Week 3 Lecture 2b Flashcards
What is ecology?
branch of biology that studies relationships between organisms and environment
What is environment?
factors that affect an organism during its lifetime
What is a biotic vs abiotic factor?
Living things that affect the organism vs non-living
What are the main portions of the Organization of an Ecological System?
Organism (smallest living unit) > Populations > Communities > Ecosystem
Food chain: Producers vs Consumers
convert sunlight into energy vs obtain energy from organic matter
Food chain vs food web
Food chain: linear
Food web: non-linear, many different paths
Energy relationships between organisms: What are the 4 trophic levels?
1st: Producers (plants)
2nd: Herbivores (eat plants)
3rd: Primary carnivores (eat herbivores)
4th: Secondary carnivores (eat primary carnivores)
Energy flow in ecosystems: What are the two physical laws?
1) 1st law of thermodynamics: Energy can neither be created nor destroyed
2) 2nd law of thermodynamics: Entropy (natural processes lead to a disordered state)
Define Predation
One organism kills and eats another
Define Paratism
One organisms lives of another (at the hosts organisms detriment)
Define Commensalism
One organism benefits while the other is not affected
Define Mutualism
Two species live in close association and BOTH benefit
Define Competition
Interaction between organisms where BOTH are HARMED to some extent (fighting over food, shelter, etc)
What is bio-accumulation?
Increasing the concentration of a substance in one organism
What is bio-magnification?
Increasing the concentration of materials as you go higher up in a food chain
