Ecology Flashcards
(27 cards)
describe the Sandy shore and the Rocky shore
Sandy shore: The intertidal zone with loose sand, waves and tides. Plants: mainly in the form of washed up seaweeds. Animals: Decomposers e.g. sand hoppers, scavengers e.g. sea gulls and plow snails, filter feeders e.g. clams
Rocky shore: The very diverse intertidal zone with rocks, waves and tides. Plants: Red, green and brown seaweeds attached to rocks. Animals: Limpets, sea snails, barnacles, mussels, sea anemones, star fish, crabs, seagulls.
describe the coral reef and the open ocean
Coral reefs: Found in shallow seas. Very diverse with corals which are animals living symbiotically with algae which secrete hard calcium carbonate. Generally in nutrient poor waters, the animals provide nutrients for the algae and agal food for the animals through photosynthesis. Many fish shelter here too.
Open ocean (pelagic): Open water dominated by floating plankton (both phytoplankton and zooplankton) forming the basis of the food chains here. Also contains larger animals e.g. fish and whales. The seafloor beneath the open oceans is called benthic.
describe the estuary and the wetlands
Estuary: where fresh water meets salty water, typically the mouths of rivers form estuaries. Here important site for many species including spawning fish and feeding birds.
Wetland: Wetlands are areas with waterlogged soil, a high water table and many aquatic plants. Can be permanent or seasonal, from waterlogged soil to shallow waters. Plants are typically grasses and reeds with many birds, fish, frogs and insects living here. Wetlands act as filters cleaning water that enters water bodies, they also slow down the flow of water preventing floods and act as sponges, retaining water for longer.
describe the river/streams and lakes/ponds
Rivers/ streams: Flowing water either fast (upper reaches) or slow (lower reaches). Plants include algae and water plants, animals include fish, frogs and insects.
Ponds/ lakes: Standing fresh water bodies (includes dams). Plants include floating plants e.g. lilies, waterblommetjies, water plants and algae. Animals include fish, frogs, insects and birds.
describe the savvanah and grassland
Savanna: warm wet summers, cold dry winters, nutrient poor sandy soils. Mix of grasses and trees, frequent fires keep trees from dominating. Animals include the big five: lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo etc.
Grassland: hot summers with high rainfall, cold winters with heavy frost, sandy acidic soil. Mainly grasses, few trees, sweet grasses: highly nutritious in more fertile soils, sour grasses: grasses in less fertile areas. Fires very frequent excluding trees. Large herds of grazing animals and many birds.
describe the Succulent Karoo and the nama Karoo
Nama Karoo: very hot summers, cold winters with little rain and frost (semi-desert). Thin lime soil. Grasses and small shrubs and annuals. Good grazing for herbivores - large area needed for migration.
Succulent Karoo: very hot dry summers, and cold winters. Very low winter rain. Thin lime soil. Plants mostly small succulents with thick fleshy leaves that store water e.g. vygies and stone plants, also spring daisies. Many nocturnal and burrowing animals e.g. bat eared fox, meerkat.
describe forest and thicket
Forest: high rainfall and no frost, fertile and humus rich soil. Trees form a closed canopy with layers of vegetation below e.g. ferns. Animals include small buck, bush pig, monkeys and many birds.
Thicket: climate varies, generally more moist as more in east of country. Many thorn trees and bushes, some succulents and some small forest trees. Elephants, kudu, monkeys and bushbuck.
describe fynbos
FYNBOS
Climate: windy, hot and dry summers, stormy, cold and wet winters seldom with frost. The soil is generally acidic and poor in soil nutrients.
Fynbos defined by Protea family, Restio family and Erica family plants, also abundant are geophytes (bulb plants e.g. Watsonia’s). Plants generally found here have fine leaves and are aromatic.
Animals include small buck e.g. klipspringer, baboons, field mice, caracal and many birds and insects.
Fire is common (every 10-20 years) and the plants have adaptations to survive the fire regime e.g. reseeding or resprouting. Other example adaptations: myrmecochory (restio seeds with a fleshy part to encourage ants to bury seed), serotiny (sugar bush protea holding onto seeds until after a fire) and smoke triggered germination for seeds of many species of fynbos plants.
Name the 3 Physiographic factors
slope, aspect and altitude
The 4 Edaphic factors are?
soil texture, soil water, soil air and soil pH
The 5 Physical factors are?
sunlight, temperature, water, atmospheric gases and wind
Draw a flow diagram summarising the water cycle. Ensure that you use all the following labels:
Processes (label the arrows): condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, accumulation, absorption, transpiration and evaporation. Forms (items in boxes): water vapour, clouds, surface water and ice, soil water, groundwater (water table), streams and rivers, water bodies and water in organisms.
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Draw a flow diagram summarising the nitrogen cycle. Ensure that you use all the following labels:
Processes: feeding, death, excretion, decomposition, nitrification, nitrogen fixation, denitrification, assimilation.
Forms: Plant proteins, Animal proteins, dead organic matter, urea, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, free nitrogen in the atmosphere.
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TRUE or FALSE: this is how the EUTROPHICATION cyle works
Excess nutrients are applied to the soil.
Some nutrients leach into the soil where they can remain for years.
Eventually, they get drained into the water body. Some nutrients run off over the ground into the body of water.
The excess nutrients cause an algal bloom.
Sunlight is blocked from penetrating the water
Water plants start to die
Eventually, the algal bloom dies and sinks to the bottom of the lake. Bacteria begins to decompose the remains, using up oxygen for respiration.
The decomposition causes the water to become depleted of oxygen. Larger life forms, such as fish, suffocate to death. This body of water can no longer support life.
true
define population
a group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time
TRUE or FALSE:
a community and a population are the same thing
false
TRUE or FALSE:
Niche is the role of which a species normally performs
true
TRUE or FALSE:
A habitat is a particular area where a community and its abiotic environment interact
false that is the ecosystem
define producers/autotrophs
Producers - the green plants that make their own food, also known as autotrophs e.g. green plants, algae and cyanobacteria. Plants use photosynthesis to manufacture sugar (glucose) from carbon dioxide and water. Using this sugar and other nutrients (e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus) taken up by their roots, plants produce a variety of organic molecules. These molecules include carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids.
define consumers/heterotrophs and list the sub catagories:
Consumers - organisms that are directly or indirectly dependent on the autotrophs for their food. Also known as heterotrophs, they feed i.e. eat other organisms, living or dead, and cannot produce their own food. Consumers are classed into different groups depending on the source of their food. Some examples include:
Herbivores - feed on producers e.g. zebra, springbok, mice, aphids, krill
Carnivores - feed on other consumers e.g. lion, cheetah, eagle, ladybirds, tuna
Omnivores - feed on both producers and consumers e.g. humans, dogs, ants, sardines
Detritivores - feed on dead plants or animals e.g. woodlice, earthworms
define decomposers/ saprotrophs
Decomposers - organisms that break down dead organisms and organic wastes (e.g. urine and faeces) into inorganic substances e.g. bacteria, fungi. Decomposers are also known as saprotrophs.
the three ecological; pyramids
A pyramid of energy - shows how much energy is retained in the form of new biomass at each trophic level.
A pyramid of biomass - shows how much biomass (the amount of living or organic matter) is present in the organisms at different trophic levels
A pyramid of numbers - represents the number of individual organisms at each trophic level.
Define:
Xerophytes
Mesophytes
Hydrophytes
Xerophytes are plants that are able to live in dry habitats, or in regions with low annual rainfall. These plants are resistant to drought, have to cope with a shortage of water, high temperatures and light intensities and dry warm winds.
Mesophytes are plants that need an average, regular supply of water.
Hydrophytes are plants that are able to live entirely or partially submerged in water or in very wet soil. These plants have to cope with a water surplus.
Define photoperiodism
plant growth can be affected by the length of the day, example some plants only flower when the length of the day is a certain duration
