Ecology Flashcards
(19 cards)
What is an ecosystem?
All the organisms that live in a region and interact with each other and their surroundings
What is a biotic factor?
Living things and their remains (eg. planets, micro-organisms, bird’s nest, viral disease)
What is an abiotic factor?
Non-living physical and chemical components of an ecosystem, NOT produced by living things (eg. water, light)
What is a biosphere?
The part of Earth that contains all ecosystems
What is a community?
Populations that live together in a defined area
What is a population?
Group of organisms of 1 type that live together in the same area
What is a producer // autotrophe?
Organism that produces organic compounds from inorganic compounds
What is a consumer // heterotrophe?
Organism that obtain nutrients from other organisms
What is a decomposer?
Organism that break down the remains of dead animals & planets, releasing the substances that can be used by other members of the ecosystem
What is cellular respiration?
When a consumer eats a producer, it releases the energy from the sugar process
What is photosynthesis?
When producers collect light energy to make chemical energy
What is thermal energy?
Radiant energy absorbed by land and water (keeps Earth at present temperature range)
What is light energy?
Portion of radiant energy we see
What is a food chain?
Diagram which shows how organisms are linked together by feeding relationships
What is a food web?
It’s a more realistic view of energy transfer and shows organisms as a part of an interlocking relationship
What are trophic levels?
Categories of organisms defined by how they gain their energy
How much energy from 1 trophic level is transferred to the next?
Only 10%
What does an ecological pyramid show?
The relationship between producers and consumers at different trophic levels in an ecosystem by relative amounts of energy or matter
What are the 3 types of ecological pyramids?
Pyramid of
- Numbers
- Biomass (total mass of the organic matter at each trophic level)
- Energy