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.