Biology Final Flashcards
(58 cards)
What is ecology
The scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their physical environment.
What is a biosphere
Term that scientists use to describe all life on earth and all the parts of the earth in which life exists includes land, water, atmosphere
Producers vs consumers
Producers- organisms that generate their own food from sources in their physical environment.
Consumers- organisms that rely in other organisms for energy and nutrients
Photosynthesis
- used by primary producers
- photosynthesis captures light energy and uses it to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water to convert it into carbohydrates (energy rich sugars and starch) and oxygen.
Food web
Food web- more complicated, network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem
Food chain
Not as complex as a food web,series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and and being eaten
Autotroph
- make their own food
* Use solar or chemical energy to produce “food” by assembling inorganic compounds into complex organic molecules
Heterotrophs
Must acquire energy from other organisms- by ingesting them in one way or another
Biogeochemical cycles
Cycles where elements pass from one organism to another and through parts of the biosphere in loops- and powered by the flow of energy
Carnivores
Obtain energy by killing and eating other animals
Herbivores
Obtain energy/nutrients by eating plant life
Omnivores
Animals whose diets include eating both plants and animals
Detrivores
Feed on detritus particles, often chewing and grinding them to smaller pieces.
Digest decomposers that live on and in detritus particles
Decomposers
Feed by chemically breaking down organic matter ( bacteria and fungi)
Scavengers
Scavengers are animals that consume the carcasses of other animals that have been killed by predators or have died of other causes
Biotic factors
Any living part of the environment with which an organism might interact
Abiotic factors
Physical or non-living factor that shapes an ecosystem
Competitive exclusion principle
States that no two organisms can occupy exactly the same niche in exactly the same habitat at exactly the same time.
Predator vs prey
Predator- interaction in which one organism(predator) captures and feeds on another (prey)
Prey- the organism that gets fed on
Parasitism
A symbiotic relationship where one organism lives on or inside another organism and HARMS it
Commensalism
A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed
Mutualism
A symbiotic relationship where both species benefit from the relationship
Primary succession
Succession that occurs on an area in which no trace of the previous community is present
Secondary succession
Type of succession that occurs in an area that was only partially destroyed by disturbances
