Topic 2: Ecosystems and Ecology Flashcards
(35 cards)
What is a species?
Organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring.
What is a population?
Group of same species in one area.
What is a habitat?
Environment where a species lives.
What is a niche?
Role of a species (includes where it lives, what it eats, interactions).
What influences population dynamics?
Birth, death, immigration, emigration.
What is an S-curve?
Logistic growth that slows at carrying capacity.
What is a J-curve?
Exponential growth followed by a crash.
What is a community?
All interacting populations in an area.
What is an ecosystem?
Community + abiotic environment.
What are biotic factors?
Living things (e.g., predators, plants).
What are abiotic factors?
Non-living (e.g., temperature, pH).
What are the trophic levels?
Producers (plants), 1° consumers (herbivores), 2° consumers (carnivores), etc.
What do food chains/webs show?
Energy flows (boxes, etc).
What do pyramids of numbers count?
Count organisms.
What do pyramids of biomass measure?
Dry mass.
What do pyramids of energy show?
Loss at each trophic level (most accurate).
What is photosynthesis?
Sunlight → chemical energy (glucose).
What is respiration?
Glucose → energy (ATP).
What does GPP stand for?
Total energy from photosynthesis.
What does NPP stand for?
GPP – respiration (what’s available to next level).
What does NSP stand for?
For consumers (ingested – respiration – waste).
What is the 10% Rule?
Only ~10% of energy moves up each trophic level.
What are nutrient cycles?
Carbon, nitrogen, water cycles.
What are biomes?
Global ecosystems with similar climate/organisms.
