Zoo BI 1 Flashcards
Ecology
The study of the living world— interactions between living (animals, plants) and nonliving (earth, air, sun water) components in the environment.
Environment
An animal’s environment is everything in its surroundings. The environment is made up of living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components.
Biotic
Refers to the living parts of an environment such as plants and animals.
Abiotic
Refers to the components of an environment that are non-living which include air, water, rocks and minerals, and sunlight.
Ecosystem
A community of living organisms and their environment working together and in a natural balance.
Clarify the difference between an ecosystem and an environment
An ecosystem includes the interactions between the environment and the organisms that dwell within it. The term environment does not include these relationships.
Habitat
The specific environment in which any given organism or any given population lives. A habitat contains everything that an animal needs to survive, including air, food, water, shelter, sun, space and other animals of its own kind so that it can reproduce.
Biome
[Large, naturally occurring, major habitat defined by its climate and dominant vegetation.]
The climate is mainly determined by the temperature and rainfall.
Each biome consists of many ecosystems whose communities have adapted to the small differences in climate and the environment inside the biome.
A biome supports a characteristic populations of fauna, which are adapted to that particular environment.
Name the 5 principle biomes
Aquatic, desert, forest, grassland, tundra
Aquatic biome
Freshwater habitats (ponds, lakes, streams, wetlands) as well as marine habitats (ocean, coastal waters, estuaries, coral reefs).
Desert biome
Areas where rainfall is less than 10 inches/year. Desert habitat types include hot and dry, semiarid, coastal, and cold. (i.e. Antarctica is a desert biome because if its low rainfall)
Forest biome
Areas that are dominated by trees and other woody vegetation.
Grassland biome
Habitats dominated by grasses (not trees and shrubs). Grasslands include tropical savannas and temperate grasslands (prairies).
Tundra biome
Cold habitats with low biotic diversity and simple vegetation structure.
Which biomes have the fewest species?
The tundra and desert biomes occupy the most extreme environments, with little or no moisture and extremes of temperature. These two biomes have the fewest numbers of species due to the stringent environmental conditions.
Which factors determine whether an organism can live in a specific biome?
Climate (temperature, rainfall, light, and altitude), available food sources, available plant life (provides food and shelter), other species it interacts with and predators (presence or absence of).
Niche
The ecological role and space that an organism fills in an ecosystem. An animal’s niche includes its usage of resources, its unique way of life and its relationship to other biotic and abiotic factors.
Name some specific components of an organism’s niche
Where it lives, when it is active, what it eats, predators.
Give an example of a niche
The niche of a two-toed sloth:
-Lives in tropical and cloud forests of Central and South America
-Herbivorous
-Nocturnal
-Lives in the understory and canopy of rainforest trees.
-Primarily eats leaves, but also can eat berries, nuts, fruits, bark.
-Predators include big forest cats (jaguars, ocelots), harpy eagles, large snakes (anacondas)
Name a way species avoid competition (by occupying different niches)
Hunt or forage for food at different times of the day. Those who forage at night are nocturnal. Those who hunt during the day are diurnal and those who hunt during the twilight (either dawn or dusk) hours are considered crepuscular.
Name (and correctly spell) three terms describing the time of day when an animal is active
Those who are active at night are nocturnal. Those who are active during the day are diurnal and those who are active during the twilight (either dawn or dusk) hours are considered crepuscular.
Photosynthesis
A process used by plants to convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy that can be later released to fuel the plant’s activities.
-The sun’s energy is captured by chlorophyll in the plant’s leaves. This energy fuels a chemical reaction with carbon dioxide and water to produce glucose, the main fuel that powers life. Oxygen is a by-product of this reaction and is released into the air.
What is the ultimate source of energy and organic material for animals?
Plants (via photosynthesis)
Describe plant respiration
Plants must breathe just as animals do; they take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. Their photosynthetic activity is however greater than their respiratory activity resulting in an increase in atmospheric oxygen levels.
Producers vs consumers
Producer: organisms in an ecosystem that produce biomass from inorganic compounds; plants.
Consumer: organisms of a food chain that receive energy by consuming other organisms.
Through photosynthesis, plants make their own nutrients; they are producers. Anything that eats a plant (or another consumer) is considered a consumer.
Interdependence
The idea that everything in nature is connected to everything else; what happens to one plant or animal also affects other plants and animals.
Food chain
The linear sequence of who eats whom in an ecosystem to obtain nutrition.
Example of interdependence
A food chain.
List & describe the main parts of a food chain
Producer - make their own energy via photosynthesis (plants) OR chemosynthesis (e.g., bacteria at the bottom of the ocean; hydrogen sulfide + methane -> glucose)
Consumers - get energy from the food they eat; they survive by eating a producer, or another consumer that ate a producer, gaining the chemical energy from the original process of the producer
-Primary consumer - Herbivores. Eats plants.
-Secondary/tertiary consumer - Eats a primary(/secondary?) consumer and is a carnivore.
-Decomposer - Break down dead plant and animal matter at any level and help recycle nutrients back into the soil so that they can be used again. In this way nutrients are cycled through the food chain.
Herbivore, Carnivore, Omnivore
Herbivore: an animal that gets its energy from eating plants, and only plants.
Carnivore: an animal that gets its energy from eating other animals
Omnivore: Eats both meat and vegetation.
Nutrients (and examples in humans)
Inorganic compounds providing nourishment for living things.
Examples:
-phosphorous, which is in your teeth, bones, and cellular membranes.
-nitrogen, which is part of your amino acids, the building blocks of protein and the iron in your blood.
Food web
A food web shows the more complex feeding connections/relationships present in an ecosystem. Several food chains put together.
What is one reason it’s important to understand the interrelationships between organisms and their environment?
Helps us understand how best to protect ecosystems
Adaptation
Special characteristics or features (evolved over time) which allow a species to be successful in their habitat.
Kinds of adaptations
There are both physical and behavioral adaptations.
Examples of adaptations
-Camouflage - an external physical characteristic. Blend into environment and avoid detection. A dry, savanna animal will be tan or brown, a wet, rainforest animal will be glossy green, and so forth.
-Coloring with physiological benefit - lighter colors reflect more of the sun’s radiation than a darker one and thus helps them to remain cool.
-Seeking shade resting in the hottest part of the day - (e.g., kangaroo) a behavioral adaptation
Who developed the modern classification system for organisms? When? Describe the system.
-Carl Linnaeus in the 18th Century put forth a hierarchical classification system giving unique names to every plant and animal both extinct and extant.
-Linnaeus proposed a binomial nomenclature which turned out to be an important turning point in how we give formal names to organisms.
Benefits of the taxonomy?
-By using a universal two part (binomial) name unique to each organism, confusion could be eliminated. The scientific names that Linnaeus proposed allowed scientists from across the world to discuss the same animal (or plant) that might be called by different common names in each region they existed.
-Provided a way for studying the relationships between these organisms (both extinct and extant).
Binomial nomenclature
A formal system of naming species by giving each a name composed of two parts; one indicating the genus and one indicating the species. Each binomial name is unique to a specific species.
What are the levels of the (current) taxonomy of organisms?
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Name (and correctly spell) some kingdoms
Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Archaebacteria, Eubacteria
What are the two different terms for the taxonomic level below Kingdom?
Phylum and Division (traditionally in botany the term Division is used in plant and fungi classification and is equivalent to the rank of phylum)
Define species
An individual belonging to a group of organisms having common characteristics and are capable of mating with one another to produce fertile offspring.
Can subspecies interbreed?
Sometimes, but some may produce sterile offspring
Describe a species’ scientific name
Combines its genus and species. Both names are italicized or underlined. The genus is always capitalized. The species is never capitalized.
What are humans’ scientific name
Homo sapiens. (H. sapiens)
