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18 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is ecology? |
The study of the interactions between organisms and their living and non living environment |
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What is the biosphere? |
The narrow zone around the earth that harbour |
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What are the 3 basic structural zones of the biosphere? |
Lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere |
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What is a population? |
A group of individuals of the same species occupying a given area at a certain time |
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What is a community? |
The populations of all species that occupy a particular habitat |
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What is bioaccumulation? |
The gradual build up of substances (ex. Pesticides) at the top of the food chain - indicates that lower portions of the food chain may be exposed to toxic substances |
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Why are frogs good indicators of habitat quality? (Indicator species) |
Sensitive skin (which the breathe through) and are very receptive to change (in both reproduction, deformation, etc.) |
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What is a tropic level? |
A category of living things based on how they gain energy |
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What are organisms like on the first trophic level? |
- photosynthetic - producers/autotroph -creates their own food Ex. Plants and algae, some types of bacteria |
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What are organisms like on the second trophic level? |
- primary consumers - take food energy from plants Ex. Aphid |
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What are animals on the third trophic level like? |
- animals that eat primary consumers Ex. Ladybug |
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What is chemosynthesis? |
Producers converting simple molecules into more complex compounds without solar energy |
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What are the laws of thermodynamics? |
1. Although energy can be transferred from one form to another, it cannot be created or destroyed 2. During any energy transformation, some of the energy is transferred to an unusable form (usually thermal energy) which cannot be passed on |
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What is surface water? |
Precipitation that collects above ground in lakes and rivers |
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What is leaching? |
When surface water seeps into the ground carrying dissolved minerals |
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What is transpiration? |
Plants taking up liquid water from the soil and releasing it into the air from their leaves as water vapour |
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What is nitrogen fixation? |
The 2 processes in which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into nitrates: 1.Lightning 2. Bacteria in the soil |
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What are the two most important abiotic factors that affect decomposition? |
Temperature and oxygen levels |
