unit 2 Flashcards
ecology
what is ecology?
ecology is the scientific study of interactions.
who made the term ecology and why?
Ernest Haeckel coined the term ecology in 1866, he saw the living world as a household with an economy where each organism plays a “role”.
what are the ecological levels of organization?
the ecological levels of organization are individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, and biosphere.
how much is an individual?
one organism.
what is a population?
a group of individuals that are the same species living in the same area.
what is a community?
different populations living together in an area.
what is an ecosystem?
all the communities in an area + all the abiotic components of the environment.
what is a biome?
group of ecosystem with the same climate and similar communities.
what is biosphere?
part of the earth in which life exists, including air, land, and water.
what is a species?
individuals that can mate and produce fertile offspring.
what does biotic mean?
all the living things.
what does abiotic mean?
all the non-living things.
what are some biotic factors?
animals, fungi, plants, bacteria, and protists.
what are some abiotic factors?
sunlight, water, temperature, soil, wind, and rocks.
are severe disturbances abiotic? (tornadoes, fires, hurricanes, droughts, and volcanic eruptions)
yes, severe disturbances are abiotic.
what is energy?
energy is the ability to do work or to cause change.
what are the forms of energy?
light (radiant), heat (thermal), chemical, mechanical (movement) and kinetic.
true or false: energy does not transform and doesn’t transfer
false, energy transforms and is transferred within ecosystems.
does energy flow in one direction or many?
energy flows in one direction: from the sun to consumers.
what is the main initial source of energy?
sunlight.
true or false: producers (autotrophs) use sunlight or chemicals to produce food and harness energy.
true
what does the suffix troph mean?
troph means nourishment or food.
what are the two types of autotrophic processes?
photosynthesis and chemosynthesis.
what kind of energy does photosynthesis use?
photosynthesis uses light energy.
what kind of energy does chemosynthesis use?
chemosynthesis uses chemical energy.
what do consumers (heterotrophs) rely on for energy?
consumers (heterotrophs) rely on other organisms for energy.
what are herbivores?
herbivores are organisms that eat only plants
what are carnivores?
carnivores are organisms that eat only meat.
what are omnivores?
omnivores are organisms that eat bot plants and meat.
what are scavengers?
scavengers are organisms that mostly eats large pieces of dead animals or plants (carrion).
what are detritivores?
detritivores are organisms that eat plant and animal remains.
what do decomposers do?
decomposers break down organic matter.
what are food chains?
food chains are steps that show how energy is passed on.
what do the arrows in food chains mean?
the arrows point in the direction that energy is flowing.
true or false: fewer steps of a food chain means less energy for the consumers at the end/top.
false, fewer steps mean greater energy for consumers at the end/top of a food chain.
what are food webs?
a food web links all food chains in an ecosystem together.
what do trophic levels show?
trophic levels shows the position of an organism with available energy in a food chain or a food web. it is the number of steps starting with the producers (autotrophs).
what does the first trophic level start with?
the first trophic level always starts with some sort of producer.
what is an energy pyramid?
an energy pyramid is energy passed between trophic levels.
how much energy is transferred to each level?
only 10% of the energy is transferred to the next level.
how much energy is “lost” at each level?
90% is lost at each level to work and as heat.
what is a biomass pyramid?
a biomass pyramid shows the potential food available for each trophic level.
how is a biomass pyramid measured?
biomass pyramids are measured in grams per unit area g/m^2
pyramid of numbers-
number of individual organisms at each trophic level. (not always a pyramid).
what is a habitat?
a habitat is where an organism lives including abiotic and biotic factors.
what is a niche?
a niche is a role or an organism in an ecosystem.
true or false: two species can have the same niche in a habitat.
false, two species cannot have the same niche in a habitat.
when does competition occur?
competition occurs when two organisms try to use the same resource like food, nesting area, mate, etc.
what is competitive exclusion principle?
competitive exclusion principle is where no two species can occupy the same niche.
what is predation?
predation is where one organism captures and feeds on another.
what is a predator?
a predator is the organism that does the killing.
what is the prey?
the organism that gets hunted, the one that gets eaten.
what is symbiosis?
relationship in which two species live closely together.
how many types of symbiosis is there?
there is three types of symbiosis.
what are the types of symbiosis?
mutualism, commenalism, paratism.
what is mutualism?
mutualism is where both species benefit from the relationship.
what is commenalism?
commenalism is where one organism benefits and the other is neither harmed or not helped, neutral.
what is paratism?
paratism is where one one organism lives on or inside another organism “harming” them. the parasite obtains most of its food from its host.
pioneer species–
are the first to arrive usually lichens and mosses.
climax community–
last stage of ecological succession that does not change anymore.
what are the two types of land (terrestrial) succession?
primary and secondary succession are the two types.
when does primary succession occur?
primary succession occurs on land where there is no soil existing.
when does secondary succession occur?
secondary succession occurs following a disturbance, where the soil is still existing.
when does aquatic succession occur?
aquatic succession occurs in lakes and ponds and they get filled up with sediment.
what are the nutrient cycles?
water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus.
what are all living things made out of?
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus.
what do producers do with C, H, O, N, P?
producers are able to “put together” these elements into macromolecules
what do consumers do with C, H, O, N, P ?
consumers acquire them by eating the producers.
water cycle–
the movement of water (H2O) through and ecosystem.
