Ecological Niches

0.0(0)
studied byStudied by 1 person
learnLearn
examPractice Test
spaced repetitionSpaced Repetition
heart puzzleMatch
flashcardsFlashcards
Card Sorting

1/39

encourage image

There's no tags or description

Looks like no tags are added yet.

Study Analytics
Name
Mastery
Learn
Test
Matching
Spaced

No study sessions yet.

40 Terms

1
New cards

Niche partitioning

When, through natural selection, species show adaptations to the ecological niche they occupy in order to avoid interspecific competition.

2
New cards

Fundamental niche

The full range of environments and social conditions under which a species could potentially survive and reproduce, taking into account the tolerance of abiotic and biotic factors.

3
New cards

Realized niche

The specific set of conditions under which a species actually survives in a given habitat or ecosystem.

4
New cards

Explain foundamental and realized niche with an example.

  • When Paramecium aurelia and Paramecium caudatum are grown in separate environments they both strive. When they are grown in the same environment P. aurelia outcompetes P. caudatum.

  • In nature it’s rare that two species occupy the same identical niches, however, the larger area they share the more interspecific competition.

5
New cards

Competitive exclusion

No two species can occupy the same niche, as the competition between them would cause one to strive and drive the other out.

6
New cards

Specialist species

Species adapted to narrow habitats, limited food resources or other specific environmental conditions.

7
New cards

Generalist species

Species adapted to a wide veriety of habitats, food resources and environmental conditions.

8
New cards

Ecological niche

The position and role of a species within a habitat

9
New cards

Obligate anaerobes

  • Only anaerobic growth, so dies in presence of oxygen

  • e.g. Saccharomyces

10
New cards

Facultative anaerobes

  • Both aerobic and anaerobic growth, although growth is optimal with oxygen

  • e.g. Clostridium tetani

11
New cards

Obligate aerobes

  • Only aerobic growth, dies in the absence of oxygen

  • e.g. All animal and plant cells

12
New cards

Autrophic organisms

Organisms that can produce their own chemical energy from sunlight, inorganic compounds and other energy sources

13
New cards

Heterotrophic organisms

Organisms that cannot produce their own food, so must ingest nutrients from other organic sources.

14
New cards

Holozoic nutrition

Organisms that consume food through the processes of ingesting, digesting and assimilating nutrients.

15
New cards

Mixotrophic organisms

An organism that can use a mix of different sources of energy and carbon. They can be autrophs and heterotrophs

16
New cards

Saprotrophic nutrition

A method by which organisms feed on nonliving organic matter by secreting digestive enzymes and absorbing the products.

17
New cards

How are living organisms classified

  • Bacteria

  • Archea

  • Eukarya

18
New cards

Archaea

  • Cell membrane has branched fatty acids with unique bonding to the glycerol

  • Cell wall is made of polysaccharides

  • Larger and more complex genome compared to bacteria

  • Don’t cause disease

  • Are extremophiles

19
New cards

Chemoautotrophs

Organisms that derive energy from the oxidation of inorganic compounds via chemosynthesis.

20
New cards

Photoautotrophs

Organisms that make their own energy using light and carbon dioxide via the process of phototsynthesis.

21
New cards

Hominins

Refers to all modern and extinct humans and their immediate ancestors.

22
New cards

Hominids

A primate of the family Hominidae that includes humans and their fossil ancestors including some of the great apes.

23
New cards

Facultative mixotroph

Can utilise either or both autrotroph and heterotroph modes of nutrition depending on the conditions

24
New cards

Obligate mixotroph

Must use both modes of nutrition.

25
New cards

Example of mixotroph

Euglena

26
New cards

What are saprotrophs also reffered to as?

Decomposers = broad term
Detrivors = Organisms that help areate the soil and break down dead organic matter.

27
New cards

Detrivores

  • Ingest dead organic matter and digestes it internally

  • e.g. animals: crabs, snails, worms, woodlice

28
New cards

Saprotrophs

  • They secrete extracellular digestive enzymes to digest it externally and then absorb the chemically digested products

  • e.g. funghi and bacteria

29
New cards

Photoautotrophic archaea

  • Do a form of photosynthesis different from the classical

  • Use different pigments than chlorophyll

  • Don’t generate oxygen

  • Use light-activated ion pumps rather than electron transport chain.

30
New cards

Chemoautotrophic archaea

  • Can use inorganic energy sources such as hydrogen sulfide, ferrour iron, molecular hydrogen and ammonia to produce energy.

  • Oldest form of acquisition on Earth

31
New cards

Teeth types

  • Incisors: Cut food when bitten

  • Canines: Tier food like meat and crunchy vegetables.

  • Premolars: Tier, crush and grind food into small spieces

  • Molars: Do 90% of the chewing, crushing and grinding food

32
New cards

Herbivorous mammals teeth

  • Incisors are long and flat to cut plants like scizzors.

  • Back molars are large and flat to macerate plant through sidewasy grinding.

  • Space between incisors and molars is diastema, which allows the tongue to move the food from the front to the back.

33
New cards

Adaptations of plants to avoid herbivory

  • Some plants produce phytochemicals, which are toxic secondary compound which hurt the eaters.

  • Structural adaptations: thick rigid leaves that are hard to chew, large thorns, microscopic thorns

34
New cards

Adaptations of predators to kill prey

  • Physical: use speed and agility to catch preys, have digestive system that is able to digest preys, increased eyesight…

  • Chemical: some predators release toxins that interfere with biological processes.

  • Beheavioural: Hunting together

35
New cards

Adaptations of prey to resist predation

  • Physical: camouflage, speed, spines, bright colours to indicate toxins.

  • Chemical: preys can release chemical to harm the predators.

  • Work together to look like a large organism

36
New cards

Adaptations of plants to harvest light

  • Lianas have arial roots that can climb the tallest trees of the forest

  • Epiphytes aren’t rooted on the ground and grow entirely on branches of other plants.

37
New cards

Ingestion

The process of taking food into the body

38
New cards

Digestion

The breakdown of food into smaller components that can be absorbed by the body

39
New cards

Absorption

Uptake of the products of digestion

40
New cards

Assimilation

The process by which the absorbed nutrients are used by the body for energy