Ecology Interactive Flashcards

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Ecology

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Study of interactions among and between living things and their surroundings

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Community

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group of different species that live together in one area

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Ecosystem

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includes all organisms as well as the climate, soil, water, rocks, aand other nonliving things in a given area

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Biome

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major regional or global community or organisms. usually characterized by climate and plant communities that thrive there

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Biotic

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factors are living things such as plants, animals,fingi and bacteria. each organism plays a particular role in the ecosystem

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Abiotic

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factors are nonliving things such as moisture, temperature, wind, sunlight, and soil. The balance of these factors determines which living things can survive in a particular environment.

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Biodiversity

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The assortment, or variety, of living things in an ecosystem.

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Keystone Species

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A species that has an unusually large effect on its ecosystem.

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Producer

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Organisms that get their energy from nonliving resources, meaning they make their own food.

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Autotrophs

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Organisms that get their energy from nonliving resources, meaning they make their own food.

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consumers

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organisms that get their energy by eating other living or once-living resources, such as plants and animals.

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heterotrophs

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organisms that get their energy by eating other living or once-living resources, such as plants and animals.

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chemosynthesis

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process by which an organism forms carbohydrates using chemicals, rather than light, as an energy source.

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food chain

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a sequence of species that links species by their feeding realtionships.

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herbivores

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organisms that only eat plants.

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carnivores

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organisms that only eat animals.

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omnivores

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organisms that eat both plants and animals

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Detritivores

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organisms that eat dead organic matter

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Decomposers

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detritivores that break down organic matter into simpler compounds

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Specialist

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a consumer that primarily eats one specifc organism or feeds on a very small number of organisms

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generalists

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consumers that have a varying diet.

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trophic levels

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the levels of nourishment in a food chain

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Food web

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a model that shows the complex network of feeding relationships and the flow of energy within and sometimes beyond an ecosystem

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hydrologic cycle

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also known as the water cycle, is the circular pathway of water on eath from the atmosphere, to the surface, below ground, and back

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biogeochemical cycle

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the movement of a particular chemical through the biological and geological, or living and nonliving, parts of an ecosystem

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nitrogen fixation

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certain types of bacteria convert gaseous nitrogen into ammonia(NH3) through this process

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Biomass

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measure of the total dry mass of organisms in a given area

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Energy pyramid

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diagram that compares energu used by producers, primary consumers, and other trophic levels

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habitat

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all the biotic and abiotic factors in the area where an organism lives

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ecological niche

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composed of all the physical, chemical, and biological factors that a species needs to survive, stay healthy, and reproduce

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competitive exclusion

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states that when two species are competing for the same resources, one speices will be pushed into another niche or become extinct

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ecological equivalents

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species that occupy similar niches but live in different geological regions

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competition

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occurs when two organisms fight for the same limited resources

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Predation

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The process by which one organism captures and feeds upon another organism

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Symbiosis

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A close ecological relationship between two or more organisms of different species that live in direct contact with one another.

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Mutualism

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An interspecies interaction in which both organisms benefit from one another.

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Commensalism

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A relationship between two organisms in which one recieves an ecological benefit from another, while the other neither benefits nor is harmed.

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Parasitism

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A relationship similar to predation in that one organism benefits while the other is harmed.

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Population Density

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a measurement of the number of individuals living in a defined space.

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Population Dispersion

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the way in which individuals of a population are spread in an area or a volume

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survivorship curve

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a generalized diagram showing the number of surviving members over time from a measured set of births

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Immigration

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the movement of individuals into a population from another population

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Emigration

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the movement of individuals out of a population into another population

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exponential growth

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occurs when a population size increases dramatically over a period of time

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logistic growth

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a population begins with a period of slow growth followed by a brief period of exponential growth before leveling off at a stable size

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Carrying Capacity

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the maximum number of individuals of a particular species that the environment can normally and consistently support

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population crash

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dramatic decline in the size of a population over s short period of time

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Limiting factor

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the factor that has the greatest effect in keeping down the size of a population is called this

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density-dependent limiting factors

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limiting factors that are affected by the number of individual in a given area.

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density-independent limiting factors

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the aspects of the enviornment that limit a population's growth regardless of the density of the population.

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succession

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the sequence of biotic changes that regenerate a damaged community in a previously uninhabited area.

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primary succession

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the establishment and development of an ecosystem in an area that was previoulsy uninhabited.

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pioneer species

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the first organisms that live in a previously uninhabited area.

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secondary succession

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the reestablishment of a damaged ecosystem in an area where the soil was left intact

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biosphere

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part of Earth where life exists

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biota

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collection of living things that live in the biosphere

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hydrosphere

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all of earths water, ice, and water vapour

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Atmosphere

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the air blanketing earths solid and liquid surface

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geosphere

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the features of the Earth's surface-such as the continents, rocks, and the sea floor-and everything below Earth's surface.

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climate

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the long-term pattern of weather conditions in a region

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microclimate

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the climate of a small specific place within a larger area

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canopy

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the uppermost branches of the trees

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grassland

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an area where the primary plant life is grass.

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desert

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biomes that recieve less than 25 centimeters of precipitation anually. dry, hot, and arid

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deciduous

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typically recieve about 75-150 centimeters (30-59 in) of precipitation spread over the entire year as rain or snow. characterized by hot summers and cold winters

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coniferous

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trees retain their needles all year

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taiga

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also known as the boreal forest is located in cooler climates

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Tundra

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located beyond the taiga in far northern latitudes. winter lasts as long as 10 months of the year.

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Chaparrel

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also called the Mediterranean shrubland. is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool moist winters

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intertidal zone

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the strip of land between the high and low tide lines

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Neritic Zone

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extends from the intertidal zone to the edge of the continental shelf

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Bathyal Zone

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extends from the edge of the Neritic Zone to the base of the continental shelf

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Abyssal Zone

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lies below 2000 meters and is in complete meters

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Plankton

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tiny free-floating organisms that live in the water

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Zooplankton

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another term for animal plankton

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Phytoplankton

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photosynthetic plankton which include microscopic protists such as algae

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Coral Reef

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are found within the tropical climate zone. in this area water temperatures remain warm all year. a single coral reef may be home to 50-400 species of corals along with hundreds of other species including fishes, sponges, and sea urchins

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Kelp forests

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exist in cold nutrient rich waters, such as those found in CA's Montery Bay. these forests are composed of large communities of kelp, a seaweed.

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Estuary

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partially inclose body of water formed where a river flows into an ocean

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Watershed

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a region of land that drains into a body of water, a river or river system.

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Littoral Zone

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similar to the oceanic intertidal zone and it is located between the high and low water marks along the shoreline.

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Limnetic Zone

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also called the pelagic zone. refers to the open water located farther out from shore.

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Benthic Zone

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the lake or pond bottom where less sunlight reaches. decomposers such as bacteria live in the mud and sand of this zone

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nonrenewable resource

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they are used faster then they form.

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renewable resources

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resources that cannot be used up or can replenish themselves over time

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ecological footprint

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the amount of land necessary to produce and maintain enough food and water, shelter, energy, and waste

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Pollution

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describes any undesirable factor or pollutant, that is added to the air, water, or soil

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Smog

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a type of air pollution caused by the interaction of sunlight with pollutants produced by fossil fuel emission

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Particulates

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microscopic bits of dust, metal, and unburned fuels, 1-10 microns in size that are produced by many industrial processes

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Acid rain

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a type of precipitation produced when pollutants in the water cycle cause rain pH to drop below normal levels.

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Greenhouse effect

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occurs when carbon dioxide, water, and methane molecules absorb energy reradiated by earths surface and slow the release of this energy from Earths Atmosphere

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Global Warming

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the trend of increasing global temperatures

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indicator species

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also known as the bioindicator. is a species that provides a sign or indication of the quality of the ecosystems environmental conditions

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biomagnification

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a pollutatnt moves up the food chain as predators eat prey, accumulating in higher concentrations in the bodies of predators

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Habitat fragmentation

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occurs when a barrier forms that prevents an organism from accessing its entire home range.

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introduced species

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is an organism that was brought to an ecosystem as the result of human actions.

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sustainable development

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a practice in which natural resources are used and managed in a way that meets current needs without hurting future generations

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umbrella species

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a species whose protection means a wide range of other species will also be protected