Biology - Living things in their environment 🌳 Flashcards
(140 cards)
1
Q
What is an adaptation?
A
An adaptation is a characteristic of an organism that improves its chances of surviving and/or reproducing. An organism’s adaptations are a result of the genes the organism inherits from its parents.
2
Q
What are the 3 types of adaptations?
A
Behavioral, Psychological, and Structural.
3
Q
What is a Behavioral adaptation?
A
Responses made by an organism that help it to survive/reproduce.
4
Q
What is a Psychological adaptation?
A
A body process that helps an organism to survive/reproduce.
5
Q
What is a Structural adaptation?
A
A feature of an organism’s body that helps it to survive/reproduce.
6
Q
Why do plants have leaves and stems?
A
They are a structural adaptation that absorb energy from the sun through photosynthesis.
7
Q
What behavioral adaptations do plants have to get food?
A
Plants lean and grow toward the sun, roots grow down into the soil, and vines climb up trees to catch sunlight.
8
Q
What is a structural adaptation of plants to get food?
A
Their roots soak up water and nutrients from the soil.
9
Q
What adaptations do desert flowers have to get water and nutrients?
A
Desert flowers can stay dormant for months, only coming to life when it rains. This helps them survive in the dry environment of deserts.
10
Q
What structural adaptations do plants have for reproduction?
A
Brightly coloured petals, nectar, and sweet fruit attract animals, insects, birds, and bees.
11
Q
What behavioral adaptations do plants have for reproduction?
A
Plants drop seeds to grow new offspring.
12
Q
What structural adaptations do plants have for defence?
A
Spikes and thorns protect plants from predators, and plants like poison ivy or poison oak have toxins that give predators a rash.
13
Q
What are the adaptations of desert plants?
A
- Small leaves, needles, or spines on desert plants conserve water.
- Thick waxy leaf coating holds in water.
- Stomata (openings in leaves) are under the leaf and often only open at night to conserve water and stop transpiration.
- Roots near the soils surface soak up rain water quickly before it evaporates.
- Often have dormant phases to survive droughts.
14
Q
What are the adaptations of grassland plants?
A
- Deep roots help plants survive prairie fires.
- Narrow leaves lose less water than broad leaves.
- Flexible stems bend in the wind.
15
Q
What are the adaptations of tundra plants?
A
- Small plants grow close to the ground for warmth.
- Dark colored flowers absorb heat from the sun.
- Fuzzy stems provide protection from wind.
16
Q
What are the adaptations of rainforest plants?
A
- Smooth, slippery bark keeps vines from killing trees.
- Slide shaped leaves lets rain run off so fungus doesn’t grow on plants.
- Deep growing roots anchor the plant to prevent it from washing away.
17
Q
What are the adaptations of temperate forest plants?
A
- Thick bark protects trees
- Dropping leaves in winter conserves water and nutrients during cold winters.
18
Q
What are the adaptations of water plants?
A
- Flexible stems move with water currents.
- Floating seeds spread offspring.
- Air pockets in stems at the base of leaves to help leaves float.
19
Q
What are the adaptations of parasitic plants?
A
- Have roots that can draw nutrients from another living plant.
- Do not require soil.
20
Q
What are the adaptations of carnivorous plants?
A
- Get some of their food by trapping and consuming animals (mainly insects)
- Because they eat bugs they can live in areas with poor soil.
21
Q
What is ecology?
A
Ecology is the study of the interactions of organisms with one another and with their environment.
22
Q
What are the two groups of ecology?
A
Biotic and abiotic ecology.
23
Q
What is biotic ecology?
A
The study of all living things that live together in an environment.
24
Q
What is abiotic ecology?
A
The study of all nonliving factors such as water, soil, light, and temperature.
25
What are the five levels of environmental ecology?
Organism, Species, Community, Ecosystem, Biosphere.
26
What is an organism?
An individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form.
27
What is a species?
A group of organisms with similar Characters and able to produce a fertile offspring by interbreeding
28
What is a population?
The number of organisms of the same species that live together in a certain geographical region at certain time period.
29
What is a community?
A group of organisms living in the same place and sharing the same characteristics while interacting with each other.
30
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is made up of a community of organisms (biotic) and the abiotic environment of the community.
31
What is the biosphere?
The part of Earth where life exists.
32
What do all organisms need to survive?
Energy.
33
What is the *primary* source of energy for almost all living things?
Sunlight.
34
What are producers?
Organisms that use sunlight directly to get food through photosynthesis.
35
What are consumers?
Organisms that eat producers or other organisms for energy.
36
What are the four types of consumers?
Herbivores, Omnivores, Carnivores, and Scavengers
37
What is a herbivore?
A consumer that primarily eats plants.
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What is an omnivore?
A consumer that eats both plants and animals.
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What is a carnivore?
A consumer that exclusively eats animals.
40
What is a scavenger?
A consumer that feeds on the bodies of dead animals.
41
What are decomposers?
Organisms that get energy by breaking down the remains of dead organisms.
42
What are some examples of decomposers?
Fungi and bacteria.
43
What are the two main types of energy from the sun?
Light (solar) energy and Heat energy.
44
What do you call an organism that traps light energy and converts it into chemical energy?
A photosynthetic organism.
45
What kind of organism consumes the chemical energy converted by photosynthetic organisms?
A heterotrophic organism.
46
What do we use to show the transfer of energy from organism to organism?
We use food chains and food webs.
47
What is prey?
An animal hunted or caught for food
48
What is a predator?
An organism that lives by preying on other organisms.
49
Why does much of solar energy not reach plants?
It is reflected by clouds and dust, plants, may be the wrong wavelength, or could pass through leaves.
50
What is a primary consumer?
An animal that eats grass and other green plants in a food chain; a herbivore.
51
What is a secondary consumer?
An animal that feeds on smaller plant-eating animals in a food chain.
52
What is a tertiary consumer?
An animal that feeds on secondary consumers in a food chain.
53
What is a food chain?
Food chains are one way of showing how organisms interact, they only show one "branch" of interaction.
54
What is a trophic level in a food chain/web?
Each feeding level is known as a trophic level, for example the producer is on trophic level one, and the secondary consumer is on trophic level three.
55
When there is an arrow in a food chain, what does it represent?
It represents the organism being consumed by another, not an organism consuming another (if that make sense?)
56
In what ways is energy lost in a food chain?
```
Respiration (lost as heat)
Used up in movement
Maintaining constant body temperature
Faeces and urine (lost as heat)
Some material not being eaten by the consumer
```
57
What % of energy is lost at each level in a food chain?
90%
58
Why are food chains not accurate?
Normally, there is a much more intricate web of feeding, where an organism eats multiple others, and there are many organisms competing for one food source.
59
What is a food web?
An interconnected food chain.
60
Why does the change in population of one organism lead to a complete collapse of a food web?
It leads to a domino effect that eventually leads to manipulation of other populations and an unbalance. However, nature often fixes imbalances after one happens.
61
For what reasons can food webs be unbalanced?
- Over-predation or hunting
- Disease
- Pollution
- Use of pesticides
- Lack of food
- Emigration
62
What is the nitrogen cycle?
The repeating process in which nitrogen circulates from the atmosphere to animals, plants, other organisms and back to the atmosphere.
63
Why is nitrogen important for all organisms?
All life requires nitrogen compounds such as proteins and nucleic acids and it makes up 79% of the air.
64
What is the carbon cycle?
The repeating process which shows us how atoms of carbon can exist within different compounds at different times and be recycled between living organisms and the environment.
65
Why is carbon important?
Carbon is the main constituent of all living cells, and can form long chained molecules which are the basis for fats, carbohydrates, proteins. Oh, and it's a component of fuel, as well as used in computer nanotubes.
66
What is the word equation for respiration?
glucose + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water (+ energy)
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What is the word equation for photosynthesis?
carbon dioxide + water (+ light energy) → glucose + oxygen
68
What is combustion?
The burning of fuel to release carbon dioxide.
69
In what form is carbon in the atmosphere?
Carbon dioxide.
70
What is it meant by carbon in the "atmosphere"?
Carbon in the air or dissolved in water, particularly oceans.
71
What are the two ways that carbon enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide?
Respiration and combustion.
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What process removes CO2 from the environment?
Photosynthesis.
73
Why do producers use photosynthesis?
Producers absorb carbon dioxide to make glucose in photosynthesis.
74
How do animals get their carbon dioxide?
Herbivores/omnivores feed on plants, passing the carbon dioxide along the food chain. Carnivores/omnivores feed on other animals. This is called feeding.
75
How do plants and animals become organic compounds? Where are these compounds often found?
Plants and animals become organic compounds when they die. These compounds are often found in soil.
76
What is the process that turns organic compounds into fossil fuels?
Fossilization.
77
How does carbon in plants and animals reach the atmosphere?
Through respiration.
78
What is the role of decomposers in the carbon cycle?
Decomposers break down (feed on) the dead organisms and return the carbon dioxide in their bodies to the atmosphere through respiration. This is the main way that organic compounds lose all their carbon to the atmosphere.
79
Why do organic compounds sometimes turn into fossil fuels instead of being decomposed?
Decomposition is sometimes blocked.
80
What is the largest store of carbon (in whatever form)
Not in the atmosphere! It is mostly, in fact, found in marine organisms and limestone rock deposits.
81
What could increasing carbon dioxide lead to?
Global warming.
82
Why cannot organisms use nitrogen as the form it is in air (N2)?
Nitrogen gas is inert (cannot undergo chemical reactions)
83
In what form do plants secure their nitrogen?
In fixed form, incoorporated in compounds such as nitrate ions (NO3-), ammonia(NH3), and ammonium(NH+4)
84
How do animals secure their nitrogen?
Either from feeding on plants or animals that have fed on plants. (OR FROM ANIMALS THAT HAVE FED ON ANIMALS THAT HAVE FED ON PLANTS AND FURTHER!!)
85
What are the four biological processes that participate in the nitrogen cycle in the biosphere?
- Nitrogen fixation
- Decomposition
- Nitrification
- Denitrification
86
What is nitrogen fixation?
When atmospheric nitrogen is converted to nitrogenous compounds.
87
What are the processes responsible for most of the nitrogen fixation in the biosphere?
- Biological fixation by microbes
- Atmospheric fixation when it is struck. by. lighting.
- Industrial fixation by the Haber process, an artificial nitrogen fixation process.
88
What kind of plant can do nitrogen fixation?
Leguminous plants. It converts the nitrogen to ammonia.
89
What is the bacterium that fixes nitrogen (converts it to ammonia)? Where is it found?
Rhizobium bacterium, which are found in the root nodules of leguminous plants.
90
What is the free-living bacteria that can make DA NITROGEN FIXATION occur?
Azotobacter.
91
What is the enzyme that Rhizobium contain to convert nitrogen and hydrogen to ammonia?
Nitrogenase.
92
Why do legumes (Leguminous plants) convert nitrogen to ammonia?
The ammonium is used to make amino acids which the legume can use to make proteins in return for supplying the bacteria with carbohydrates.
93
How does nitrogen become organic remains in soil?
Either the animal/plant dies, or the animal excretes some of the nitrogen they have eaten into the soil.
94
How do organic remains in soil become ammonium in soil?
Through decomposition, decomposers break down the molecules in excretions and dead organisms into ammonia.
95
Can all plants directly use ammonia?
Nope, only some plants are able to. The ammonia needs to be further converted into nitrates.
96
What is the name of the process that converts ammonia to nitrates?
Nitrification.
97
What is the kind of bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrates? What are the two groups?
They are called Nitrifying bacteria.
There are two types:
- Bacteria of the genus Nitrosomonas.
- Bacteria of the genus Nitrobacter.
98
Before ammonia is converted to nitrates, what is it converted to in the process?
Nitrites. There are two steps.
99
What is the job of Nitrosomonas bacteria?
They oxidize ammonia (NH3) to nitrites (NO2-).
100
What is the job of Nitrobacter bacteria?
They oxidize the nitrites (NO2-) to nitrates (NO3-)
101
What is the name of the process that returns nitrogen to the atmosphere, closing the nitrogen cycle?
Denitrification.
102
What is the kind of bacteria that denitrifies nitrates? What is an example of one?
They are called denitrifying bacteria, and an example of them are Pseudomonas.
103
Where do denitrifying bacteria live?
They live deep in soil and in aquatic sediments where conditions are anaerobic. They use nitrates as an alternative to oxygen for the final electron acceptor in their respiration.
104
What is the name of the process where nitrogen is absorbed into an organism?
Assimilation. It happens when plants absorb nitrates, and when animals consume plants.
105
What are the main factors that contribute to the growth of a population?
Birth/natality and immigration
106
What are the main factors that contribute to the reduction of a population size?
Death/mortality and emigration
107
How can food affect a population size?
With more food, the species can survive longer, and a lack of food means they starve.
108
How can predators affect a population size?
Predators may hunt down many of the species, reducing the population size.
109
How can disease affect a population size?
The disease may kill out a population, since it is not visible it is hard to defend.
110
Under what conditions does a population increase?
When the natality and immigration rate is is higher than the mortality and emigration rate.
111
Under what conditions does a population decrease?
When the mortality and emigration rate is is higher than the natality and immigration rate.
112
What are the 4 phases normally observed in a sigmoid graph showing population growth in in a limited resource environment?
1. Lag phase
2. Exponential (Log) phase
3. Stationary phase
4. Death phase
113
What is the lag phase in population growth?
Low numbers of breeders. Food is readily available and predation is low.
Birth > Death.
114
What is the lag phase in population growth?
Low numbers of breeders. Food is readily available and predation is low.
Birth > Death.
115
What is the log phase in population growth?
Rapid increase in growth rate. Predation increase. Lots of breeders.
Birth >> death.
116
What is the stationary phase in population growth?
Population remains constant due to limiting factor(s); environment at carrying capacity. Food starts reducing and predation is increasing.
Birth = Death.
117
What is the death phase in population growth?
Environment unable to support population. Food begins to grow again, since most of the prey has died the predation starts dying too.
Birth < Death
118
What are the phases we have observed so far in human population growth?
1. Agriculture, metalworking, utilization of fossil fuels.
2. Industrial revolution.
3. Exponential growth (mainly developing countries). Healthcare/ clean water. Control factors still remain eg. famines, environmental disasters, wars, epidemics etc. As yet non stationary phase.
4. What is next??
119
For what reason is birth rate low in developed countries?
- Women's status has improved
- Contraception and family planning
- Careers are more important than having a family
- The cost of raising a family is high
- People marry later
- Increased desire for material possessions instead of children.
120
For what reason is death rate low in developed countries?
- Advances in medicine
- Vaccinations
- Improved water and sanitation
- Enhanced food production and storage
- Better food transport
- Lower infant death rates.
121
What is sampling?
A shortcut method for investigating a whole population. Data is gathered on a small part of the whole parent population or sampling frame, and used to inform what the whole picture is like.
122
What is the point of sampling?
There is not enough time, energy, money, labor, equipment, or access to suitable sites to measure EVERY SINGLE item or site within the parent population.
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How can sampling be done accurately.
Large sample sizes. They are a more accurate representation of the whole. The sample should also be taken randomly without bias.
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What are 3 sampling techniques?
Quadrats, Line transects, and belt transects.
125
What is a quadrat?
A square frame of a standard area, usually 1m^2. It is often divided into smaller squares, like a grid.
126
How is a quadrat used?
It is used by being thrown on the floor and counting the organisms in it, it can also be used to estimate the percentage of ground covered by a particular species.
127
What is a line transect?
A tape that is laid across an environment - often just a tape measure.
128
How is a line transect useful?
It can be used to count the organisms that touch the tape to study its distribution. This is useful when time is limited, as it is easy to set up. For example to measure change of habitat in biodiversity.
129
Why can a line transect only be used as a basic analytical tool?
It does not reflect the density of each species along a line.
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What is a belt transect?
It is similar to a line transect, and is a line of quadrats taken at regular intervals.
131
How is a belt transect more useful than a line transect?
Belt transect will supply more data than a line transect. It will give data on the abundance of individual species at different points along the line, as well as on their range.
As well as showing species ranges along the line, a belt transect will also allow bar charts to be constructed showing how the abundance of each individual species changes within its range.
132
What is Eutrophication?
When a body of water becomes overly enriched with nutrients.
133
Why do farmers give their plants fertiliser?
To enrich the soil with nitrogen and phosphorus, which are important for plant growth.
134
Why do farmers overdose plants with fertiliser?
It is not easy to gage how much fertiliser is needed, so they just dump excess fertiliser.
135
What happens to excess nutrients given to crops?
They are carried by rain and other forms of irrigation into ponds, lakes, reservoirs, and even the ocean.
136
Why do plants, algae, and phytoplankton explode in numbers after excess fertiliser ends up in rivers? What is this called?
Just like plants, they are affected by the nutrients. This is called an algal bloom.
137
Why does an algal bloom lead to a roof over the water?
Much of the algae floats to the top of the river, and creates a roof that blocks sunlight from entering the river.
138
What does the roof of algae in water bodies lead to?
It means the water plants cannot do photosynthesis, and once all the nutrients are used up the excess algae and phytoplankton die off and float to the bottom of the body of water.
139
What happens to the dead algae at the bottom of water bodies?
They are decomposed, which means that nearly all the oxygen in the water is used for decomposition.
140
How does decomposition after an algal bloom create a cycle?
The fish in the water die, leading to more decomposition, and even LESS oxygen.
