UNIT 1 Chapter 4-ECOLOGY Flashcards
What is meant by the biosphere ?
It is the part of the planet containing living things.
What is ecology ?
it is the study of interaction between organisms and between organisms and there environment ?
what is an ecosystem ?
it is a group of clearly distinguished organisms that interact with their environment as a unit
what is a habitat ?
it is a place where a plant or animal lives
what is a population ?
it is the number of all the same species living in an area
what is community ?
it is all the different populations in an area
what are abiotic factors ?
they’re non-living factors
what are biotic factors ?
they’re living factors
what climatic factors ?
they refer to weather over a long period of time
what are edaphic factors ?
they relate to soil -( soil pH, soil type and moisture, air and mineral content of soil)
what are producers ?
they are organisms that carry out photosynthesis
what are consumers ?
they’re organisms that take in food from another organism
what is a food grazing chain ??????????
it is a sequence of organisms in which each one is eaten by the next organism in the chain
what is a trophic level ????????????????
it is a feeding stage in a food chain
what is a food web ????????
it consists of two or more interlinked food chains
what is a pyramid of numbers ?
it represents the number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain
what is an ecological niche ?
the ecological niche of an organism is the functional role it plays in the community
what is a nutrient cycle ?
it is the way in which elements are exchanged between the living and non-living components of an ecosystem
what is the carbon cycle ?
it is the process whereby carbon from the enviroment is converted to carbon in living things
example of carbon cycle ?
plants change carbon dioxide to oxygen for human
what is the role of organisms in the carbon cycle ?
1-plants remove carbon from the environment in photosynthesis and return it in respiration
2-animals obtain their carbon by eating plants and they release carbon in respiraton
3-micro organisms (such as fungi and bacteria) return carbon to the environment when they decompose dead plants and animals
what is the nitrogen cycle ?
it the process whereby nitrogen is taken in from the air and made available for use by living things
what is the role of organisms in the nitrogen cycle ?
- Bacteria play a central role in the nitrogen cycle- there are four types of bacteria and their functions are-1: nitrogen-fixing bacteria which converts atmospheric nitrogen to nitrates - 2: bacteria of decay which converts decaying nitrogen waste to ammonia - 3: nitrifying bacteria which converts ammonia to nitrates - 4: denitrifying bacteria which converts nitrates to nitrogen gas.
- Fungi helps convert dead plants and animals and their wastes into ammonia in the soil.
- Plants absorbed nitrates from the soil and use the nitrogen to form proteins.
- Animals consume plants and use their nitrogen to form animal protein.
what is nitrogen fixation ?????????????
it is the conversion of nitrogen gas into ammonia(NH3), ammonium(NH4+) or nitrate(NO3-)
what is nitrification ??????????
it is the conversion of ammonia and ammonium(NH4+) compounds to nitrite and then nitrate
wha is denitrification ?????????
it is the conversion of nitrates to nitrogen gas
what is pollution ????
it is any harmful addition to the environment
what are pollutants ?
they’re substances that cause pollution
what is conservation ????????????
it is the wise management of our existing natural resources in order to maintain a wide range of habitats and prevent the death and extinction of organisms
