Unit 10- Productivity And Populations Flashcards
How is the productivity of an ecosystem measured?
Amount of biomass produced by that ecosystem per year
How is GPP calculated
NPP + Respiration
What does the NPP tell us about an ecosystem?
How good an ecosystem is at fixing energy from the sun
What can NPP of ecosystems be used for?
To compare how good ecosystems are at fixing light energy
What kind of ecosystem will have a high NPP and a low NPP?
High: swamps and rainforests and reefs
Low: deserts
Populations can be affected by various abiotic factors, list a few;
- light intensity
- wind or water currents
- temperature
- water availability
- oxygen availability
- soil composition (mineral content and pH)
What is a biotic factor
The living factors of an ecosystem
List a few biotic factors that affect population
- predator prey populations
- territory behaviour
- competition
- parasites
- availability of reproductive partners
How can territorial behaviour affect population size?
Behaviour over territory dictates usually how many male organism can live in a single habitat
What is interspecific competition ?
Competition for resources between members of a different species
What is intraspecific competition ?
Competition for resources between members of the same species
When does interspecific competition occur? And what is the usual outcome?
This occurs when 2 species occupy the same niche in a habitat
Ending with one species out competing the other
Describe the cyclical change between prey and predator populations
- when population of the prey increases, the predator wil have more food
- predator population begin a to increase, so more prey will get eaten
- prey population will decrease
In mild conditions what governs population size? Biotic or abiotic factors?
Biotic factors, as more species can adapt to the mild resulting in greater competition between species and with in a species
