Unit 8: Ecology Flashcards
What is ecology?
The field of biology concerned with understanding how organisms relate to their environments and each other
True or false: Ecology is the most exclusive field in biology.
False: It is one of the most INCLUSIVE field. It is also one of the most complex
What is exponential growth?
Rapid, ever-increasing growth when resources are abundant.
What is logistic growth?
A population growth model of rapid initial growth, with slowed growth as population levels rise
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum sustainable population size an area can support
What is population ecology?
A field of study that studies factors influencing the size, density, distribution and age structure of populations.
What is a population?
A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area
What is population density?
The number of individuals per unit area/volume
What is population dispersion?
The pattern of spacing among individuals
What are three methods of determining population size/density?
Direct count, sample plot count, and mark-recapture
What is climate?
The long-term weather conditions in an area
What are global climate patterns determined by?
Solar energy and the Earths movement.
The sun heats up air near the equator, which rises, then cools and rains, creating _________. Cooler air absorbs moisture as it sinks, creating _________ _________. The warm moist air then rises again with precipitation falling to create the _________ _________. The cool air sinks again but lacks moisture, resulting in the bitterly cold, dry __________ _________.
Rainforests, major deserts, temperate zones, polar regions,
What modifies climate?
Seasons, mountains and large bodies of water
What is a rainshadow?
The leeward side of a mountain, which is shielded from rain, and interferes with rain clouds.
What climate factors are most important in determining the distribution of organisms?
Water and temperature
What is a biome?
Large geographical areas characterized by similar vegetation or physical environments, such as a rainforest, or a desert.
What are abiotic factors?
Non-living factors such as temperatures, moisture, chemical nutrients, and sunlight level
What are biotic factors?
Living factors such as other organisms, including microbes.
What determines the distribution of a species?
Interactions between organisms (ecological) and the environment (evolutionary).
What is a community?
A group of populations of different species living in the same area.
What is predation?
An interaction where one organism kills and eats the other.
What are some evolutionary adaptations to reduce prey vulnerability?
A) Cryptic coloration
B) Warning coloration
C) Aggregation
What is herbivory?
An interaction where one organism eats parts of plants or algae
What are some evolutionary adaptations by plants and algae to reduce herbivory?
A) Toxins
B) Physical deterants, like thorns
What is competition? (when it comes to ecology)
An interaction where one organism benefits and the other is harmed
What is intraspecific competition?
Competition between members of the same species
What is inter-specific competition?
Competition between members of different species
What is the principle of competitive exclusion?
The fact that two species competing for the same limited resources cannot coexist permanently in the same place
What is symbiosis?
Two or more organisms living in direct, intimate contact with each other
What is parisitism?
Symbiosis where one organism benefits and the other is harmed.
What is mutualism?
Symbiosis where both organisms benefit
What is commencelism?
Symbiosis where one organism benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefitted.
What is the trophic pyramid?
Representation of the transfer of food energy form each trophic level
What is a trophic level?
A level of the feeding structure an organism occupies in a food chain
What are the maximum number of levels a trophic pyramid can have?
Five to six: There aren’t enough producers to support more.
How much energy from one trophic level gets transferred to the next?
10%
What is primary productivity?
The amount of biomass produced per measure of time
What is NET primary productivity?
The total amount of biomass produced
What is the ____ primary productivity?
What is biodiversity?
The variety of species that make up a community. This is used to measure ecosystem health
What is the theory of island biogeography?
The idea that islands that are smaller, or are farther away from the coast, have fewer species.
What are factors affecting the global temperature?
Solar irradience, cloud albedo effect, vegetation and animals, greenhouse gasses, fossilization, volcanism, limestone formation, and fossil fuel use, among others
What are likely effects of global warming?
A) Polar ice melting B) Glaciers melting C) Early snow pack melt D) Droughts in some places E) Additional rain in other places F) Rising sea levels G) Floods H) Acidifying of the ocean I) Changing currents J) Bigger storms K) Changing ecosystems
