Ecology Flashcards
Lessons 1 - 11 (97 cards)
1
Q
What does the ownership view state?
A
We do not own land and should not try to change it
This view emphasizes respect for natural environments.
2
Q
What is the frontier view?
A
We can affect the environment as long as it benefits
This view supports human intervention for resource utilization.
3
Q
What is the stewardship view?
A
We can look after something that is not ours, so protect the environment to protect it
This view emphasizes responsibility towards nature.
4
Q
Define ecological sustainability.
A
Maintaining or restoring the ecosystem, including the plant species, biodiversity etc
Focuses on long-term health of the environment.
5
Q
What happened to Easter Island’s biodiversity?
A
It used to be full of biodiversity but is no longer enriched due to the actions of the inhabitants
A case study in ecological collapse.
6
Q
What is biology?
A
The study of living organisms
Encompasses various subfields including ecology.
7
Q
Define ecology.
A
The study of interactions between all living things and their environments
Integral to understanding ecosystems.
8
Q
What is ecological hierarchy?
A
The connections and relationships between living and nonliving things in the world, including individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, and biosphere
Helps organize biological and ecological studies.
9
Q
What does an individual in ecological terms refer to?
A
How one living organism interacts with its environment
The most basic level of ecological study.
10
Q
What is a population?
A
A collection of individuals that belong to the same species
Important for studying species dynamics.
11
Q
Define community in ecology.
A
A collection of populations in a given area
Represents the diversity of species in an ecosystem.
12
Q
What is an ecosystem?
A
A community and the nonliving things they interact with
Includes biotic and abiotic components.
13
Q
What is a biome?
A
A collection of ecosystems that have similar properties such as climate and organisms
Examples include deserts, forests, and tundras.
14
Q
Define biosphere.
A
The sphere in which all nonliving and living things and biomes exist
Encompasses all ecosystems on Earth.
15
Q
List the four ecological spheres.
A
- Biosphere
- Lithosphere
- Hydrosphere
- Atmosphere
These spheres help categorize various environmental components.
16
Q
What is the lithosphere?
A
The rock sphere
Comprises the Earth’s crust and upper mantle.
17
Q
Define hydrosphere.
A
The water sphere
Includes all water bodies on Earth.
18
Q
What is the atmosphere?
A
The air sphere
Contains the gases essential for life.
19
Q
What are biotic factors?
A
Components of an ecosystem that were or still are living
Includes plants, animals, and microorganisms.
20
Q
Define abiotic factors.
A
Components of an ecosystem that are nonliving
Examples include sunlight, temperature, and minerals.
21
Q
What is competition in ecology?
A
Two species competing for resources
A critical interaction affecting population dynamics.
22
Q
Define predation.
A
One predator hunts one prey
A fundamental ecological interaction.
23
Q
What is mutualism?
A
Two species helping each other and both benefiting
An example is pollinators and flowering plants.
24
Q
Define commensalism.
A
Two species interacting and only one of them benefits
The other species is neither helped nor harmed.
25
What is a natural ecosystem?
Exists naturally (without the intervention of people) with more biodiversity and more protection from abiotic factors
## Footnote
Typically more resilient to environmental changes.
26
What are artificial ecosystems?
Created by and often maintained by people with less biodiversity and more exposed to abiotic factors
## Footnote
Examples include agricultural fields and urban areas.
27
What things does the sun provide?
* Light
* Energy
* Heat
## Footnote
Essential for photosynthesis and climate regulation.
28
What is photosynthesis?
The process by which plants and algae use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen
## Footnote
Takes 6 molecules of carbon dioxide and 6 molecules of water to make 1 molecule of glucose and 6 molecules of oxygen.
29
What is cellular respiration?
The process in which animals/humans turn oxygen and sugar into usable energy and waste
## Footnote
Produces carbon dioxide and water as byproducts.
30
Why are photosynthesis and cellular respiration considered complementary processes?
Plants obtain carbon dioxide while animals obtain oxygen produced by plants
## Footnote
They create a cyclical exchange of gases.
31
What is exponential growth?
Growth is limited and resources are unlimited
## Footnote
Characterized by a rapid increase in population size.
32
Define logistic growth.
Resources are limited
## Footnote
Population growth slows as it approaches carrying capacity.
33
What is a limiting factor?
Any resource, condition, or factor that restricts the growth, reproduction, or distribution of a population or organism
## Footnote
Can include food, space, and water.
34
What are density dependent factors?
Causes growth rate to change as population density increases
## Footnote
Examples include competition for food and disease risk.
35
What are density independent factors?
Not influenced by population size
## Footnote
Examples include weather and climate.
36
Define carrying capacity.
The maximum number of organisms an ecosystem can hold with a specific number of resources
## Footnote
Determines population sizes in a habitat.
37
What is intraspecific competition?
A biological interaction where individuals of the same species compete for limited resources
## Footnote
Can lead to natural selection.
38
Define interspecific competition.
Occurs when different species compete for the same limited resources
## Footnote
Can affect community structure.
39
What is a closed system?
Does not allow matter to be taken out or into a system
## Footnote
Important in ecological studies of energy and matter.
40
What is Liebig's Law of the Minimum?
The nutrient in least supply will limit population growth
## Footnote
Highlights the importance of essential nutrients.
41
Define the law of tolerance.
A range of abiotic factors that an organism can survive in
## Footnote
Important for understanding species distribution.
42
What is biotic potential?
Maximum number of offspring and is dependent on four factors
## Footnote
Influences population growth rates.
43
What is birth potential?
Maximum number of offspring one organism can have
## Footnote
A key factor in calculating biotic potential.
44
What is gestation period?
The time an organism can reproduce
## Footnote
Varies significantly among species.
45
What is a food chain?
Showing how energy transfers from one organism to another when one organism consumes the other
## Footnote
A simplified representation of energy flow.
46
Define food webs.
A combination of food chains
## Footnote
More complex and realistic representation of ecosystems.
47
List the types of organisms based on their feeding habits.
* Carnivores
* Herbivores
* Omnivores
## Footnote
Each plays a unique role in the ecosystem.
48
What is a producer?
Produces food via photosynthesis (autotrophs)
## Footnote
The base of food chains.
49
Define consumer.
They consume other animals as food (heterotrophs)
## Footnote
Includes herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.
50
What is detritus?
Decayed matter (soil) that is abiotic
## Footnote
Important for nutrient cycling.
51
What are decomposers?
Organisms that consume detritus
## Footnote
Vital for breaking down organic matter.
52
How much energy is passed along to the next trophic level in food chains?
Only 10% of energy
## Footnote
This loss of energy limits the number of trophic levels.
53
What are trophic levels?
Denotes how many steps away the organism is from the sun
## Footnote
Helps understand energy transfer.
54
How does competition affect food webs?
The more niches of different populations overlap, the more competition there is
## Footnote
Can lead to extinction of species.
55
Differentiate between extirpated and endangered.
Extirpation is the extinction of a species in a particular area, while endangered refers to species at risk everywhere
## Footnote
Important for conservation efforts.
56
List the cycles of matter.
* Water cycle
* Nitrogen cycle
* Carbon cycle
## Footnote
Essential for ecosystem health.
57
Explain the water cycle.
Shows continuous movement of water within Earth and atmosphere
## Footnote
Involves processes like evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.
58
What is evaporation in the water cycle?
Sun heats up water, turning it into vapor, which rises
## Footnote
A key step in the water cycle.
59
Define condensation in the water cycle.
Water vapor in air rises, changes to water creating clouds
## Footnote
Essential for precipitation.
60
What is transpiration?
Water from soil is taken up by plants and released into air as water vapor
## Footnote
Contributes to the water cycle.
61
Define sublimation in the water cycle.
Water turns from solid to gas, like ice to vapor
## Footnote
Another process contributing to water movement.
62
How does water move around in the water cycle?
* Precipitation: water falls from clouds in rain
* Deposition: water vapor changes into ice
* Runoff: water moves on Earth's surface to streams
* Infiltration: water soaks into soil or rock layers
* Percolation: water moves through soil
## Footnote
These processes are crucial for maintaining freshwater systems.
63
Explain the carbon cycle.
The way carbon moves throughout the ecosystem
## Footnote
Carbon is found in respiration, decaying organic matter, and is released by human activities.
64
Where is carbon found?
* Animals performing cellular respiration
* Organic matter decaying
* Decomposers breaking down organic matter
* Combusting fossil fuels
* Volcanoes erupting
* Fires burning
* CO2 dissolves in oceans
## Footnote
Carbon is essential for life and climate regulation.
65
What is the nitrogen cycle?
Shows how nitrogen cycles through living and nonliving organisms
## Footnote
Nitrogen is vital for protein synthesis.
66
What is nitrogen fixation?
Nitrogen is fixed by certain bacteria into ammonia
## Footnote
A crucial step in making nitrogen available to plants.
67
Define decay in the nitrogen cycle.
Ammonia is released from animal excretion and is absorbed by the soil
## Footnote
Important for nutrient recycling.
68
What is nitrification?
Ammonia is converted to nitrites, then into nitrates via nitrifying bacteria
## Footnote
Essential for plant nutrient uptake.
69
Define denitrification.
Denitrifying bacteria in soil convert nitrates back into nitrogen, returning it to the atmosphere
## Footnote
Completes the nitrogen cycle.
70
What are pests?
Anything that is unwanted or a nuisance in a specific environment
## Footnote
Can include insects, plants, and animals.
71
What are pesticides?
Things designed to kill and remove pests
## Footnote
Can have significant environmental impacts.
72
What are fat-soluble pesticides?
Readily absorbed into fat cells, often resulting in extended persistence in food chains
## Footnote
Can accumulate in organisms over time.
73
Define water-soluble pesticides.
Pesticides that can dissolve easily in water and are more likely to move with water in surface runoff
## Footnote
May contaminate water sources.
74
What is bioaccumulation?
When an organism takes in a toxin faster than it can remove it, building up in tissues
## Footnote
Can lead to health issues in organisms.
75
Define biomagnification.
Toxins move up a food chain, increasing in concentration at higher trophic levels
## Footnote
A significant concern for apex predators.
76
What is the role of plastics in ecosystems?
Plastics are useful but can absorb toxic chemicals, called persistent organic pollutants
## Footnote
They break down slowly and can harm wildlife.
77
What are persistent organic pollutants?
They break down very slowly, contain carbon, and are toxic to all organisms
## Footnote
Can accumulate in the environment and food chains.
78
What happened with DDT and bald eagles?
DDT was used for grass eaten by eagles, weakening their eggs, causing them to break during incubation
## Footnote
A classic example of pesticide impact on wildlife.
79
What percentage of the world is freshwater?
3%
## Footnote
Freshwater ecosystems are crucial for biodiversity.
80
Define light penetrability.
Point of limit of light where light can’t reach
## Footnote
Affects photosynthesis in aquatic ecosystems.
81
What is the littoral zone?
Shallow water from shore to where rooted plants stop, where plants can perform photosynthesis
## Footnote
Vital for aquatic biodiversity.
82
Define benthic zone.
Layer of decayed matter (detritus) at the bottom of the lake, making soil good
## Footnote
Supports diverse organisms.
83
What is the limnetic zone?
Where plants start to stop growing
## Footnote
Represents the open water of a lake.
84
Define euphotic zone.
Where plants perform photosynthesis
## Footnote
Receives sufficient light for growth.
85
What is the profundal zone?
Where photosynthesis can’t take place
## Footnote
Typically darker and colder.
86
What are oligotrophic lakes characterized by?
* Deep cool lakes
* Larger profundal zone
* High oxygen level
* Short food chains
* Few nutrients
* Water appears clearer
## Footnote
Generally support less biological activity.
87
Define eutrophic lakes.
* Shallow warm lakes
* Low oxygen levels
* Low profundal zone
* Many nutrients
* Murky water
## Footnote
Often results from nutrient pollution.
88
What is eutrophication?
The buildup of excessive nutrients in a lake leading to extra sediment and an algae bloom
## Footnote
Caused by runoff from industries.
89
Define invasive species.
Exotic species that is not native to an area and is unintentionally brought to that area
## Footnote
Can disrupt local ecosystems.
90
What are native species?
Naturally lived in an area for a long time
## Footnote
Important for maintaining ecological balance.
91
What is pollution?
A substance that causes damage or is poisonous
## Footnote
Can be chemical, physical, or biological.
92
Define toxic pollutant.
Chemicals added to an ecosystem that may not be initially toxic but can become toxic as they decompose
## Footnote
Can have harmful effects on health and environment.
93
What is organic waste?
Waste from animals/humans that adds various chemicals to the ecosystem and imbalances various cycles
## Footnote
Contributes to pollution and eutrophication.
94
What is fertilizer run-off?
Fertilizers contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which dissolve in nearby water bodies
## Footnote
Can lead to algal blooms and aquatic dead zones.
95
What are algae blooms?
When fertilizers enter water systems, causing algae to grow, increasing oxygen levels initially but leading to depletion when decomposed
## Footnote
Results in dead zones.
96
What is acid rain?
When gases dissolve in water in the air and form acids, changing pH in water and soil
## Footnote
Can harm vegetation and erode buildings.
97
Define deforestation.
When large amounts of trees are removed for agricultural expansion, wood extraction, or urbanization
## Footnote
Affects habitats, nutrient cycling, and carbon dioxide levels.
