Test 1 Flashcards
Biosphere
region of earth that includes earth’s thin crust, water, atmosphere and all organisms
population
group of individuals of same species
ex: population of squirrels on campus
habitat
place where organism lives-finds food, water, space and shelter or cover
Biotic potential (BP)
theoretical maximum growth rate of population. Ex: pheasants (# of eggs can produce)
environmental resistance (ER)
all factor cause mortality (death). ex: eaten by a mountain lion or factors that reduce # of births. ex: chemicals and fetus
environmental resistance (ER)
all factor cause mortality (death). ex: eaten by a mountain lion or factors that reduce # of births. ex: chemicals and fetus
carrying capacity
level at which maximum # of animals supported by environment. / if population increases above carrying capacity there will not be enough food to feed the population and they’ll starve
limiting factor
is in short supply and limits population size. ex: not enough food
density dependent
if population is low, there is plenty of food
Prokaryotic kingdoms
lack nucleus in cell
eukaryotic kingdom
has nucleus in cell
protisans
producers and consumers/ single-celled and multi-cellular species
fungi
multicelled/ consumers and decomposers
plants
multicelled/ produce oxygen and make up food chain
animals
multicelled consumers/ herbivores, carnivores, parasites, scavengers
ecology
study of how organisms interact with each other and with their environments
population
group of individuals of same species
density-independent
not correlating with crowding present in population / ex: hurricane hits an area, may kill members of population
World’s fastest growing regions
- Africa 2. Latin America 3. Asia
intraspecific competition
members of same species compete for resource
interspecific competition
members of 2 different species compete for resource
commensalism
one species benefits and the other is unaffected
mutualism
both species benefit
secondary succession
whenever there is a disturbance the forest can come back and won’t take as long cos soil is still there and has a seed bank/ seeds will germinate
biodiversity
wealth of diversity in biological organisms
ecosystem
communities of organisms that interact with each other and the physical and chemical substances in their environment
photoautotrophs (producers)
plants, algae-only living organisms able to use energy directly from the sun
heterotrophs (consumers, decomposers)
cant get energy from the sun
second law of thermodynamics
in any transfer of energy from 1 level to another some energy is lost to system as heat
biogeography
study of global geography of living organisms
biome
large region of land characterized by climax community
climax community
plant community that will continue to persist indefinitely even if we disturb it
Tundra
far north of N. America, Europe, and Asia / one of the largest biomes, long winters and short summers, little rainfall or snow, permafrost: permanently frozen ground, least inhabited by humans
Alpine Tundra
above tree line
Boreal Forest/Taiga
South of Tundra in N. America, Europe and Asia / forests consist of Conifers-firs,pines and spruces, climate slightly warmer than Tundra- more rain and snowfall, resident mammals: Moose, Lynx, wolves, sparsely populated by humans
Decidous Forest
Eastern part of N. America, Central Europe, and Eastern Asia/ forests consist of Hardwoods, Oaks and Maples/ Summers are warm and humid, winters cold with heavy snowfall/ mammals: red fox, deer / heavily populated by humans
Grasslands
nearly all continents-occur between forest and desert biomes/ vegetation dominated by grasses- tall and short grass prairies/ low rainfall, summers are warm and winters cold with snow in N and rain in S./ most fertile soil of all biomes
Deserts
African, N. and S. America, Europe, Asia and Australia/ low rainfall- extreme temp between day and night
Mediterranean
countries bordering the Mediterranean sea, much of California, Chile, S. Australia, S. Africa/ vegetation is known as chaparral / summers warm and dry, winters w/ some rainfall, little snow / heavily impacted by humans
Temperate rainforest
northwest coast of N. America, southern Chile, South Island of New Zealand, Southeastern Australia / dense and tall forests of Conifers-Douglas Fir, Redwood/ mild temps and high rainfall throughout year/ mammals: Black bear, deer, Spotted Owl / heavily impacted by logging
Tropical rainforest
located near equator on many continents and islands/ tremendous biodiversity- 2/3rd of all living organisms / trees shallow-rooted cos of abundant rainfall- nutrients near soil surface / heavily impacted by logging/ tigers, jaguars
Savanna
widely scattered in Africa and Asia/ vegetation- scattered trees in a grass-covered region/ zebras, elephants, lions.
Aquatic
water covers 70% of earth/ includes oceans, estuaries, ponds, rivers streams, creeks, lakes, marshes, wetlands / estuaries: fresh water enters into ocean / barnacles, crocodiles, puffins, muskrats, Orcas, sea otters
