Unit 2 Ecology Flashcards
What is Ecology?
- Organisms relationships with each other
- Orgamisms interaction with the environment
Biosphere
The portion of the Earth that supports life
Biotic factors
-Living factors in an organisms environment
ex/: orgamisms, food, competitors, and predators
Abiotic factors
non living factors in an organisms environment
ex/: temp.,air, sunlight, soil, rain
Organism
Living creature/plant/bacteria
Population
Individual organisms of a SINGLE species
Biological Community
A group of interacting populations (Including bacteria)
Ecosystem
A biological community and all abiot factors that affect it
Biome
A large group of ecosystems
Habitat
An area where an organism lives
Nich
An organisms role or position
Competition
2 or more organisms competeing for the same rescource
Predetation
1 organism consuming another
Symbiosis
When 2 or more organisms live together
Commenalism
One benefits, one is neutral
Mutualism
Both organisms benefit
Parasitism
One helped, one is harmed
Autotroph
Capture energy, making it avialible for all members of the food web (Collect energy from the sun)
Heterotroph
Get energy by consuming other organisms
Herbivore
Plant eater
Carnivore
Meat eater
Omnivore
Meat & Plant eater (Humans, Bears)
Detritivore
Dead stuff eaters
Trophic Levels
A step in the food chain/web
Food chain
A simple model showing how energy is transfered through an ecosystem
Food Web
Shows many interconnected food chains
Ecological Pyramids
Shows the reletive amounts of energy, biomass, or numbers of organisms at each trophic level
What percentage of energy is wasted at each step in food chain/web?
90%
What percentage of energy is given to the organism that eats another?
10%
Biomass
The total mass of tliving matter at each trophic level
What is at the bottom of the ecological/energy pyramid?
Primary Producers
What is at the top of the ecological/energy pyramid?
Tercirary Consumers (3-Consumers)
Nutrient
A chemical substance and organism needs to live
Cycles
Essential nutrients are cycled through the ecosystem
Biogeochemical
A cycle involving life, the earth, and chemicals
Watershed
Water collected underground (Groundwater)
Precipitation
Water falling from clouds
Transpiration
Water coming out of plants
Where does phosphorus come from?
Waste
8 steps to Eutrophication
1) Excess phospherous
2) Alge eats waste
3) Algal bloom
4) No sunlight below
5) Plants die
6) Bacteria eat plants
7) Uses up oxygen
8) Fish die
Long term phosphorous cycle leads to…
Phosphorus eroded from rocks
What is the main cause of eutrophication?
Fertilizers
Photosynthesis
Plants use carbon dioxide & water to make carbohydrates and oxygen
(CO2+H2O=C6H12O6+O2)
Respiration
- Opposite of photosythesis
- Heterotrophs eaat glucose and breathe oxygen. They release carbon dioxide, water, and energy.
Combustion
Burning carbon fuels, releasing CO and CO2
Fossil Fuels
Peat, coal, oil, and gas that iss created when organic material is burned
Nitrogen Fixation
- Capturing & turning it into a plant-usable form
- Happens in roots of plants
- Bacteria does this
Nitrification
Ammonia->Nitrites->Nitrates<3 (which are usable)
Ammonification
Organisms die and decomposers turn them into ammonia
Denitrification
The reverse of nitrogen fixation
-Nitrogen leaving soil into air
Decomposition & Urination
Nitrogen goes into the soil & is fixed by nitrogen fixing bacteria
Community
A group of interacting populations that occupy the same area at the same time
Community ecology
All living organisms are limited by factors in the environment
Limiting Factors
Any abiotic of biotic factor that restrict the # of organisms
Range of Tolerance
The range between the upper and lower limit of abiotic and biotic factors in which and organism can survive
Ecological Succession
When one community replaces another as a result of changing abiotic and biotic factors
Primary Succession
The establishment of a new community on exposed rock (lava)
- very rare
- Lichens and mosses(First plants to grow on rock)
Secondary Succession
The establishment of a community after a commnity has been removed but the soil is still in tact
-Fires, floods, windstorms
Climax communites
Occurs when there is no longer change
POPULATION GROWTH IS A CRITICAL FACTOR
.
Population Density
Number of organisms in an area
Population Distribution
How do they disperse themselves
Uniform
Even spacing
Clumped Groups
Heards
Random
More random
-Plants
What 4 things go into determining population size?
1) Immigration
2) Emmigration
3) Mortality
4) Natality
What is the equation to find the total population?
Population + (Birth-Death) + (Immigration-Emigration) = Total Population
Exponential growth
Growth increaces exponentially/rapidly
What is a type of graph that shows exponential growth?
The J Curve graph
Doubling time
The amount of time it takes for a population to double
-Short amnt. of time
What are 4 limiting factors that are density dependent?
- Disease-(Spreads faster in high density pop. areas)
- Competition-(Whe resources become limited)
- Parasites-(The more dense the population, the more these will spread)
- Population Growth
What graph shows when a population hits its carrying capacity?
S curve
Density Dependent Control
Depends on population of and area
Density Independent Factors
Does not depent on population
What type are r-stratigists?
Type 3
What type are k-stratigists?
Type 1
What are some examples of r-sratigists (type 3) ?
Seaturtles, spiders
What are some examples of k-stratigists (type 1) ?
Humans, elephants
Type 1
- Few offspring
- High parental care
- Low mortality rates in infancy
Type 2
-Medium care
-Medium # of offspring
-Constant death rate
(Song birds)
Type 3
-High # of offspring
-High mortality rate in infancy
(Seaturtles, insects)
Demography
The study of human pop. size, density, distribution, movement, and birth & death rates
Human Population Growth
Human pop. growth changes over time
What are 3 trends in human population
1) Zero population growth-(Population leveling off)
2) Age structure (*Pre-Reproductive
* Reproductive
* Post-Reproductive)
3) Human carying capacity-(Where # of resources are maxed out)
Why did the human population become so big?
1) Food Production
2) Medicine
3) Industry
Examples of Density Dependent Factors
- Food
- Disease
- Water
- Space
Examples of Density Independent Factors
- Meteor
- Nuclear
- Sun
- Nat. Disasters
Biodiversity
The variety of life in an area (# of species)
Extinction
When a species is completely gone
Genetic diversity
The varienty of genes or inheritable characteristics
How are organisms organized from organism to biosphere? (9)
1-Cells 2-Tissues 3-Organs 4-Organ systems 5-Organism 6-Populations 7-Communities 8-Ecosystems/Biomes 9-Biosphere
What is a habitat and a niche for a grasshopper?
Habitat: Tall Grass
Niche: Food sources for other animals
What are the 3 types of symbiotic relationships?
1) Mutalism- (+,+)
2) Commenalism- (+,o)
3) Parasitism- (+, -)
What is a competitor for a squirrel?
A chipmunk
What is a predator for a squirrel?
An Eagle
What are the different levels of the food chain?
Trophic Levels
Draw and energy pyramid
Ter.Consumers
Seco. Consumers
Primary Consumers
PRIMARY PRODUCERS
What does biomass have to do with the energy pyramid?
Biomass is the total mass at each step/trophic level on the energy pyramid
What is a biogeochemical cycle?
A cycle involving life, the earth, & chemicals
What are the 6 steps of the water cycle?
1) Evaporation
2) Condensation
3) Precipitation
4) Runoff
5) Groundwater
6) Transpiration
What are the 4 steps in the carbon/oxygen cycle?
1) Photosynthesis
2) Respiration
3) Combustion
4) Fossil Fuels
