Ecology Flashcards
(17 cards)
habitat
the place where an organism lives
population
all the organisms of one species living in a habitat
community
the populations of different species living in a habitat
ecosystem
the interaction of a community of living organism with the non living parts of their environment
what do plants and animals compete against other species or members of their own species for?
plants
- need light and space as well as water and mineral ions from the soil
animals
- need territory, food, water and mates
what are some examples of abiotic factors?
- moisture level
- light intensity
- temperature
- carbon dioxide level (plants)
- wind intensity and direction
- oxygen level (aquatic animals)
- soil pH and mineral content
what would a decrease in light intensity, temp or level of carbon dioxide mean for a plant?
a decrease in light intensity, temperature or level or carbon dioxide could decrease the rate of photosynthesis in a plant species. this could affect plant growth and cause a decrease in population size
what are some examples of biotic factors?
- new predators
- new pathogens
- competition (one species might outcompete another)
- availability of food
what are structural adaptations?
features of an organisms body structure such as shape or colour
- artic animals like the artic fox have white fur so they’re camouflaged, this helps them avoid predators and sneak up on prey
- animals that live in cold places e.g. whales have a thick layer of blubber and a ,ow surface area to volume ratio to help them retain heat
- animals that live in hot places like camels have a thin layer of fat and a large surface area to volume ratio to help them lose heat
what are behavioural adaptations?
the ways the organism behaves. many species e.g. swallows migrate to warmer climates during the winter to avoid the problems of living in cold conditions
what are functional adaptations?
things that go on inside the organisms body that can be related to processes like reproduction and metabolism
- desert animals conserve water by producing very little sweat and small amounts of concentrated urine
- brown bears hibernate over winter. they lower their metabolism which conserves energy, so they don’t have to hunt when there’s not much food about
what is an extremophile?
- an organism (mainly bacteria) that live in extreme environments
- they’re adapted to live in extreme conditions like high temperature and others can live in places with a high salt concentration or at high pressure
what is interdependence?
organisms that depend on each other for survival
what is a food chain
- they always start with a producer, which makes it own food using energy from the sun
- producers are often green plants or algae which make glucose from photosynthesis
- when glucose are produced some of it is used to make other biological molecules in the plant, these molecules are the plants biomass - the mass of living material
- energy is transferred (the arrows) through organisms in an ecosystem when organisms eat other organisms
- producers are eaten by primary consumers, primary consumers are eaten by secondary consumers. secondary consumers eaten by tertiary consumers
what are predators?
consumers that hunt and kill other animals
what is the prey and predator cycle?
- if the population of prey increases then so will the population of predators
- if the population of predators increase then the population of prey decrease
- e.g. a peak in rabbit numbers is followed by a peak in fox numbers
why are the cycles out of phase with each other?
because it takes a while for one population to respond to changes in the other population
