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Topic 2 Flashcards

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1
Q
A
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2
Q

What is Ecology?

A

The study of interactions among and between organisms in their abiotic environment.

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3
Q

What are Abiotic Factors?

A

The non-living, physical factors that influence the organisms and ecosystem — such as temperature, sunlight, pH, salinity, and precipitation.

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4
Q

What are Biotic Factors?

A

The interactions between the organisms—such as predation, herbivory, parasitism, mutualism, disease, and competition.

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5
Q

What is a Species?

A

A group of organisms that share common characteristics and that interbreed to produce fertile offspring.

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6
Q

What is a Habitat?

A

A habitat is the environment in which a species normally lives.

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7
Q

What is a Niche?

A

A niche describes the particular set of abiotic and biotic conditions and resources to which an organism or population responds.

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8
Q

What is a Fundamental Niche?

A

Describes the full range of conditions and resources in which a species could survive and reproduce.

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9
Q

What is a Realized Niche?

A

Describes the actual conditions and resources in which a species exists due to biotic interactions.

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10
Q

What is Resource Partitioning?

A

The fundamental niches of two species overlap and through competition develop a narrower realized niche.

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11
Q

What is Mutualism?

A

Symbiotic relationship in which both partners benefit.

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12
Q

What is Commensalism?

A

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other one is neither harmed nor helped.

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13
Q

What is Parasitism?

A

Symbiotic relationship in which one species is benefited and the other is adversely affected.

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14
Q

What is Predation?

A

The consumption of one species (the prey) by another (the predator).

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15
Q

What is Herbivory?

A

The consumption of a plant species by an animal.

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16
Q

What is Competition?

A

This is the interaction between organisms that are trying to attain the same resources.

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17
Q

What is a Decomposer?

A

Feeds on dead and decaying material, thus recycling the nutrients.

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18
Q

What is a J-Shaped Curve?

A

A population growth curve showing exponential growth with no carrying capacity reached.

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19
Q

What is an S-Shaped Curve?

A

A population growth curve showing exponential growth followed by slowed growth until carrying capacity is reached.

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20
Q

What is Carrying Capacity?

A

The maximum population size that a given area can support sustainably.

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21
Q

What are Limiting Factors?

A

Biotic or abiotic factors which lead to a limit in the population growth.

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22
Q

What are Density-dependent Limiting Factors?

A

Limiting factors related to how densely packed a population is, e.g. competition.

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23
Q

What are Density-independent Limiting Factors?

A

Limiting factors unrelated to population density such as natural disasters and weather change.

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24
Q

What is Symbiosis?

A

Individuals living on or in individuals of another species where one or both species use the others resources.

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25
What is a Community?
A group of populations living and interacting with each other in a common habitat.
26
What is an Ecosystem?
A community and the physical environment with which it interacts.
27
What is Respiration?
The conversion of organic matter into carbon dioxide and water in all living organisms, releasing energy.
28
What is Aerobic?
Using oxygen.
29
What is Anaerobic?
Without oxygen (e.g. water logged soil).
30
What are Primary Producers?
In most ecosystems convert light energy into chemical energy in the process of photosynthesis.
31
What is Photosynthesis?
The conversion of water and carbon dioxide in chloroplasts, using light energy, to organic matter.
32
What is a Trophic Level?
The position that an organism occupies in a food chain.
33
What are Producers (autotrophs)?
Typically plants or algae that produce their own food using photosynthesis.
34
What are Chemosynthetic Organisms?
Produce their own food without sunlight using the energy stored in chemical bonds.
35
What are Ecological Pyramids?
Include pyramids of numbers, biomass and productivity and are quantitative models.
36
What is Bioaccumulation?
The build-up of persistent or non-biodegradable pollutants within an organism or trophic level.
37
What is Biomagnification?
The increase in concentration of persistent or non-biodegradable pollutants along a food chain.
38
What are Pyramids of Numbers?
Graphically display the numbers of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain.
39
What is a Pyramid of Biomass?
Represents the standing stock or storage of each trophic level.
40
What is a Pyramid of Productivity?
Flow of energy through a trophic level, indicating the rate at which that stock/storage is being generated.
41
What is Insolation?
Solar radiation.
42
What is Productivity?
The conversion of energy into biomass for a given period of time.
43
What is Net Primary Productivity (NPP)?
Gross primary productivity minus respiration losses (GPP - R).
44
What is Net Secondary Productivity (NSP)?
Calculated by subtracting respiratory losses (R) from GSP (NSP = GSP - R).
45
What is Gross Secondary Productivity (GSP)?
The total energy or biomass assimilated by consumers.
46
What is Maximum Sustainable Yield?
Equivalent to the net primary or net secondary productivity of a system.
47
What are Carbon Sinks?
Stores in a system containing a lot of carbon, e.g. a forest or a peat bog.
48
What are Flows in the Carbon Cycle?
Consumption (feeding), death and decomposition, photosynthesis, respiration, dissolving and fossilization.
49
What are Flows in the Nitrogen Cycle?
Nitrogen fixation by bacteria and lightning, absorption, assimilation, consumption, excretion, death and decomposition, denitrification by bacteria.
50
What are Human Activities Impacting Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles?
Burning fossil fuels, deforestation, urbanisation, agriculture.
51
What is Nitrogen Fixation?
The conversion of nitrogen gas (N2) into compounds containing nitrates.
52
What is Denitrification?
The conversion of nitrogen containing compounds into Nitrogen gas.
53
What is a Biome?
A collection of ecosystems sharing similar climatic conditions.
54
What is Succession?
The process of change over time in an ecosystem involving pioneer, intermediate and climax communities.
55
What is Zonation?
Refers to changes in a community along an environmental gradient.
56
What is the Tricellular Model?
Describes 3 large convection cells moving air from the equator towards the poles.
57
What is Terrestrial?
Relating to the earth i.e. ecosystems occurring on land.
58
What is Aquatic?
Relating to water i.e. ecosystems dominated by water.
59
What is an r-strategist?
Species that produce large numbers of offspring to colonize new habitats quickly.
60
What is a K-strategist?
Species that tend to produce a small number of offspring, increasing their survival rate.
61
What is a Climax Community?
A set of alternative stable states for a given ecosystem.
62
What is Community Respiration?
The total respiration rate for all the populations within that system.
63
What is the Productivity:Respiration Ratio?
The ratio between how productive a system is and how much respiration is happening.
64
What are Nutrient and Energy Pathways?
The ways that nutrients/minerals and energy move through an ecosystem.
65
What is an Alternative Stable State?
A stable state resulting from feedback loops and random events.
66
What does Stochastic mean?
Having a random probability distribution.
67
What is Climate?
The average of the weather over a relatively longer period of time.
68
What is Weather?
The conditions in a given place at any one time.
69
What is a Site Description?
A detailed description of the ecosystem/community being studied.
70
What are Identification Tools?
Keys, comparison to specimens, genetic profiling, field guides.
71
What is Quantitative Data?
Measured by the quantity of something rather than its quality.
72
What is Qualitative Data?
Measured by the quality of something rather than its quantity.
73
What is a Sampling Strategy?
The strategy designed to collect sufficient, appropriate data for a study.
74
What is an Environmental Gradient?
A line displaying a change in certain abiotic conditions.
75
What is Random Sampling?
An area is divided into a grid and coordinates are selected randomly.
76
What is Systematic Sampling?
Samples are taken at regular intervals.
77
What is a Quadrat?
A square with a defined size used to sample an area.
78
What is a Transect?
A straight line along which samples can be taken.
79
What are Marine Abiotic Factors?
Salinity, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, wave action.
80
What are Freshwater Abiotic Factors?
Turbidity, flow velocity, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen.
81
What are Terrestrial Abiotic Factors?
Temperature, light intensity, wind speed, particle size, slope.
82
What is Extrapolation?
Estimating or concluding something by assuming that existing trends will continue.
83
What is Estimating Biomass?
Dry mass and extrapolate.
84
What is Estimating Energy?
Controlled combustion and extrapolate.
85
What are Non-motile Organisms?
Organisms that do not move.
86
How to Estimate Abundance of Non-motile Organisms?
Use of quadrats, actual counts, measuring population density.
87
What are Motile Organisms?
Organisms capable of movement.
88
How to Estimate Abundance of Motile Organisms?
Direct methods include actual counts and sampling.
89
What is the Lincoln Index?
(n1 x n2) / nm where n1 is number caught in first sample.
90
What is Species Richness?
Number of species in a community.
91
What is Species Diversity?
A function of the number of species and their relative abundance.
92
What is Simpson Diversity Index (D)?
N(N-1) / Sum of n(n-1) where N is the total number of organisms.
93
What is Percentage Cover?
An estimate of the area in a given frame size covered by the plant.
94
What is Percentage Frequency?
The number of occurrences divided by the number of possible occurrences.

ESS (3 decks)

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