Unit 2- Chapters 13, 14, 15, and 16 Flashcards
vocab and key ideas (104 cards)
1
Q
ecology
A
the study of interactions among living things and between living things and their surroundings
2
Q
levels of organization
A
organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome
3
Q
community
A
a group of different species that live together in on area
4
Q
ecosystem
A
includes all of the organisms as well as climate, soil, water, rocks, and other nonliving things in a given area
5
Q
biome
A
a major regional or global community of organisms
6
Q
biotic factors
A
living things (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria
7
Q
abiotic
A
nonliving things (soil, temperature, moisture, wind, sunlight)
8
Q
biodiversity
A
the assortment of living things in an ecosystem
9
Q
keystone species
A
a species that has an unusually large effect on its ecosystem
10
Q
producer
A
organisms that get their energy from nonliving resources
same as autotrophs
11
Q
autotrophs
A
organisms that get their energy from nonliving resources
same as producers
12
Q
consumers
A
organisms that get their energy by eating other living or once-living resources
same as heterotrophs
13
Q
heterotrophs
A
organisms that get their energy by eating other living or once-living resources
same as consumers
14
Q
chemosynthesis
A
process by which an organism forms carbohydrates using chemicals, rather than light, as an energy source
15
Q
food chain
A
a sequence that links species by their feeding relationships
16
Q
herbivores
A
eat only plants
17
Q
carnivores
A
eat only animals
18
Q
omnivores
A
eat plants and animals
19
Q
detritivores
A
organisms that eat dead organic matter
20
Q
decomposers
A
detritivores that break down organic matter into simpler compounds
21
Q
five types of consumers
A
herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, detritivores, decomposers
22
Q
specialist
A
is a consumer that primarily eats one specific organism or a very small number
23
Q
generalist
A
consumers that have a varying diet
24
Q
trophic levels
A
levels of nourishment in a food chain
show energy flow
25
food web
a model that shows the complex network of feeding relationships and the flow of energy within and sometimes beyond an ecosystem
26
biomass
a measure of the total dry mass of organisms in a given area
27
energy pyramid
a diagram that compares energy used by producers, primary consumers, and other trophic levels
28
habitat
can be described as all of the biotic and abiotic factors in the area where an organism lives
29
ecological niche
composed of all of the physical, chemical, and biological factors that a species needs to survive, stay healthy, and reproduce
30
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
31
ecological equivalents
species that occupy similar niches but live in different geographical regions
32
competition
when two organisms fight for the same limited resourse
33
predation
process by which one organism captures and feeds upon another organism
34
symbiosis
a close ecological relationship between two or more organisms of different species that live in direct contact with one another
35
mutualism
an interspecies interaction in which both organisms benefit
36
commensalism
a relationship between two organisms in which one recieves an ecological benefits from another, while the other neither benefits nor is harmed
37
parasitism
a relationship when one organism benefits while the other is harmed
38
population density
a measurement of the number of individuals living in a defined space
39
population dispersion
the way which individuals of a population are spread in an area or volume
1. clumped
2. uniform
3. random
40
survivorship curve
a generalized diagram showing the number of surviving members over time from a measured set of births
41
immigration
the movement of individuals into a population from another population
42
emigration
the movement of individuals out of a population and into another population
43
exponential growth
occurs when a population size increase dramatically over a period of time
44
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
45
carrying capacity
the maximum number of individuals of a particular species that the environment can normally and consistently support
46
population crash
the dramatic decline in the size of a population over a short period of time
47
limiting factor
the factor that has the greatest effect in keeping down the size of a population
48
density-dependent limiting factors
limiting factors taht are affected by the number of individuals in a given area
49
density-independent limiting factors
the aspects of the environment that limit a population's growth regardless of the density of the population
50
canopy
the uppermost branches of the trees
51
grassland
an area where the primary plant life is grass
52
desert
recieves less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation each year
53
deciduous
trees that have adapted to winter temperatures by dropping their leaves
54
coniferous
trees that retain their needles all year
55
taiga
the boreal forest
| located in cooler climates
56
tundra
located byond the taiga in far northern latitudes
57
chaparral
Mediterranean shrubland
| hot dry summers and cool, moist winters
58
nonrenewable resource
used faster than they are formed
59
renewable resources
cannot be used up or can replenish themselves over time
60
ecological footprint
the amount of land necessary to produce and maintain enough food and water, shelter, energy, and waste
for one person???
61
pollution
any undesirable factor or pollutant, that is added to the air, water, or soil
62
smog
a type of air pollution caused by the interaction of sunlight with pollutants produced by fossil fuel emissions
63
particulates
microscopic bits of dust, metal, and unburned fuel
| produced by many different industrial processes
64
acid rain
a type of precipitatioin produced when pollutants in the warer cycle cause rain pH to drop below normal level
65
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
66
global warming
the trend of increasing global temperatures
67
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
71
ecologists study...
...environments at different levles of organization
72
ecological research methods include...
...observation, experimentation, and modeling
73
an ecosystem includes...
...both biotic and abiotic factors
74
changing one factor in an ecosystem can...
...affect many other factors
75
producers providev
...energy for other organisms in an ecosystem
76
almost all produces obtain energy from...
...sunlight
77
a food chain is a...
...model that shows a sequence of feeding relationships
78
a food web shows...
...a complex network of feeding relationships
79
water cycles through...
...the environment
80
elements essential for life also...
...cycle through the environment
81
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
83
nitrogen fixation
the process by which certain types of bacteria convert gaseous nitrogen into nitrogen compounds
84
an energy pyramid shows...
...the distribution of energy among trophic levels
85
other pyramid models illustrate an ecosystem's...
...biomass and distribution of organisms
86
a habitat differs from a...
...niche
87
resource availability gives...
...structure to a community
88
competition and predation are two important ways in which organisms...
...interact
89
symbiosis is a...
...close relationship between species
90
population density is the...
...number of individuals that live in a defined area
91
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
94
population growth is based on...
...available resources
95
ecological factors limit...
...population growth
96
earth has _____ major biomes
6
97
polar ice caps and mountains are ___ considered biomes
not
98
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
104
introduced species can...
...disrupt stable relationships in an ecosystem
