Flashcards in Unit 2- Chapters 13, 14, 15, and 16 Deck (104):
1
ecology
the study of interactions among living things and between living things and their surroundings
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levels of organization
organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome
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community
a group of different species that live together in on area
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ecosystem
includes all of the organisms as well as climate, soil, water, rocks, and other nonliving things in a given area
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biome
a major regional or global community of organisms
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biotic factors
living things (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria
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abiotic
nonliving things (soil, temperature, moisture, wind, sunlight)
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biodiversity
the assortment of living things in an ecosystem
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keystone species
a species that has an unusually large effect on its ecosystem
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producer
organisms that get their energy from nonliving resources
same as autotrophs
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autotrophs
organisms that get their energy from nonliving resources
same as producers
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consumers
organisms that get their energy by eating other living or once-living resources
same as heterotrophs
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heterotrophs
organisms that get their energy by eating other living or once-living resources
same as consumers
14
chemosynthesis
process by which an organism forms carbohydrates using chemicals, rather than light, as an energy source
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food chain
a sequence that links species by their feeding relationships
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herbivores
eat only plants
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carnivores
eat only animals
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omnivores
eat plants and animals
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detritivores
organisms that eat dead organic matter
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decomposers
detritivores that break down organic matter into simpler compounds
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five types of consumers
herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, detritivores, decomposers
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specialist
is a consumer that primarily eats one specific organism or a very small number
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generalist
consumers that have a varying diet
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trophic levels
levels of nourishment in a food chain
show energy flow
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food web
a model that shows the complex network of feeding relationships and the flow of energy within and sometimes beyond an ecosystem
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biomass
a measure of the total dry mass of organisms in a given area
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energy pyramid
a diagram that compares energy used by producers, primary consumers, and other trophic levels
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habitat
can be described as all of the biotic and abiotic factors in the area where an organism lives
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ecological niche
composed of all of the physical, chemical, and biological factors that a species needs to survive, stay healthy, and reproduce
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competitive eclusion
when two species are competing for the same resources, one species will be better suited to the niche, and the other species will be pushed into another niche or become extinct
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ecological equivalents
species that occupy similar niches but live in different geographical regions
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competition
when two organisms fight for the same limited resourse
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predation
process by which one organism captures and feeds upon another organism
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symbiosis
a close ecological relationship between two or more organisms of different species that live in direct contact with one another
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mutualism
an interspecies interaction in which both organisms benefit
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commensalism
a relationship between two organisms in which one recieves an ecological benefits from another, while the other neither benefits nor is harmed
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parasitism
a relationship when one organism benefits while the other is harmed
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population density
a measurement of the number of individuals living in a defined space
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population dispersion
the way which individuals of a population are spread in an area or volume
1. clumped
2. uniform
3. random
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survivorship curve
a generalized diagram showing the number of surviving members over time from a measured set of births
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immigration
the movement of individuals into a population from another population
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emigration
the movement of individuals out of a population and into another population
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exponential growth
occurs when a population size increase dramatically over a period of time
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logistic growth
occurs when a population begins with a period of slow growth followed by a brief period of exponential growth before leveling off at a stable size
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carrying capacity
the maximum number of individuals of a particular species that the environment can normally and consistently support
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population crash
the dramatic decline in the size of a population over a short period of time
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limiting factor
the factor that has the greatest effect in keeping down the size of a population
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density-dependent limiting factors
limiting factors taht are affected by the number of individuals in a given area
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density-independent limiting factors
the aspects of the environment that limit a population's growth regardless of the density of the population
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canopy
the uppermost branches of the trees
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grassland
an area where the primary plant life is grass
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desert
recieves less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation each year
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deciduous
trees that have adapted to winter temperatures by dropping their leaves
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coniferous
trees that retain their needles all year
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taiga
the boreal forest
located in cooler climates
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tundra
located byond the taiga in far northern latitudes
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chaparral
Mediterranean shrubland
hot dry summers and cool, moist winters
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nonrenewable resource
used faster than they are formed
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renewable resources
cannot be used up or can replenish themselves over time
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ecological footprint
the amount of land necessary to produce and maintain enough food and water, shelter, energy, and waste
for one person???
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pollution
any undesirable factor or pollutant, that is added to the air, water, or soil
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smog
a type of air pollution caused by the interaction of sunlight with pollutants produced by fossil fuel emissions
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particulates
microscopic bits of dust, metal, and unburned fuel
produced by many different industrial processes
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acid rain
a type of precipitatioin produced when pollutants in the warer cycle cause rain pH to drop below normal level
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greenhouse effect
occurs when carbon dioxide, water, and methane molecules absorb energy reradiated by earth's surface and slow the release of this energy from Earth's atmosphere
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global warming
the trend of increasing global temperatures
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indicator species
a species that provides a sign, or indication of the quality of the ecosystem's environmental conditions
same as bioindicator
68
biommagnification
a pollutant that moves up the food chain as predators eat prey, accumulating in higher concentrations in the bodies of predators
69
habitat fragmentation
occurs when a barrier forms that prevents an organism from accessing its entire home range
70
introduced species
any organism that was brought to an ecosystem as the result of human actions
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ecologists study...
...environments at different levles of organization
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ecological research methods include...
...observation, experimentation, and modeling
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an ecosystem includes...
...both biotic and abiotic factors
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changing one factor in an ecosystem can...
...affect many other factors
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producers providev
...energy for other organisms in an ecosystem
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almost all produces obtain energy from...
...sunlight
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a food chain is a...
...model that shows a sequence of feeding relationships
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a food web shows...
...a complex network of feeding relationships
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water cycles through...
...the environment
80
elements essential for life also...
...cycle through the environment
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hydrogogic cycle
the circular pathway of water on earth from the atmosphere to the surface, below ground, and back
also called water cycle
82
biogeochemical cycle
the movement of a particular chemical through the biological and geological, or living and nonliving, parts of an ecosystem
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nitrogen fixation
the process by which certain types of bacteria convert gaseous nitrogen into nitrogen compounds
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an energy pyramid shows...
...the distribution of energy among trophic levels
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other pyramid models illustrate an ecosystem's...
...biomass and distribution of organisms
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a habitat differs from a...
...niche
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resource availability gives...
...structure to a community
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competition and predation are two important ways in which organisms...
...interact
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symbiosis is a...
...close relationship between species
90
population density is the...
...number of individuals that live in a defined area
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geographic dispersion of a population shows...
...how individuals in a population are spaced
92
survivorship curves help to describe the...
...reoroductive strategy of a species
93
Changes in a population's size are determind by...
...immigrations, births, emigration, and deaths
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population growth is based on...
...available resources
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ecological factors limit...
...population growth
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earth has _____ major biomes
6
97
polar ice caps and mountains are ___ considered biomes
not
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pullutants accumulate in the...
...air
99
air pollution is...
...changing earth's biosphere
100
water pollution affects...
...ecosystems
101
biomagnification causes...
...accumulations of toxins in the food chain
102
preserving biodiversity is important to the...
...future of the biosphere
103
loss of habitat...
...eliminates species
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