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Ecology > Ecology > Flashcards

Ecology Flashcards

0
Q

What is an autotroph?

A

An organism that produces its own food using photosynthesis.

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1
Q

What does abiotic mean?

A

Non-living

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2
Q

What is nitrogen fixation?

A

Process where bacteria turn nitrogen into a form that plants can use (ammonia), process where nitrogen gas in the atmosphere is converted into nitrates.

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3
Q

Can matter be recycled?

A

Yes

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4
Q

Can energy be recycled?

A

No

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5
Q

How much energy is passed onto the next consumer in a food pyramid/tropic level?

A

10%

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6
Q

What is the first level of an energy pyramid or food web/chain?

A

Producer, can produce its own food using photosynthesis.

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7
Q

Which way do the arrows point in a food chain/web?

A

Towards the eater/consumer.

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8
Q

What is non-biodegradable?

A

A toxin that can’t be broken down.

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9
Q

What is biotic? Give an example.

A

Living, trees/plants

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10
Q

What happens to the amount of biomass as you move up the pyramid?

A

Only 10% moves on, it decreases.

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11
Q

What happens to the number of individual organisms as you move up the pyramid?

A

It decreases

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12
Q

The unused energy from each tropic level is lost as_____into the environment.

A

Heat

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13
Q

What is the name of the nutrient cycle that removes CO2 from the atmosphere?

A

The carbon cycle

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14
Q

In the nitrogen cycle, how is nitrogen converted into a usable form?

A

Nitrogen fixation by lightening or nitrogen fixation by bacteria.

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15
Q

What is primary succession?

A

Starts where no soil exists, after volcanic activity or glaciers that melt.

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16
Q

What is secondary succession?

A

Succession that occurs after a disturbance.

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17
Q

What is an example of a pioneer species?

A

Lichens

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18
Q

When one organism benefits and the other is harmed this is a___________relationship.

A

Parasitic

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19
Q

When two organisms benefit from the relationship this is____________.

A

Mutualism

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20
Q

When one organism benefits and the other is not harmed or helped/affected this is a_______________relationship.

A

Commensalistic

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21
Q

What is carrying capacity?

A

The maximum amount of species an ecosystem can support.

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22
Q

What is logistical growth?

A

Slow steady growth.

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23
Q

What is exponential growth?

A

Rapid uncontrolled growth.

24
Q

What is limiting factor?

A

Factors that limit the size of a population.

25
Q

What is biological magnification?

A

Build up of toxins through a food chain.

26
Q

How do you calculate the amount of energy passed onto the the next consumer in an energy pyramid?

A

By multiplying the producers amount of energy by 10% or .10 however many times needed.

27
Q

How would you calculate the amount of energy in the producer?

A

Divide the consumers energy by 10% or .10 however many times needed.

28
Q

Where does the producer normally go in a pyramid.

A

On the bottom.

29
Q

How do you know which pond is the youngest?

A

Because it has the most plant growth in it.

30
Q

Do non-biodegradable toxins accumulate or go away in a food chain?

A

Accumulate

31
Q

Why are top consumers at risk for bioaccumulation?

A

The top consumer eats the most because it’s eating all the food that the consumer before it ate, including all the biodegradable toxins.

32
Q

What are the different types of relationships?

A

Predator-prey, commensalism, mutualism, and parasitic.

33
Q

Any arrow in a food chain points toward the organism that is________.

A

Eating/the consumer

34
Q

In most food chains the original source of energy is__________.

A

The sun

35
Q

Producers use the sun to produce food for themselves through a process called______________.

A

Photosynthesis

36
Q

Organisms that can’t produce their own food are called__________.

A

Consumers/heterotrophs

37
Q

Any organism at the top of the food chain is called a___________because it is hunted by any other organism for food.

A

Top predator

38
Q

All organisms will eventually die at the end of their life cycle. The waste material and remains they leave behind is called__________.

A

Detritus

39
Q

Nutrients created by decomposers go into the soil and get absorbed by__________which use them to make their own bodies.

A

Producers

40
Q

Since all members of a food web are interconnected, the extinction of one member of the web will_________the other members.

A

Effect

41
Q

As nutritional energy passes through the food chain, energy…

A

Is lost

42
Q

What shapes an ecosystem?

A

Biotic and abiotic factors.

43
Q

What determines where an organism fits in an ecosystem?

A

Its adaptations.

44
Q

What is interdependence?

A

A mutual dependence between things.

45
Q

What is detritus?

A

Waste material

46
Q

A biomass pyramid shows…

A

Total amount of living tissue.

47
Q

Pyramid of numbers represents…

A

The total number of species in each tropic level, may not look like a typical pyramid shape depending on the ecosystem.

48
Q

Energy pyramid shows…

A

The relative amount of energy available at each trophic level.

49
Q

To be organic…

A

You have to have either more than one carbon molecule or at least one carbon and one hydrogen atom/molecule.

50
Q

What is biological magnification?

A

When poison like a DDT (a very powerful pesticide that is no longer in use) gets into a food chain and accumulates in the tissues or an organism, they can be passed up the food chain an increase in amount. (Not good)

51
Q

What is competition?

A

An interaction between organisms or species, in which the fitness of one is lowered by the presence of another. (No two organisms can live in the same niche without competing for resources. Usually the better of the two wins and survives)

52
Q

What is fitness?

A

Ability to live

53
Q

What is an introduced species?

A

A species living outside its native area that humans bring in either on purpose or on accident.

54
Q

What is an endangered species?

A

A species at higher risk of extinction.

55
Q

What is a predator-prey relationship?

A

Populations of predators and prey are directly linked.

56
Q

What is ecological succession?

A

Overtime an ecosystem sees an increase in organism diversity and organism extinction.

57
Q

When is there a climax community?

A

When a community become stable.

Ecology (3 decks)

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