Ecology Flashcards
(36 cards)
What does an organism get from its environment?
An organism gets food, water, and other things it needs to live, grow and reproduce from its environment.
What is a habitat?
Habitat = an organism’s environment.
What are the 2 parts of an organism’s habitat?
- Biotic factor = parts of a habitat that are living.
- Abiotic factor = parts of a habitat that are nonliving.
How is an ecosystem organized?
Organisms, Populations, Communities, Ecosystems.
What is an organism (species)?
A group of organisms that can mate with each other and produce fertile offspring.
What is a population?
All members of a particular species living together.
What is a community?
All the different populations that live together in one area.
What is an ecosystem?
The community of organisms that live in a particular area along with their nonliving environment.
What is ecology?
The study of how organisms interact with each other and with their environment.
How do populations change in size?
When members join it or when they leave. Birth and Death, Immigration and Emigration.
What is birth rate?
The number of births per 1000 individuals.
What is death rate?
The number of deaths per 1000 individuals.
What happens if the birth rate is greater than the death rate?
The population increases in size.
What happens if the death rate is bigger than the birth rate?
The population decreases in size.
What is immigration?
When individuals move into a population.
What is emigration?
When individuals move out of some space.
What is population density?
The number of individuals in an area of a specific size.
Example: 10 butterflies in 2 square meters.
What is a limiting factor?
An environmental factor that causes a population to stop growing or decrease.
What are examples of limiting factors?
Weather conditions, Space, Food, Water.
What is carrying capacity?
The largest population that an area can support.
What are the energy roles in an ecosystem?
Each of the organisms in an ecosystem fill the energy role of the producer, consumer, or decomposer.
What is a producer?
An organism that can make its own food (e.g., plants).
What is a consumer?
An organism that obtains energy by feeding on another organism (e.g., lions).
What is a decomposer?
An organism that breaks down biotic wastes and dead organisms, returning materials to the ecosystem (e.g., bacteria).
