Ecology

tropical rainforest

canopy, high diversity which is decreasing because of human interferance

savannas

grassland tropical

temperate grasslands

most of central US, ex is nort america prairie

deserts

succulents such as cacti

temperate deciduous forests

fall color (carotenoids) shed leaves

chaparral

evergreen scrub oaks long dry summers, forest fires, both forest and grassland

taiga

evergreen coniferous forests

tundra

permafrost

freshwater running water biomes

rivers streams

freshwater stagnant biomes

ponds, lakes, closely linked and shaped by terrestrial biomes

photic

more phytoplankton

aphotic

more zooplankton

littoral zones

shallow warm near shore diverse

limnetic zone

open surface water, contains zooplankton and phytoplankton

profundal zone

deep, apotic, cold, oxygen depleted, rich organic matter (detritus

oligotrophic lakes

deep clear nutrient poor, nonproductive, no pollutants

eutrophic lakes

contians algae, rich in nutrients, productive, oxygen depleted, addition of fertilizers, detergents wastes to lake leads to eutrophication

wetlands

swamps, marshes, and bogs

estuaries

freshwater meets ocean salinity varies highly productive rich in marine invertebrates

marine

75% of earths water, salinity (salt concentration) photic and aphotic

interdial zone

shallow along shore

neritic zone

shallow region over continental shelf

oceanic zone

deeper level made up of

pelagic zone

open water of any depth nutrient poor

benthic zone

bottom nutrient rich surface, benthos

coral reefs

in tropical waters in neritic zones, corals sponges, algae, highly diverse and productive ecosystem, easily damaged by pollution, predators and hunters

community

interaction of populations

competitive exclusion principle/Gause’s principle

no 2 species can coecisy if they occuy the same niche

resource partitioning

dividing up resources

fundamental niche

no competition all possible conditions under which population reporoduces itself

realized niche

actual niche exhibited in particular time and place

camoflage or cryptic coloration

blned with surrondings

aposematic coloration

warming coloration to warm predators

mimcry

harmless speicies copies a harmful species

ecological succession

change in composition of species over time

climax community

final constant species composition, no change

pioneer species

species that first colonized newly exposed habitat, mainly ‘r’ species ‘k- selected species then follow or replace ‘r’ species

primary succession

occur on substrates that never previously suported living things such as volcanic island, no soil, lave, rocks, and sand dunes usually lichens and bacteria

secondary succession

begins in habitats damaged by fire , flood, forest cutting, overgrazing etc.

ecological pyramid

producers at the bottom or trophic level, only 10% of energy transferred to upper level, 90% lost as heat

producers → herbivores → carnivores → omnivores → decomposers

pyramind of energy

pyramind of biomass, sie of pyramid decreases as you go up

Ecology

interaction of living things and the enviornment

species →population → community → ecosystem → biome → biosphere

population

individuals belonging to the same species

habiat

type of place where an organism lives

niche

organisms role in the ecosystem

demography includes

population size, density, dispersion, age structure, diversity, and growth

biotic potential

maximum growth rate of a popultion in ideal conditions

factors contributing to biotic potential

age at reporduction, clutch size, frequency of reproduction, reproductive lifetime, survival

clutch size

number of offspring/reproductive event

‘k’ carrying capacity

maximum number of individuals of a population sustained by a habitat

limiting factors

prevent population from reaching biotic potential

density dependent

disease, predation, resources

density independent

natural disasters, extreme climate

fecundity

birth rate

growth reproductive rate ‘r’

birth rate - death rate) divided by the population size at the start

exponential growth

r>0, j shaed curve, ‘r’ speicies

logisitic growth

limiting factors restricting size to carrying capacity ‘k’, s-shaped curve or sigmoid curve

lag phase

population adjusting and adapting, right before massive spike on graph

r speices

j curve, oppurtunisitc, species like grasses and insects, affected by density independent factors

k species

s curve, density dependent factors, carrying capacity ‘k’

age structure

is a description of the abundance of individuals of each age as shown in the diagram

RPG/RGP

rapid population growth/ rapidly growing population then pyramid large at base narrow at top

ZPG

zero population growth, all tiers equal width, stable population

surviorship curves

describe how mortality of individuals in a species varies during their lifetime

type 1

survive to middle age, start high and stay high till abt middle age then drop down, ex. humans

type 2

surviorship is random, straight decreasing line, ex. hydra, rodents

type 3

die young, slowly decreasing curve until middle age then stay low, mainly speices with swiming larva, ex. oysters

water cycle

evaporation, precipitation, runoff seepage, condensation, transpiration, percolation

percolation

water seeping into soil

inorganic → organic

assimilation

organic → inorganic

release

carbon cycle

assimilation: photsythesis, formation of fossil fuels, organic matter in living things

release: cellular respiration, decomposition, burning fossil fuels

nitrogen cycle

involves amino acids and nucleic acids

assimilation of nitrogen cycle

N2 fixation, Nitrification, NH4/NO3 into organic material

N2 fixation

N2→ NH4 (legumes)(has N2 fixing bacteria on roots) and N2→NO3 (lightning and UV)

Nitrification

NH4→NO2 (nitrite)→NO3 (nitrate) by nitrifying bacteria

NH4/ NO3 →

organic matieral by plants and animals

release back to N2

denitrification, ammonification, excretion of NH3

denitrification

NO3→N2 denitifying bacteria

ammonification

organic compound →NH4 by detrivores

excretion of NH3

urea or uric acid in animals

phosphorus cycle

found in ATP, nucleic acid, also found in rocks, erosion transfers it to soil and water

assimilation phosphorus cycle

PO4 in soil → absorbed by plants → eaten by animals

release phosphorus cycle

by detrivores (decomposing), animals excrete phosphorus in water

phosphorus increases productivity in…

aquatic life and is a main component of detergents and fertilizers and causes eutrophication of lakes

biological magnification

as one organism eat another, the toxin consumed becomes more and more concentrated as you go up the food chain

eutrophication

process of nutrient enrichment in lakes which increases biomass in the lake

dissolved oxygen depends on

temperature- DO decreases as temp increases

salinity- DO decreases as salt concentration increases

photosynthesis- DO increases as photsynthesis increases

cellular respiration- DO decrease as CR increase

depth

DO is measured in

ppm, parts per million

DO is high is ________________ lakes but low in…..

oligotrophic, eutrophic lakes

acid rain cause and effect

H2SO and HNO3 in rain, damages aquatic life and buildings

global warming (greenhouse effect) cause and effect

CO2 released through fossil fuel use, global temperature rises ice cap melt sea rises

hole in ozone layer

CFC from aersol cans, exposure to UV rays causing skin cancer

what is the most populous and diverse group of organisms

insects