Unit 8: Ecology Flashcards
1
Q
Abiotic Factor
A
nonliving factor that influences ecosystems
2
Q
Biotic Factor
A
living factors that influences ecosystems
3
Q
Conservation
A
the preservation and management of biodiversity
4
Q
Global Warming
A
gradual increase in the earth’s temperature due to human activities
5
Q
Imprinting
A
process by which early attachments form in some animals
6
Q
nitrogen cycle
A
process by which nitrogen is cycled throughout earth’s systems
7
Q
Pollution
A
the releasing of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere
8
Q
Saprophyte
A
microorganisms that live on dead or decaying matter
9
Q
Secondary Succession
A
organisms that repopulate after an extinction of previously existing life
10
Q
Logistic Growth
A
exponential growth restricted by carrying capacity
11
Q
Symbiosis
A
living together
12
Q
adaptation
A
process of changing to better fit an environment
13
Q
carbon cycle
A
cycling of carbon throughout the earth
14
Q
Decomposer
A
organism that feeds on the remains of dead organisms
15
Q
Greenhouse Effect
A
insulation of the earth via gases in the atmosphere
16
Q
Interspecific Competition
A
competition between different species
17
Q
Parasite
A
organism living in another organism that utilizes other organism’s nutrients at other organism’s expense
18
Q
Predator
A
organism that eats another
19
Q
detritovore
A
organism that feeds on organic waste of plants and animals,
20
Q
ecosystem
A
sum of organisms and environment interacting
21
Q
Migration
A
seasonal movement somewhere else
22
Q
10% Rule
A
only 10% of previous energy or biomass remains as it moves through trophic levels
23
Q
Age Structure
A
organization of population by age on a graph
24
Q
Carrying Capacity
A
maximum population an environment will allow due to abiotic and biotic pressures
25
Density-Dependent Factor
limit growth based on density of population; usually biotic
26
Gross Primary Productivity
maximum amount of sunlight that is converted to organic material by producers
27
Intraspecific Competition
competition within a species
28
Photoautotroph
produce food using sunlight
29
Primary Consumer
herbivore that eats autotrophs
30
Distribution
geographic range where species can be found
31
Endangered Species
species is in danger of extinction throughout most of its range
32
Mutualism
type of symbiosis where both species benefit
33
Trophic Level
position an organism occupies in a food web
34
Biodiversity
the measure of species variation and relative abundance in an area
35
Climate Change
global change in climate due to excess greenhouse gases
36
Food Chain
arrangement of species in an ecological community by predation
37
Habitat
where an organism lives
38
K-Selection
organism that produce few offspring to survive a long life
39
Population
a group of same species individuals in a given area
40
intrinsic rate of Increase (r)
percent of the population that it will increase by; per capita rate of increase
41
Niche
organism's ecological role
42
Exponential Growth
unrestricted growth of a population
43
Secondary Consumer
carnivore that eats herbivores (primary consumers)
44
Biome
large area defined by its climate
45
Community
group of different species
46
Food Web
the interactions of many food chains
47
Hydrologic Cycle (the water cycle)
the cycling of water throughout the earth
48
Keystone Species
species in small population that the entire ecosystem depends on to survive
49
Population Growth
rate at which teh population increaes (dN/dt)
50
R-Selection
organism that reproduces a lot of offspring that have a low rate of survival
51
Primary Succession
organisms that repopulate a newly formed environment
52
Limiting Factor
abiotic and biotic factors that limit population growth
53
Survivorship Curve
curve showing the mortality and survivorship of a species
54
How is the behavioral and/or physiological response of an organism related to changes in internal or external environment?
Depending on the internal or external environment, the organism may adapt to the change by moderating their internal environment or migrating to a more suitable environment
55
How do the behavioral responses of organisms affect their overall fitness and contribute to the success of the population?
Specific behaviors that an individual displays may either be selected as beneficial or not beneficial and accululation of the beneficial traits increases the sucess of a population
56
What are the strategies organisms use to acquire and use energy?
Autotrophs produce their own energy via photosynthesis or chemosynthesis and consumers need to eat other organisms for energy
57
How do changes in energy availability affect populations and ecosystems?
Changes in energy availiability may either greatly increase or decrease population and ecosystem success as more or less energy allows increases and decreases in population sizes
58
How do the activities of autotrophs and heterotrophs enable the flow of energy within an ecosystem?
Autotrophs produce their own energy, and 10% of this energy is passed on to primary heterotrphs, and then 10% that to secondary heterotrophs
59
What are the factors that influence the growth dynamics of populations?
Density dependent and independent factors, which are more specific processes like competition, disease, and natural disasters
60
How is the density of a population affected by and determined by resource availability in the environment?
As density increases, competition for limited resources increases which then, in turn, influences the population itself. Limited resource availability may also cause competition
61
What is the structure of a community according to its species composition and diversity?
The structure of a community involves how many individuals per species there are as well as the diversity of the types of species in the community
62
How do interactions within and among populations influence community structure?
Competition may negatively impact community structure, and symbiosis can positively or negatively impact community structure depending on mutualism and parasitism or predation
63
How is community structure related to energy availability in the environment?
The more energy available, the more a community can flourish and increase in population size and in species diversity
64
What is the relationship between ecosystem diversity and its resilience to changes in the environment?
Changes in the ecosystem will force some species to find new niches, however, this can be quickly adapted, so diversity decreases at first but increases later again. This is resilience to change
65
How will the addition or removal of any component of an ecosystem affect its overall short-term and long-term structure?
If components are added, the new component can either become a keystone species that stabilizes the ecosystem or an invasive species that will kill it. In components are removed, the entire ecosystem, especially species that depend on this for a food source are drastically affected.
66
What are the interactions between the environment and random or preexisting variations in populations?
Via natural selection, the more beneficial of these population are selected for and will survive and reproduce
67
How do invasive species affect ecosystem dynamics?
Invasive species are not limited by the new environment's factors, so they can grow indefinitely and disastrously harm the new environment's ecosystem dynamics
68
What human activities lead to changes in ecosystem structure and/or dynamics?
Global warming, deforestation, extinction, etc
69
How does geological and meteorological activity lead to changes in ecosystem structure and/or dynamics?
Geological activities lead to dispersion of population and can allow speciation which increases diversity, and meteorological activities lead to changes in climate which may greatly affect global populations despite gradual changes in climate.
