unit 4 part 1 Flashcards
what are the levels of organization
Biosphere:all living things on earth and what they interact with
Biome: large areas with similar climate and organisms
Ecosystem: all the living and non living things in an area
Community: all living things in an area that interact
Population: all organisms in one species in one area and how they interact
Individual: 1 organism and its interactions
ecology definition
interactions between living things or between living and non living things
habitat definition
place where organism lives(general or specific, large or varied)
abiotic factor
non living factor that affects organism
biotic factor
living thing that affects organism
general well adapted organism examples
Lyme grass
-in sandy areas near ocean
-thick cuticle to not lose water easily
-leaves roll up decreasing water loss
-long stems that reach water
-has lots of solutes-water enters by osmosis
Mangrove trees
-swampy areas near oceans
-can secrete salt from cells to get fresh water
-absorbs solute- more water intake
-roots mainly above water
-buoyant seeds that can be dispersed
abiotic factors that affect plants
water, temp, sun, soil
abiotic factors that affect animals
water temperature
what is a range of tolerance
amount of abiotic or biotic factors that an organism can take
how is range of tolerance tested
by observing amounts of organisms found at certain factor -ex: temperature
or quadrat sampling
what type of plant is easily measured for range of tolerance
aquatic
what is coral
animals that build calcium carbonate skeleton. offspring builds skeleton on parents skeleton
how is zooxanthellae algae and coral a mutualistic relationship
the algae does photosynthesis to produce oxygen and glucose for the coral and gets carbon dioxide and water in return from the coral doing cell respiration
factors that affect zooxanthellae algae
depth-more light, more photosynthesis
pH- too acidic breaks up CaCO3-results in too much co2 in environment
salinity-too much salt, not enough nutrients
clarity-sunlight
temperature- sensitive to warm water
what determines a biomes climate
temperature and precipitation
what is convergent evolution
2 different organisms develop similar traits at different times for different reasons(analogous structures)
desert climate
high temperatures and low rainfall
special adaptatiosn to hot deserts
saguaro cactus
-large to hold lots of water
-thick outer layer
-long roots to reach water
-spines protect and perform photosynthesis to lose less water
Fennec fox
-big ears lose heat
-nocturnal
-live in dens underground
-hair on bottom of paws
tropical rainforest climate
high temp and precipitation
tropical rainforest adaptations
meranti tree
-tall to access sunlight
-leaves are pointy so water runs off
-only drops seeds once every 5 years so its not competing w its own offspring
spider monkey
-climbs to get resources
-long arms and feet
-feet have thumbs
-tails to grip things
-loud voice
process of quadrat sampling
separate area into quadrats
choose random quadrats and count # in each
find average
multiply by number of total quadrats
transects
walk line through organisms and count number touching line
belt transect- wider-shows abundance
done to see if there is an association between groups-found by chi squared
only works on sedentary animals
Lincoln index
capture, mark, release, recapture
estimates mobile organisms
multiply animals captured 1st day by animals recaptured and divide by marked animals recaptured
assumptions made in Lincoln index
Area-has to be same
time period- walk same rate and same time between captures
make sure marking doesn’t harm
what is the carrying capacity
maximum size population can be without running out of resources- how much the environment can hold
based on number population fluctuates around
what affects plant carrying capacities
water,soil, sunlight
what affects animal carrying capacities
prey,plants,predators, living space, water
what does carrying capacity depend on
-depends on ecosystem and the resources
-more competition,lower carrying capacity
density independent factors
influence populations no matter the size
ex: natural disaster, human activity
density dependent factors
influence depends on size
ex:disease, competition for resources, predation
what does negative feedback mean
a population gets too high for the ecosystem in which it’s living, the population declines.
what is exponential growth
constantly growing at exponential rate when there’s plentiful resources and leads to positive feedback
exponential growth organism examples
invasive species&pioneer species bc there’s no competition
homosapiens
what is sigmoid growth
resources become limited
shown by s shapes graph
examples of sigmoid growth models
Duckweed:plant that grows on water surface
-asexual-reproduces quickly
Yeast: single cell eukaryote-reproduces asexually
what is an intraspecific interaction
within species
interspecific interaction
between species
intraspecific interaction examples
competition: light pollinate, food, mates
cooperation: herds, packs, huddle for warmth, parental care
what are the community interactions like
complex
can be hundreds of thousands
interspecific
what are the 6 categories of interspecific interactions
Herbivory: animals eating plants
-no hunting
-usually not killed
Predation: predator hunting, killing, and eating the prey
Competition: 2 or more species use same resource
-can be inter or intraspecific
Mutualism: both benefit from interaction
Parasitism: parasite lives on or in host
-harms not kills
Pathogenicity: pathogen lives on or in host and causes disease
competition examples
ivy on oak trees for sunlight
examples of plant adaptation to avoid being eaten
thorns, poison, tough cellulose outer layer
examples of animal adaptations to overcome plant adaptations
giraffes can avoid spines
catepillars consume toxin and become poisonous
how do herbivorous insects overcome plant adaptations
jaw like mouthparts-break down outer layer
tubular mouthparts- pierce layer
what are the 3 main categories of predation features
physical
chemical
behavioral
predation physical feature examples
vampire bats sharp teeth
camoflauge
predation behavioral features
hunting in packs
herds to protect
what is the prey predator relationship’s impact on population
prey goes down, predators go down, prey goes back up, predators go up
what relationship affects population size more than any other
herbivory and predation
what is a food chain
shows transfer of energy in 1 linear pathway from 1 organism to the next
what is top down control
highest trophic level is in control
bottom up control
lowest level is in control
impact of natural competition
keeps stable population and carrying capacity
unnatural competition meaning
humans move organisms causing competition that wasn’t there before and one gets outcompeted-invasive species
invasive species examples
Red lionfish
-endemic to Indian ocean
-people took as pets and became invasive in Gulf of Mexico
Salvinia
-endemic to Brazil, brought to US as decorative plants
-grows on water surface and blocks sunlight
causing a lot of problems
forms of avoiding competition
Allelopathy: plants release chemicals into soil killing others and removing competition
Antibiotic secretion: kills bacteria
allelopathy example
Tree of heaven
endemic to China, was moved, kills all other plants
Antibiotic secretion example
penicillium fungus
kills competing bacteria
mutualism examples
Fabaceae family and rhizobium bacteria
orchidaceae family and mycorrhizae fungus
coral and zooxanthellae algae
Fabaceae family and rhizobium bacteria mutualistic relationship
the bacteria grows on nodules on roots
bacteria gets protection and glucose from legume to do cell respiration
live in soil with low oxygen
the legumes get nitrogen and uses in proteins and nucleic acids
orchidaceae family and mycorrhizae fungus mutualistic relationship
orchid does photosynthesis and fungus gets glucose and protection
orchid gets nitrogen
ways to test association out in field
chi squared, licoln index, quadrat sampling
ways to test association in lab
keep all controlled except independent variable
what is a mesocosm
smaller experimental area we have control over
what is a niche
role an organism plays in an environment–everything about it and the dimensions it needs to survive
what are the dimensions of an organisms niche
zones of tolerance
nutrient absorption
interspecific interactions
oxygen usage
what are obligate aerobes
organism has a constant need for oxygen and must live in environment with constant supply
what are obligate anaerobes
must live in place with little to no oxygen
what are facultative anaerobes
can constantly need oxygen or barely need it
example: yeast
what are autotrophs
get nutrients from abiotic source-usually photosynthesis or possibly chemosynthesis
what are the two types of photosynthesizers
plants
algae
bacteria-cyanobacteria
what are heterotrophs
get nutrients from biotic sources
what is holozoic nutrition
consuming and the performing internal digestion
what is saprotrophic nutrition
release of digestive enzymes which breaks up the usually dead matter
organism absorbs nutrients
what are mixotrophs
get nutrients from both biotic and abiotic sources
can be obligate or facultative
mixotrophs examples
Venus flytrap
Euglena- absorbs sunlight or dead material
what is archaea
bacteria in its own domain
has proteins around DNA like eukaryotes but it is single celled with no nucleus
what are the 3 nutrition categories in archea
phototrophs
chemotrophs-get from inorganic chemicals like iron
heterotrophs
what is the relationship between dentition and diet
organisms develop adaptations based on food they eat, such as teeth
what is a hominidae
family humans and apes fall under
what are teeth like in herbivores
wide and flat
what are teeth like in carnivores
sharp and pointy
why do plants not have adaptations to get water in a forest
there is an abundance of water
examples of plant adaptations to get light
tall trees
lianas/vines-grow up on other things
epiphyte- bush that lives on tree branch
strangler epiphytes- wrap up around whole tree
adapation to need less light
what is a fundamental niche
resources an organism could use and the things it could do if there were no competition
what is a realized niche
resources actually used because of competition
has to be unique or one will die
what is competitive exclusion
one group of organisms dies out because of competition
what is an open system ecosystem
free flow of nutrients and energy in exchange with other place
-most
what is a closed system
only have free flow of energy-nutrients stay and cycle
-earth
-mesocosm
what do organisms without light access get energy
chemotherapy
what is a food web
shows all possible ways energy can flow in a community
where do decompeosers get energy
organic dead matter
what are the decomposer categories
detritivores: internal,holozoic digestion ex: earthworms,beetles
saprotrophs:external digestion ex: fungi
detritus meaning
stuff most organisms cant digest
ex: fur, bones, feces, dead matter
how are inorganic nutrients turned organic
by photosynthesis and cell respiration
what is a phototroph
get energy from light
chemoautotroph
get energy from chemicals-underwater sea vents or iron-oxidizing bacteria
what is the purpose of digestion
releasing energy so molecules can be broken down, energy absorbed and used to make and be stored in bigger molecules
why do living things to cell respiration
to make ATP and use anywhere around cell
what is a trophic level
where organism fits in food chain or web-where it gets energy
what does the limit of trophic levels come from
available energy
what does a energy pyramid show
shows energy amount in each trophic level and energy loss
what trophic level has most energy available
produces
what is the energy unit
kilojoules per meter squared per year
what are the 3 reasons energy is lost between levels
1.incomplete consumption- organism not always eaten
2. incomplete digestion- waste consumed by decomposers
3. conversion to ATP isn’t efficient-energy lost
biomass meaning
all organic molecules besides water
correlates to energy because the molecules need energy to be made
production meaning
amount of biomass created
-grams per square meter per year
primary production
amount of organic molecules made from inorganic sources
-done by producers
reason for making organic molecules
growth and energy
gross primary production
Total amount made for either growth or energy
net primary production
production just used for growth
found by taking gross - repsiration
what is secondary production
using organic molecules to build other organic molecules
-heterotrophs
primary vs secondary difference in energy
energy lost by secondary production
growing crops is much more efficient than producing meat
different animals are more efficient than others
what’s the reason for continuous nutrient cycle
all living things need supply of carbon
pool
place where nutrient exists
shown by text boxes
flux
how carbon moves between pools
shown by arrows
what determines if an ecosystems have more photosynthesis or cell respiration
if an ecosystem absorbs more carbon, more photosynthesis
if an ecosystem releases more carbon, more cell respiration
carbon sink
ecosystem where carbon increases. ex:rainforest
carbon source
releases lots of co2, carbon decreases
ex: man made places
how are fossil fuels made
organisms die, aren’t fully decomposed, temp and pressure from earth changes molecules to make fossil fuels
what sink takes the longest to form
oil and natural gas
how is coal formed
in swamp areas
anaerobic soil
not many decomposers
doesn’t take as much temp and pressure
how is peat formed
in acidic and anaerobic areas
forms at Earth’s surface and can become coal
why do we burn fossil fuels
for energy-CO2 is byproduct
whats a natural combustion form
grass/wild fires
a lot of nutrients go back into soil
why is the combustion humans do and cause bad
we create an imbalance
what is the keeling curve
shows amount of CO2 in atmosphere
-measurements taken at Mauna Loa
why are keeling measurements taken at Mauna loa
its far from humans
close to homogenous atmosphere-evenly spread reading
2 main things of keeling curve
Annual fluctuations
-summer-low CO2- more plants doing photosynthesis-more co2 being removed
-winter-high CO2-less plants-less photosynthesis
Longterm trend
-overall increase
what nutrients cycle
all
nitrogen,phosphorus,sulfur,hydrogen,oxygen,
carbon
what is the nutrient cycle between
Abiotic and Biotic things
continuous cycle because each pool needs continuously replenished
