful work.
Chemical energy
describes the energy that can be transferred between objects of different temperature.
Heat
is the study of how energy is transferred, its rates of flow and transformation from one form or quality to another.
Thermodynamics
the tendency of all natural system to go from a state of order toward a state of increasing disorder
entropy
is the ultimate source of energy for living organisms.
sun
are organisms that live in severe conditions.
Extremophiles
energy to an ecosystem that lives in total darkness and under tremendous pressure.
Deep-sea hydrothermal vents
The energy source for this ecosystem is provided by inorganic molecules like hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen gas through a process called?
chemosynthesis
are considered to be very primitive organisms and the conditions under which they live are thought to be similar to those in which life first evolved.
Archaea
Most extremophiles are single celled called?
Archaea
is composed of particles of energy that travel as waves. It is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, the entire range of electromagnetic radiation.
Light
converts radiant energy into useful, high quality chemical energy in the bonds that hold together organic molecules (food!).
Photosynthesis
is responsible for the flow of wind, ocean currents, weather patterns and the hydrological cycle.
Sunlight
is the conversion of light energy into chemical bond energy. It takes place in organelles called _______.
Photosynthesis - chloroplast
releases chemical energy found in substances.
Cellular respiration
is the base of the energy dynamics of an ecosystem, how organisms share food resources..
Photosynthesis
refers to the amount of biological material produced in an ecosystem.
Biomass
strike the earth obliquely in the higher latitudes.
Sunrays
is responsible for the flow of wind, ocean currents, weather patterns and the hydrological cycle.
Sunlight
is most often defined as all organisms that are
genetically similar enough to breed and produce live, fertile offspring in nature
species
consists of all members of a specie that live in the same area at the same time.
population
consists of all the populations living and interacting in an area
biological community
biological activity and its physical environment (water, mineral resources, air, sunlight) make up an_______?
ecological system, or ecosystem
is measured by the amount of biomass produced in an ecosystem
productivity
is the biomass produced by photosynthesis of an ecosystem
primary productivity
is the biomass produced by organisms that eat plants or other organisms of an ecosystem
secondary productivity
refers to the sequence of organisms in a community on successive trophic levels and
through which energy is transferred. It is a feeding series.
Food chain
are several interconnected network of food chain, usually very complex involving hundreds of species
Food web
is the position of an organism in the food chain.
Trophic level
make food from simple organic matter, the largest group in the community.
Producers or autotrophs
obtain their food by eating other organisms
Consumers or heterotrophs
Organisms that eat plants
Primary consumers or herbivores
Organisms that eat other animals
Secondary and tertiary consumers or carnivores
Organisms that eat both plant and animal materials
Omnivores
Organisms that feed on dead organisms and wastes.
Decomposers or saprobes
Saprobes eat Dead animals (carrion)
scavengers
Organisms feces and excreted organic compounds, Dead plants, logs, stumps, fallen leaves, dead roots.
Ditritivores
are decomposers and completer the final breakdown and recycling of
organic materials.
Fungi and bacteria
is formed when organisms in a community are arranged according to
numbers.
ecological pyramid
Liquid is changed to gas (vapor) is called?
Evaporation
change from solid to gas is called?
Sublimation
gas changes to liquid id called?
Condensation
falling of water in any of its phases upon the surface of the earth is called?
Precipitation
