Ecology Flashcards
(40 cards)
Abiotic Factors
non-living things that affect
populations or ecosystems
Biotic Factors
living things that affect
populations or ecosystems
Ecological niche
is the role that species play in an ecosystem, including how they behave, what they eat, what eats them
Herbivores
Animal that eats plants & other producers
Carnivore
Animal that eats other animals
Omnivore
Animal that eats both plants & animals
Scavenger
Animal that eats remains of organisms
Food Chains vs Food Webs
Chains: illustrate a sequence of organisms, each feeding on the next displaying how energy is transferred from one organism to another
Webs: a representations of the feeding relationships within a community
trophic level
describes the level of an organism in an ecosystem depending on its feeding position in the food chain (how they obtain their energy)
1st Level: Producers (trees, grass, berries)
2nd Level: Primary consumers (grubs, mooses, mice)
3rd Level: Secondary consumers (snakes, spiders, ladybugs)
4th Level: Tertiary consumers (hawks, foxes)
Ecological Pyramids
can be used to display energy, number, & biomass relationships
energy: illustrates energy loss & transfer between trophic levels
biomass: illustrates the mass of organisms between different trophic levels
numbers: illustrates the numbers of organisms between different trophic levels
Biogeochemical cycles
are cycles that involve living organisms & occur as the Earth processes (movement of matter through biotic & abiotic systems)
Every particle in an organism is part of a biogeochemical cycle
Water Cycle
- Liquid evaporates, forms water
vapor that flows through the
atmosphere - Vapor condenses forming liquid
water of ice crystals - Returns to earth as rain, hail,
of snow - Water may enter soil &
groundwater or enter lakes,
rivers, of oceans - Water is then absorbed by plants, but
may be released in a process called
transpiration
carbon cycle
- where carbon is cycled through the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, & biosphere
- The carbon cycle results in long-term & short-term storage of carbon
- Most of this exchange occurs between carbon
dioxide & photosynthesizing plants & organisms
nitrogen cycle
- the series of processes in which nitrogen compounds are moved through the abiotic & biotic environment
- Nitrogen is abundant in atmosphere
- Nitrogen is hard to get directly from abiotic environment
- Most nitrogen used by living organisms is taken from atmosphere from certain bacteria in process called nitrogen fixation
- These organisms convert nitrogen gas into compounds including nitrogen, such as nitrates, nitrites, & ammonia
- Nitrogen has two ways down one way up
ecology
Ecology is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment; it seeks to understand the vital connections between plants and animals and the world around them.
consumers vs producers
A consumer is an organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals.
A producer is an organism that creates its own food or energy.
decomposers
Decomposers are organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms; they carry out decomposition, a process possible by only certain kingdoms, such as fungi.
photosynthesis
process by which plants turn water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide into water, oxygen, and simple sugars.
6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2
6 carbon dioxide, 6 water, glucose, 6 oxygen
This means that the reactants, are converted by light energy captured by chlorophyll (implied by the arrow) into a sugar molecule and six oxygen molecules, the products.
ecosystem
a community or group of living organisms that live in and interact with each other in a specific environment
population
Population is the term typically used to refer to the number of people in a single area.
prim, sec, & tertiary consumers
1st Level: Producers (trees, grass, berries)
2nd Level: Primary consumers (grubs, mooses, mice)
3rd Level: Secondary consumers (snakes, spiders, ladybugs)
4th Level: Tertiary consumers (hawks, foxes)
community
group of biotic & abiotic factors coming together to form a society
biodiversity
Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life you’ll find in one area—the variety of animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria that make up our natural world. Each of these species and organisms work together in ecosystems, like an intricate web, to maintain balance and support life.
cellular respiration
C6H12O6 +6 O2 ——>6 CO2+ 6 H2O
opposite of photosynthesis
