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Biology Semester 2 > Rocky Shore Ecosystems > Flashcards

Rocky Shore Ecosystems Flashcards

1
Q

what is the definition of a species?

A

organisms sharing common traits that usually breed among themselves to reproduce fertile offspring.
typically, a number of individuals of the same species can be found together in a specific geographic region to form a ‘population’

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2
Q

what is the definition of a population?

A

a group of individuals of the same species within a ‘community’

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3
Q

what is the definition of a Community?

A

a naturally occuring assemblage of all species (i.e., all populations) within a defined habitat. Communities are often named after the dominant species present e.g., ‘mangrove community’, or after major physical characterisitics of the area, e.g., ‘rocky shore community’

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4
Q

what is the definition of a habitat?

A

the physical location or place where an organism lives, which is characterised by the dominant plant species or by the major physical feature, e.g., ‘alpine habitat’ or ‘fresh water habitat’ or marine habitat’

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5
Q

what is the definition of an ecosystem?

A

the interaction of community members with each other and with the physical environment

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6
Q

what is the definition of an environment?

A

the biological and physical conditions of the region where organisms live, i.e., a ‘list of what’s there’.

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7
Q

what is the definition of a niche?

A

the ‘role’ that an organism plays in its environment, e.g., ‘predator’, ‘producer’ etc.

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8
Q

What is distribution?

A

the location of organisms within their environment

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9
Q

What are the biotic factors resulting in distribution?

A 
food availability
predation
population density
disease
competition
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10
Q

What are the abiotic features that affect distribution?

A 
Tides
pH
Light (intensity, duration) 
Turbidity
Oxygen levels
Water avaliability
Temperature
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11
Q

What phylum is green algae in?

A

phylum Chlorophyta

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12
Q

What phylum is brown algae in?

A

phylum Phaeophyta

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13
Q

What phylum is red algae in?

A

phylum Rhodophyta

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14
Q

What is the shore zone of green algae?

A

Upper shore

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15
Q

What is the shore zone of brown algae?

A

Mid shore

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16
Q

What is the shore zone of red algae?

A

Lower shore

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17
Q

What has algae adapted to do to avoid over crowding/ intense competition for light and space?

A

Algae has adapted different pigments to live on different parts of the shore.

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18
Q

what light does green absorb?

A

It absorbs blue and red wave length

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19
Q

what light does brown algae absorb?

A

Absorbs yellow-orange light

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20
Q

what light does red algae absorb?

A

Absorbs blue-green light

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21
Q

What are the different shore zone?

A 
Splash zone
Upper shore
Mid shore
Lower shore
Sublittoral
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22
Q

What are the conditions generated by alternate submersion and emersion? (Submersion)

A

Good:
Temperature is uniform
There is no water loss problem
Water contains dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, inorganic ions and organic debris
Bad:
There is a danger of dislodgement by waves, as tide covers the land
There is danger of predation from sea organisms light penetration to lower levels is reduced

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23
Q

What are the conditions generated by alternate submersion and emersion? (Emersion)

A

Temperature changes are enormous
Desiccation is a major danger
Heavy rain can cause sudden fall in salinity
Evaporation of water can lead to steadily rising salinity

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24
Q

What are the three basic types of adaptations?

A

Physical/structural
Behavioural
Physiological

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25
Q

what are physical adaptations?

A

external or internal body features.

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26
Q

give examples of physical adaptations

A 
shape
size
hardness of shell
keeness of eyesight 
colour
musculature
layers of fat
thickness of hair
etc
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27
Q

what are behavioural adaptations?

A

relates to how organisms respond to changes in their environment

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28
Q

give examples of behavioural adaptations

A

huddling/clustering to retain moisture or warmth

burrowing during the heat of the day etc.

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29
Q

what is clumping common among?

A

gastropods.

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30
Q

what are physiological adaptations?

A

relates to internal processes

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31
Q

give examples of physiological adaptations

A

secreting acid
producing particular types of enzymes
increasing/decreasing metabolism etc.

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32
Q

what are physical adaptations?

A

external or internal body features.

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33
Q

give examples of physical adaptations

A 
shape
size
hardness of shell
keeness of eyesight 
colour
musculature
layers of fat
thickness of hair
etc
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34
Q

what are behavioural adaptations?

A

relates to how organisms respond to changes in their environment

35
Q

give examples of behavioural adaptations

A

huddling/clustering to retain moisture or warmth

burrowing during the heat of the day etc.

36
Q

what is clumping common among?

A

gastropods.

37
Q

what are physiological adaptations?

A

relates to internal processes

38
Q

give examples of physiological adaptations

A

secreting acid
producing particular types of enzymes
increasing/decreasing metabolism etc.

39
Q

list physical/structural adaptations in limpets

A

streamlined shape helps reduce the effect of drag due to wave action

40
Q

list behavioural adaptations in limpets

A

raises shell to increase cooling (from evaporation of water inside shell)

41
Q

list physiological adaptations in limpets

A

Secretion of acid (and possibly enzymes) to create homesite/homespot/scar

42
Q

What do food chains illustrate?

A

food chains illustrate the flow of energy from one organism to the next

43
Q

describe the food chain

A 
Producers (algae/plants/phytoplankton) ------>
Primary consumer (herbivores) -------->
Secondary consumer (primary carnivores)
44
Q

What is a producer?

A

producers are organisms that are able to synthesise their own organic requirements, e.g., glucose, lipids, amino acids etc. this is generally acomplished via photosynthesis.

45
Q

what are herbivores?

A

herbivores eat plant and algae matter. herbivores produce cellulase (an enzyme produced via bacteria in the gut) that allows them to digest plant matter.

46
Q

what is a carnivore?

A

a carnivore eats flesh.

47
Q

What is an omnivore?

A

eats both flesh and plant matter

48
Q

give an example of a food chain

A

seaweeds(producer)
Flat winkles(primary consumer-herbivore)
edible crab (secondary consumer-primary carnivore)
Pollack (tertiary consumer-secondary carnivore)

49
Q

what is a trophic level?

A

a feeding level within a particulary food web

50
Q

what are the four feeding types?

A

filter feeders, scavengers, predators, grazers.

51
Q

what is a filter feeder? give examples also.

A

these animals filter out plankton from the water. some organisms use feather like structures called cirri, e.g., barnacles and tube worms. others simply take in water through ane opening and expel water out of another, e.g., sea squirts, clams, oysters, mussels, ect.

52
Q

what is a scavenger? give examples.

A

these organisms tend to consume the ‘left-overs’. depending on whether they are herbivores or carnivores, they will eat decaying matter. Examples are crabs, lobsters, starfish, shrimp/prawns

53
Q

what is a predator? give examples.

A

these organisms actively seek out pray. they typically eat fresh flesh. Examples are stonefish, and other carnivores.

54
Q

what is a grazer?

A

a non-selective herbivore.

55
Q

how do grazers feed?

A

(See diagram-example limpet)

1) when the tide is in, the limpet grazers on algae.
2) As it grazes the limpet leaves a slime trail to lead back to its homesite.
3) as the tide begins to recede, the limpet retreats back to its homesite

56
Q

what is energy efficiency?

A

energy efficiency is more accurately known as ‘production efficiency’. Energy/production efficiency relates to an organism’s ability to convert food energy into new tissue (i.e., growth)

57
Q

what is the formula for percentage efficiency?

A

% efficiency = (energy left over for growth) / (total energy input) x 100

58
Q

why are herbivores less efficient?

A

herbivores are less efficient because of the cellulose that makes up the greatest part of their diet. Cellulose is extremely difficult to digest (even in the presence of cellulase). consequently, much of the cellulose that is taken in comes out as a solid waste material.

59
Q

Why are carnivores more efficient?

A

carnivores are more energy efficient because they mainly eat meat (protein). Protein is much more digestible than cellulose. hence more energy can be extracted from their food.

60
Q

what is a pyramid in this context?

A

a pyramid is a common way to represent energy flow in a food chain.

61
Q

what are the three types of pyramids?

A

pyramid of numbers
pyramid of biomass
pyramid of energy

62
Q

what is a pyramid of numbers?

A

the number if organisms per unit area. (see diagram)

63
Q

what are the issues of pyramid of numbers?

A

these pyramids do not take into account the size/mass of an organism, they only look at the numbers.
pyramids of numbers can easily become inverted.(see diagram). when this occurs, they no longer accurately represent energy flow through the food chain.

64
Q

what is an example of an inverted pyramid of numbers?

A

Plankton, whale shark, parasites.

65
Q

what is a pyramid of bio mass?

A

> measured in kg per unit area.
pyramids of biomass represent the flow of energy through a food chain via the mass of an organism.
*ideally this would be dry mass as opposed to wet/fresh mass.

66
Q

what is dry mass?

A

Dry mass represents the mass after all the water has been removed.

67
Q

what are the issues of a pyramid of biomass?

A

pyramids of biomass do not account for biomass production OVERTIME. In other words, pyramids of biomass do not consider rates of reproduction. pyramids of biomass only look at the ‘standing crop’. e.g., whats there at a certain time.

68
Q

what is an example of an inverted pyramid of biomass?

A

phytoplankton, zooplankton, filter feeders.
over time, phytoplankton have a much higher rate of reproduction than zooplankton, therefore, it is a case of the phytoplankton reproducing at least as fast as it is consumed by the zooplankton

69
Q

what is a pyramid of energy?

A

> measured in kJ per unit area/volume per unit time

> pyramids of energy are the most accurate way to represent energy flow. they are never inverted.

70
Q

what is the issue of finding accurate pyramids of energy?

A

organisms must be killed, dried out, then burnt in order to calculate their energy values. a rather destructive process regarding the environment

71
Q

what is the formula for population growth?

A

population growth + (birth rates + immigration rates) - (death rates + emigration rates)

72
Q

what are the two of types factors population growth rates are affected by?

A

density-dependent factors

Density - independent factors

73
Q

what is a density-dependent factor?

A

these factors tend to be biotic in nature , e.g., competition, disease etc. The impact of these factors increase as population density increases - hence they are population density-dependent. for example, the impact of disease (its spreading between individuals) increases as the population becomes more dense.

74
Q

what are density-independent factors?

A

these factors tend to be abiotic in nature e.g., light intensity, temperature, wind, humidity, and natural catastrophes (floods and earthquakes etc). The impact of these factors do not depend on population density. In other words, the impact of these factors are the same regardless of population size. For example, an earthquake will greatly reduce populaton numbers regardless of its size. or to put it another way, the intensity of the earthquake will be the same regardless of the size of the population

75
Q

What are the two ideas of species biodiversity?

A

1) how many total organisms are present (N)

2) how many individuals af each species are present (n)

76
Q

What is the formula that is used to measure an ecosystems relative biodiversity?

A

diversity index(reciprocal) = N(N-1) / sum of (n (n-1))

77
Q

What do the index values mean about the environment?

A
  • Larger index value = greater biodiversity
  • Therefore, area x has a greater biodiversity (i.e., species biodiversity) than area y.
  • the greater the biodiversity, the less extreme (or more moderate) the environment.
  • Therefore, area x has more moderate (or less extreme) ABIOTIC conditions, e.g., warmer, more sunlight, less exposure, less wind, more moisture etc.
78
Q

what is a detritivore?

A

herbivores that feed on dead algae/plants

79
Q

List the phases in a population growth curve

A

1) lag phase
2) log phase
3) linear phase
4) stationary phase

80
Q

Describe the lag phase.

A

Adaptation to new habitat

81
Q

Describe the log phase

A

Period of exponential growth

82
Q

Describe the linear phase

A

Limits to growth are operating, e.g., food availability, space etc.

83
Q

Describe the stationary phase

A

The optimum population that environment will support

Biology Semester 2 (4 decks)

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