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69 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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what are abiotic factors? |
nonliving (temperature, water, sunlight, wind, rocks, soil)
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what is the biosphere?
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the global ecosystem.
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what does an ecosystem include?
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all the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact.
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what is the lithosphere?
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rock and soil surface
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what is the hydrosphere?
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the oceans
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where does all aquatic photosynthetic activity take place?
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the photic zone
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what type of soil do most plants grow well in?
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loam
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what factors affect soil ?
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acidity, texture, minerals, humus
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what does a niche describe?
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what organism eats, where & how it obtains its food, optimal climate, predators, etc.
(every aspect of an organism's existence) ** |
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what is true of species occupying same niche?
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they utilize at least one common resource- and will compete for that resource. (can result in divergence, extinction..)
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what inhabits the digestive tract of herbivores that permits the digestion of cellulose?
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symbiotic bacteria
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what are the major types of interspecific interactions?
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predation, symbiosis, saprophytism, and scavenging.
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what are the types of symbiosis?
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commensalism, mutualism, parasitism.
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what are the characteristics of commensalism?
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one organism benefits, the other is unaffected.
(+, 0) |
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what is mutualism?
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a symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit
(+, +) |
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what is parasitism?
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the parasite benefits at the expense of the host.
(+,-) |
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which parasites use clamps/suckers?
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ectoparasites
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which parasites live within the host?
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endoparasites
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are all viruses parasites?
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yes, because they are nonfunctional outside a host.
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what are saprophytes?
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parasites (protists & fungi) that decompose dead organic matter.
(ex: mold, mushrooms, bacteria of decay) |
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what are the categories in the food chain?
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producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers & decomposers.
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where do herbivores fall in the food chain?
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primary consumers
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which component of the food chain has the largest biomass? smallest?
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producers= largest
tertiary consumers = smallest |
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what % is transferred from one trophic level to the next?
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about 10%
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what is biological magnification?
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the phenomenon that organisms at the top of the food chain have the greatest concentration of accumulated toxins stored in their bodies.
(ex: DDT in bald eagle) |
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what is ecological succession?
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rebuilding of a destroyed ecosystem
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what is the first and most characteristic step in primary ecological succession?
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soil building
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what is secondary ecological succession?
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destruction occurs, but the soil is still intact.
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what does the distribution of biomes depend on?
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rainfall and temperature
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near the equator, lots of rain, stable temperature, high humidity, high diversity of species, trees with canopy ...what biome?
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tropical rainforest
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what is an epiphyte?
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photosynthetic plants that grow on top of others, found in the rain forest.
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less than 10 inches of rain/year, extreme temperature fluctuation, drought resistant plants with shallow roots, some small annual plants that respond to bouts of rain ...biome?
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desert
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covers huge areas of the world, both tropic and temperate regions of the world, low annual rainfall, lots of grazing animals..what biome?
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temperate grasslands
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trees drop leaves in winter, vertical stratification of animals, rich soil due to decomposition of lead litter, deer, foxes, bears, ...what biome?
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temperate deciduous forest
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located in northern regions, lots of evergreens, lakes and ponds, very cold winters, the largest terrestrial biome, moose, elk,....biome?
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Conifer forest, "Taiga"
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permafrost (permanently frozen subsoil) "frozen desert" little rainfall, lakes ponds, reindeer, polar bears, ..what biome?
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tundra
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what are the four types of bacteria involved in nitrogen cycle?
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nitrogen-fixing, nitrifying, denitrifying, & decay.
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what is the significance of nitrogen-fixing bacteria?
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live in roots of legumes
*convert free nitrogen into the ammonium ion NH4+ |
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what do nitrifying bacteria do?
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convert ammonium ion into nitrites and then into nitrates***
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what do denitrifying bacteria do?
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convert nitrates into free atmospheric nitrogen
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where is the largest reservoir of nitrogen?
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atmosphere
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what happens in the nitrogen cycle?
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nitrogen fixing bacteria convert nitrogen to ammonium ion which is then converted to nitrite, then nitrate by nitrifying bacteria.
nitrates are then absorbed by plants, animals eat the plants and eventually die, bacteria of decay release nitrogen as ammonia. some ammonia is denitrifyed and some is nitrified to nitrites->nitrates to shortcut thru cycle ready to be absorbed by plants again right away. |
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what are the basis of the carbon cycle?
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photosynthesis and respiration
cellular respiration adds CO2 burning fossil fuel adds CO2 photosynthesis removes CO2 |
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what are the three zones of ocean?
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intertidal, littoral, pelagic
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what is the intertidal zone?
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the region exposed at low tide
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what is the littoral zone?
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region on the continental shelf up to 600 feet
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what is the pelagic zone?
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open sea: contains photic and aphotic zones.
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what is eutrophication?
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human contamination of lakes causing too much nutrients and overgrowth of plant life.
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what is acid rain caused by?
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pollutants in the air from combustion of fossil fuel
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what are the characteristics of K-strategists? (K-selected species)
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(humans)
not very many offspring good parenting large babies mature slowly reproduce more than once long life |
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what are the characteristics of r-selected species?
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lots of offspring
reproduce once short life, fast maturation small babies |
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what are some strategies developed by plants to ward off predators?
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thorns, poisons such as nicotine & morphine
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what is aposematic coloration?
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very bright coloration on poisonous animals as a warning to predators.
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what is batesian mimicry?
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copycat coloration of a poisonous species by a harmless one
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what is mullerian mimicry?
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two or more poisonous species look alike and gain an advantage from their combined numbers, predators learn quickly to avoid any prey with that apperance
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what is cryptic coloration?
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camofaluge
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what is a simple reflex?
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an automatic response to simple stimuli. important in behavior of simple animals and less so in higher forms of life.
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what is a fixed action pattern?
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an *innate, highly stereotypic behavior that is cued by a stimuli. (stickleback fish attacks males with red underbelly but will attack red stick as well)
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what is learning?
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responses of an organism are modified as a result of experience. (somewhat proportional to lifespan)
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what is habituation?
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simple form of learning in which a specific stimulus is eventually ignored by an animal.
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what is associative learning?
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a type of learning where a stimulus becomes linked to another through experience.
(classical and operant conditioning) |
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what is classical conditioning?
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a type of associative learning.
pavlov's dogs: salivate when hear bell... Associate bell with food. |
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what is operant conditioning?
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a type of associative learning. an animal learns to associate one of its own behaviors with a reward or punishment then repeats or avoids that behavior.
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what is imprinting?
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learning that occurs early in life and is irreversible. (ducklings following mother)
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cooperation, agonistic, dominance hierarchies, territoriality, and altruism are types of what?
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social behavior
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kin selection is a type of what?
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alturism
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what is ethology?
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the study of animal behavior and its relationship to its evolutionary history.
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what is a sign stimuli? a releaser?
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a sign stimuli is what elicits a FAP response. A releaser is stimuli that is exchanged between members of same species.
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what is spontaneous recovery?
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regarding habituation: when the stimulus is not applied for a long time, the suppressed startle response recovers
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