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11 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Biodiversity |
• The variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems • Biological Diversity actually means number and variety of plant and animals |
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Definitions |
Biogeography- the study of the geographical patterns of plant and animal species. This requires a fundamental knowledge of ecology and ecosystem dynamics Ecology- is the study of the interactions among organisms |
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Organisational Hierarchies |
Ecological Biosphere- Biome- Landscape- Ecosystem- Biotic community- Population (species)- Individual organisms Taxonomic Kingdom- Phylum- Class- Order- Family- Genus- Species Physiological Organism- Organ system- Organ- Tissue- Cell- Organelle- Molecule |
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Ecosystem |
Is a functioning entity of all the organisms in a biological system generally in equilibrium with the inputs of energy and materials in a particular environment. It is the basic ecological unit of study. An ecosystem is comprised of habitats, biological communities, and ecotones |
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Biome |
Often referred to as a global-scale community of plants and animals and is the largest subdivision of the biosphere. A biome may contain many different kinds of smaller ecosystems |
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Habitats |
The natural home of an animal or plant |
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Biological communities |
A naturally occurring group of different plant or animal species that occupy the same habitat and interact with each other |
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Liebig’s Law of the Minimum |
• The total yield or biomass of any organism will be determined by the nutrient present in the lowest concentration in relation to the requirements of that organism. • Originally applied to nutrients but now sometimes applies to other factors e.g. temperature |
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Shelford’s (1913) ‘Law’ of Tolerance |
Too little of something be a limiting factor but also too much can impair growth and lead to death. Any organisms thus has a range of tolerance for any factor. Towards the upper - and lower - tolerance limits, an organism will be under some physiological stress which will impair growth and reproduction. Between these limits there will be an optimum level of the factor which is suited to the organisms physiology |
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Ecological niche and competition |
When competition is asymmetric and niches do not overlap completely, weaker competitors use non-overlapping resources |
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Resource requirements |
• Water • Temperature • Nutrients |
