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CPBio CH 18 Ecology
CH 18 Intro to Ecology
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Ecology | The study of interactions between organisms and the living and nonliving components of their environment |
| Interdependence | Survival of organisms depends on how they interact with the living and nonliving environment |
| ecological model | a way of representing or describing an ecological system |
| biosphere | the part of earth that contains life- atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere |
| ecosystem | the abiotic and biotic factors in an area |
| community | many different species living within an area |
| population | one single species living within an area |
| organism | any living thing |
| biotic | living features of an environment |
| abiotic | nonliving features of an environment |
| tolerance curve | graphs that show an organism's performance versus an environmental variable |
| acclimation | when organisms adjust their tolerance for an abiotic factor within their life time |
| adaptation | a genetic change in a species or population that occurs from generation to generation over time |
| conformers | organisms that do not regulate their internal conditions. Otherwise known as cold-blooded or ectotherms |
| regulators | organisms that regulate their internal conditions. Otherwise known as warm-blooded or endotherms |
| how to organisms escape unsuitable environments? | dormancy, migration, hibernation, estivation...and others |
| dormancy | a state of reduced metabolic activity |
| generalists | species with broad niches ex: raccoon |
| specialist | species with narrow niches ex: panda |
| niche | an organism's specific role or way of life within its environment |
| producer | organism that can make its own food- also know as an autotroph |
| chemosynthesis | a way that producers make their own food by using chemicals deep within the earth instead of sunlight |
| gross primary productivity | the rate at which producers in an ecosystem capture energy and make their own food |
| biomass | any organic (from living things) material produced in an ecosystem |
| net primary productivity | the amount of energy (stored as biomass) that is available to consumers |
| what accounts for most of the variation in primary productivity in terrestrial ecosystems? | light, temperature, and precipitation |
| what accounts for most of the variation in primary productivity in aquatic ecosystems? | light and availability of nutrients |
| consumer | an organism that must eat to gain energy - also known as a heterotroph |
| herbivore | an organism that eats plant material |
| carnivore | an organism that eats animal products (meat) |
| omnivore | an organism that eats both plant and animal products |
| detritivore | consumers that feed on waste including organisms that have recently died |
| decomposer | any detritivore that causes decay and recycles nutrients. |
| trophic level | an organisms position in a sequence of energy transfers (its "eating level") |
| food web | many food chains linked together for an ecosystem |
| food chain | a single pathway of feeding relationships among organisms within an ecosystem. |
| how much energy is transferred to each trophic level? | 10% |
| what limits the amount of trophic levels within a food chain? | energy is reduced at each step and eventually becomes to low to support another trophic level |
| every time energy is transferred from a trophic level some of that energy is released as _____ and some of the energy is used by that organism for their ________. | heat / metabolism |
| biogeochemical cycle | how chemicals such as water/nitrogen/carbon/phosphorus cycle through the abiotic and biotic aspects of Earth. |
| groundwater | water in the soil or in underground formations of porous rock |
| nitrogen fixation | the process by which bacteria convert nitrogen in the atmosphere into nitrates (a form of nitrogen plants can use to grow) |
| evaporation, transpiration, and precipitation | important parts of the water cycle |
| transpiration | the process in which plants take in water through their roots and release water through their leaves (aka "plant sweating") |
| where do nitrogen fixing bacteria live | they live freely in the soil or in the roots of certain plants such as beans/soy/peas/clover |
| denitrification | process by which nitrates are broken down and released as nitrogen gas back into the atmosphere. |
| how do animals obtain the nitrogen and phosphorus they need? | by eating plants that use the nitrogen/phosphorus to grow. Animals can NOT absorb nitrogen from the soil. |
| which biogeochemical cycle lacks an atmospheric component? | phosphorus |
| why do plants and animals need phosphorus? | animals: use it to form bones, teeth, and parts of molecules like DNA. Plants: use to form parts of molecules like DNA and for growing. |
| how have humans influenced the carbon cycle? | burning fossil fuels and cutting down trees. This adds to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and increased global warming |
| what is photosynthesis | the part of the carbon cycle where producers take in carbon dioxide to make their own food and release oxygen |
| what is cellular respiration | the part of the carbon cycle where living things take in oxygen to be able to convert their food into energy and release carbon dioxide. |
Created by:
ruth.baker
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