Topic 5: Ecology and Evolution Flashcards
Trophic levels
An organisms position on the food chain.
Food Web
An interconnecting series of food chains
Natality
The number of new members of the species due to reproduction.
Immigration
Members arriving from other places.
Mortality
The numbers of deaths
Emigration
Members leaving the population
Growth phase
The number of individuals increases at a faster and faster rate.
Plateau phase
The number of individuals has stabilized, there is no more growth.
Transitional phase
The growth rate slows down considerably, the population is still increasing at a faster and faster rate.
Evolution
The process of cumulative change in the heritable characteristic of a population.
Nomenclature
A system used to name things
Species
A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
Habitat
The environment in which a species normally lives or the location of a living organism.
Population
A group of organisms of the same species who live in the same area at the same time.
Community
A group of populations living and intersecting with each other in a area.
Ecosystem
A community and its abiotic environment.
Ecology
The study of relationships between living organisms and between organisms and their environment,
Autotrophs
An organism that synthesizes its organic molecules from simple inorganic substances. eg. Algae
Heterotrophs
An organism that obtains organic molecules form other organisms eg. Fish
Consumer
An organism that ingests other organic matter that is living or recently killed eg.. Volture
Detritivores
An organism that ingests non-living organic matter. Eg. Earthworms
Saprotrophs
An organism that lives on or in non-living organic matter, secreting digestive enzymes into it and absorbing the products of digestion eg. Fungi
Food chain
A sequence showing the feeding relationships and energy flow between species.
