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ecology Flashcards

(67 cards)

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1
Q

Ecology definition

A

study of how living things interact, biotic and abiotic

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2
Q

ecosystem definition

A

All the interacting parts of a biological community and it’s environment

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3
Q

Sustainability definition

A

the ability to maintain (or be maintained) at a certain level

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4
Q

Abiotic definition

A

The nonliving parts of a ecosystem

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5
Q

biotic definition

A

The living parts of an ecosystem

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6
Q

Lithosphere definition

A

The solid part of the Earth’s surface

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7
Q

Hydrosphere definition

A

all the water found on Earth’s, including oceans, lakes and groundwater

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8
Q

Atmosphere definition

A

The layer of gases above the Earth’s surface

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9
Q

Biosphere definition

A

The regions of Earth where living organisms exist

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10
Q

Biodiversity definition

A

The number of variety of life forms within a specific region

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11
Q

Nutrient definition

A

A chemical that is essential to living things

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12
Q

Terrestrial ecosystem definition

A

A land based eco-system

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13
Q

Aquatic Ecosystem definition

A

a water based ecosystem (fresh or salt water)

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14
Q

Eutrophication definition

A

a process in which nutrient levels in aquatic ecosystems increase leading to more primary producers

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15
Q

Trophic level definition

A

A category of organisms defined by how organisms gain energy

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16
Q

Biomass definition

A

The total mass of living organisms in a defined group or area

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17
Q

Photosynthesis definition

A

a process that changes solar energy to chemical energy (glucose)

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18
Q

Bioaccumulation definition

A

A process in which materials (especially toxins) are ingested at a greater rate than they are eliminated

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19
Q

population definition

A

All animals of a specific species in an ecosystem

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20
Q

Reintroducing species definition

A

Reintroducing extinct species in an ecosystem

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21
Q

Linear growth definition

A

Population increases the same amount in each time frame

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22
Q

Exponential growth definition

A

Population growth produces a J shaped curve when graphed against time

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23
Q

Carrying capacity definition

A

The size of a population that can be supported indefinitely by the ecosystem’s resources

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24
Q

Equilibrium definition

A

When the population is maintained at it’s carrying capacity

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25
Watershed definition
An area of land where water drains into another body of water
26
Desertification definition
Change of non-desert to a desert
27
Cross-pollination definition
pollen from a male flower fertilizes the female flower of the same species
28
Self-pollination definition
When flowers pollinate themselves or another flower from the same plant
29
Decomposition definition
The breakdown of organic waste and dead organisms by decomposers
30
Connectivity definition
The concept of linked ecosystems that are separated geographically
31
Biomagnification definition
Increase of the concentration of toxin from one trophic level to the next
32
Fermentation
The release of energy in the absence of oxygen -bacteria uses fermentation to release energy in glucose
33
What percent of energy is transferred between trophic levels
only about 10%
34
Cellular respiration definition
A process that releases energy from organic molecules in the presence of oxygen (oxygen inhaled, carbon dioxide exhaled)
35
Trophic level chain
Producers > primary consumers > secondary > tertiary
36
Carrying capacity definition
The size of a population that can be supported indefinitely by the resources in the ecosystem
37
Limiting factor definition
A factor that limits the growth, distribution or amount of a population in an ecosystem
38
Population definition
a group of organisms of one species that lives in the same place, at the same time and can successfully reproduce
39
Quadrat sampling
They count all the species in a small part of the population in a sampling square called a quadrat
40
biodiversity index formula
number of species/number of indivduals
41
Omnivore definition
A plant and meat eating organism
42
Carnivore definition
Meat eating organism
43
Herbivore definition
Plant eating organism
44
Mutualism definition
When two organisms benefit from a mutual relationship
45
Parasitism definition
When one organism benefits by harming another organism
46
Commensalism definition
When one organism benefits and the other does not and is unaffected
47
Competition definition
When two organisms compete with each other for the same food
48
Predation definition
When one organism eats another for energy
49
The water cycle
50
The Carbon cycle
51
The Nitrogen cycle
52
How many species are there on Earth
5 million to 100 million
53
Biodiversity hotspot definition
A place where there is an exceptionally large number of species in a relatively small area
54
Carolinian Hotlands
1% of Canada’s landmass, has the highest biodiversity 2200 species of plants 40% of Canada’s birds
55
Communities definition
All the populations of a different species that interact in a specific area or ecosystem
56
Dominant Species definition
Species that are so abundant that they have the largest biomass of any community member Always primary producers in terrestrial ecosystems Removal of them may decrease the biodiversity
57
Keystone species definition
A species that can greatly affect the population numbers and the health of an ecosystem Can be plants or animals
58
Example of a keystone species
Sea otter
59
Captive Breeding definition
The breeding of a rare or endangered species in controlled settings to increase the population size
60
Ecosystem Engineers definition
A species that causes such dramatic changes to landscapes that it creates a new ecosystem
61
Example of an ecosystem engineer
Ex. Beavers create dams which creates ponds
62
Succession
The series of changes that occurs in an ecosystem over time, following a disturbance
63
Example of succesion
Ex. Beavers turned a flowing river into a meadow
64
Canopy fogging definition
Low doses on insecticide is sprayed onto a tree canopy, when insects fall (dead) they are collected and analyzed
65
Quadrat sampling definition
Square ranging in size, species in the quadrat are counted Used for slow moving organisms and plants
66
Transect sampling definition
A rope that has been marked with set intervals, species are counted at each interval
67
Netting definition
Fine nets are used to capture organisms, they are then identified

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