Unit 1: Ecology Flashcards
species
includes organisms that have potential to interbreed successfully with each other and their offspring are able to do the same
What does the definition of species not apply to?
asexually reproducing organisms
population
contain members of the same species and may or may not be in the same area
What does population ecology look at?
factors affecting the growth and decline of a population
What is an example of population ecology?
humans
What are some increasing factors of the human population? (3)
- there are more precautions that can be taken to eliminate disease and injury
- there is ore control exercise over agriculture and domestication, so there is more food that lasts
- life expectancy has increased
What are some decreasing factors of the human population? (4)
- human population is expected to stop growing
- people are having less children
- increased mortality
- emigration
community
a group of populations (different species) that interact with each other
What does community ecology focus on?
competitive interactions between the different species
What are the ways organisms interact with each other? (3)
- predator-prey relationship
- competition
- symbiosis
predator-prey relationship
there is a positive effect for the predator and a negative effect for the prey
competition
organism will compete for food, space and resources
What are the types of competition? (2)
- intraspecific
- interspecific
Intraspecific
competition between same species
Interspecific
competition between different species
What is an example of competition?
humans
What do humas compete for? (5)
- food
- space
- water
- access to natural resources
- mates
symbiosis
various types of relationships between organisms
What are the types of symbiosis? (3)
- parasitism
- mutualism
- commensalism
parasitism
parasite benefits host does not
What is an example of parasitism? (2)
- dog and flea
- flea uses dog for food and shelter, does not kill because it wants to live
mutualism
both organisms benefit from the relationship
What is an example of mutualism? (2)
- flowers and bees
- flower pollinate and gains variation while bees get nectar
commensalism
One organism benefits while the other one is neutral
What is an example of commensalism? (2)
- monarch and viceroy butterfly
- monarchs are not eaten because of they eat milkweed, something birds cannot digest, so the viceroy benefits from looking similar to the monarch
ecosystem
the interaction between a community and the relevant abiotic factors
abiotic factors
nonliving things
What are some examples of abiotic factors? (3)
- weather
- natural disasters
- viruses
What does ecosystem ecology look at? (3)
- energy flow
- nutrient cycles
- feeding relationships
What are the modes of nutrition? (2)
- autotrophs
- heterotrophs
autotroph
produce own nutrition from inorganic sources, also known as a producer
What is the exception to the typical photoautotroph?
chemoautotrophs
chemoautotroph (2)
- produce food from chemicals
- usually located at the bottom of the ocean where there are fissures
heterotroph
acquire energy from an outside organism and takes in its molecules for nutrition
What is an example of a heterotroph?
humans
What are the types of heterotrophs? (3)
- consumers
- saprotrophs
- detritivores
consumer
digest other living organisms by ingestion
What is an example of a consumer?
humans
saprotroph (2)
- obtain organic nutrients by absorption of dead organisms
- digestion is external by enzymes
What is an example of a saprotroph?
mushrooms
detritivores
obtains nutrients from eating detritus (decaying plants for animal feces); also known as decomposers
What is an example of a detritivore?
flies
Why is random sampling done in population surveys?
it is a faster shortcut
What is the process of setting up a test in ecology? (3)
- randomly choose squares to survey
- count the number of individuals in each square and extrapolate the total for all squares
- chi-squared can be used
chi-squared test
looks at an association between 2 living things
mesocosm
a small self-sustaining ecosystem model
What are the requirements for a mesocosm? (3)
- energy source
- way to recycle nutrients
- waste removal
What do mesocosms allow?
the study of ecosystem dynamics under controlled conditions
What is the problem with being a large organism? (4)
- more food is required for energy
- caloric requirements must be met
- there is the issue of gravity
- there is the issue of heating and cooling
What organism is the best at heating and cooling?
human
What do all living things need to survive?
energy
What is the ultimate source of energy?
the sun
What limits food chains, food webs, and trophic levels?
energy flow
How does photosynthesis provide energy?
- it takes sunlight and uses it to produce glucose
- the energy is stored in the glucose, which can be broken down to release energy as ATP
How does cellular respiration provide energy?
is takes glucose breaks it down
and ATP is released
What causes energy flow to limit food chains and food webs?
only a portion of the energy from food that is consumed is used for building an organism
What can organisms not do with energy?
convert heat to other forms of energy for use
What are some of the roles in an ecosystem? (3)
- producers
- consumers
- decomposers
What do the roles of the ecosystem influence? (2)
- food chains
- food webs
What percentage of energy passes through trophic levels?
10%
trophic level
different levels of feeding
How high can a food chain get?
up to the 8th level
What can cause the balance of a food chain or food web to be disrupted?
an increase or decrease in a group
What is an example of a disrupted food chain?
the lack of wolves at Yellowstone
food chain
a sequence of organisms in successive trophic levels within a community
food web
the feeding connections between organisms in a biotic community
What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
a food web expresses that one organism can consume many things
pyramid of energy
the base is a producer with the most energy as it goes up each by each trophic level, the energy decreases
What are ways potential energy is lost? (3)
- heating and cooling
- undigested tissue
- waste products
What are organic compounds used for?
building tissue and organisms
What organic compound cannot be directly used to build tissue?
inorganic compounds
What are examples of inorganic compounds? (3)
- carbon dioxide
- carbon monoxide
- methane
What is and organic compound that heterotrophs cannot use that autotrophs can?
CO2
What is the main part of the carbon cycle?
CO2 being expelled into the atmosphere as a waste product then absorbed by autotrophs
How is CO2 consumed by heterotrophs?
CO2 is consumed in food, it is then converted to carbohydrates, which is digested and assimilated
What is the fact about energy and nutrients?
energy is basically infinite, but nutrients are limited
What is the main source of energy for the earth?
the sun
How many fossil fuels are there?
3
What are the 3 fossil fuels?
- natural gas
- coal
- oil
What is the most common natural gas?
methane (CH4)
methane
a natural gas that is a crucial compound in the C cycle
What is methane used for? (4)
- cooking
- heating home
- heating dryers
- heating water
How is methane produced?
by anaerobic bacteria via fermentation (in places like cow guts and rice paddies)
What does methane act as in the atmosphere?
a greenhouse gas
What does methane burn as?
fuel that oxidizes as CO2 and H2O
What is coal made of?
plants that have been dead for hundreds of years
What is the process of making coal? (2)
- decayed matter in swampy conditions becomes peat
- pressure + time + heat = coal
What is the process of making petroleum (oil)? (4)
- organisms in the water will die
- organisms will get trapped in sediment
- oxygen is forced out and pressure is added
- sediment becomes oil
combustion
burning in the presence of oxygen
What is the other name for fossil fuels?
fossilized hydrocarbons
What is another way of explaining the formation of fossil fuels?
over geologic time scale decaying organic matter becomes fossil fuels
What does the combustion of hydrocarbons result in?
release of CO2 into the atmosphere
Where else can CO2 be absorbed?
in the ocean
What are places in the ocean that CO2 can be stored in? (4)
- in living tissue
- in coral reefs
- as sediment on the bottom
- dissolved in ocean water
What can CO2 become in the ocean?
calcium carbonate (shells and reefs), a carbon sink
What does too much absorption of CO2 by the ocean cause?
the ocean to become more acidic (lower pH)
What is the carbon cycle?
cycle where carbon is exchanged between the different spheres of the Earth
greenhouse effect
atmospheric gases trapping longwave radiation (heat) from escaping into space
Why should the greenhouse effect not be removed?
it would cause life not to exist on earth because the temperatures would no longer be hospitable
ozone layer
composed of O3 that protects the earth from the sun’s UV radiation
What had been happening to the ozone layer for the past few decades? (2)
- hole had been developing in the ozone layer due to harmful chemicals in thing like hairspray
- the hole are fixing themselves now because those chemicals have been banned
Are the greenhouse effect and ozone layer related?
no
What does the sun send out? (2)
large amounts of radiation and energy
What does the earth’s atmosphere block? (2)
the suns radiation and energy
What radiation does make it through the earth’s ozone layer? (2)
longwave and shortwave
What is another name for longwave radiation?
infrared (heat)
What type of radiation is heat?
one that can be absorbed or reflected
What is another name for shortwave radiation?
ultraviolet
What happened infrared radiation when it comes into contact with earth?
- some is absorbed into the earth’s surface
- some is reflected and trapped by greenhouse gases
How has the greenhouse gas effect been enhanced?
through increased output of CO2 causing temperatures to rise
What are some examples of greenhouse gases? (5)
- CO2
- CH4
- H2O
- NOx
- O3
What does NOx stand for?
nitrous oxides
What are the two most important greenhouse gases? (2)
- H2O
- CO2
Which greenhouse gas levels have risen and caused a rise in temperature? (3)
- CO2
- CH4
- NOx
Which two greenhouse gases have more heating capability?
- CH4
- NOx
What is the main cause of climate change?
combustion of fossil fuels
What is the reason why the effect of climate change may not be as severe?
oceans absorb CO2 too
Why is it good that the ocean absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere?
it does not heat the planet
Why is it bad that the ocean absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere? (2)
- the presence of carbonic acid causes the pH of the ocean to drop
- marine ecosystems are disrupted causing the denaturing of enzymes
How is carbonic acid made?
CO2 dissolving in H2O
