ecology

Ecology

Study of living organisms, their interactions with each other and their environment

Population

Group of the same species living and breeding in the same habitat

Community

Different species living and interacting with each other in the same habitat

Ecosystem

Community of organisms and their abiotic environment

Biosphere

Part of the earth inhabited by living organisms

Biotic factors

Living components

Abiotic factors

Non-living components

Flora

Plants in a particular area

Fauna

Animals in a particular area

Herbivore

Eats plants only

Carnivore

Eats animals only

Omnivore

Eats both plants and animals

Decomposer

Breakdown dead organic matter

Saprophyte

Feed/live on dead organic matter

Parasites

Feed on live host causing harm

Primary consumer

Feeds on producers

Secondary consumer

Feeds on primary consumers

Primary source of energy

The sun

Food chain

Sequence of organisms in which one is eaten by the next member in the chain

Tropic level

Position of a species in a food chain

Why are food chains limited in size

Large energy loss between trophic levels

Niche

Functional role of an organisms in its community

Competition

Organisms actively struggling for a resource that is in short supply

Intra-specific competition

Same species

Inter-specific competition

Different species

Contest competition

Only one organism obtains all the resource

Scramble competition

All organisms receive a small amount of the resource

Predation

Catching, killing and eating of another organism

Predator

Organism who catches, kills and eats another organism

Prey

Organism who’s eaten by a predator

Symbiosis

Two organisms of a different species live in close association where at least one organism benefits

Mutualism

Two organisms of a different species live in close association where both organisms benefit

Commensalism

Two organisms of a different species live in close association where one organism benefits and the doesn’t (isn’t harmed)

Parasite

Organism that lives on/in a live host, obtaining food from the host and causing harm

Endoparasite

Live inside host (tapeworm)

Ectoparasite

Live on host (fleas)

Factors affecting human pop

War, famine, disease, contraception

Nutrient recycling

The exchange of elements between living and non-living components of an ecosystem

Ireland and CO2 emissions

Plant trees, reduce herd size, introduce more laws, reduce fossil fuel usage

Importance of the carbon cycle

Other organisms can use it

Carbon cycle steps

CO2 in air, plants undergo photosynthesis - take in CO2 and make glucose, plants undergo respiration - giving CO2 back to atmosphere, animals eat plants - take in carbon, animals respire, plants and animals undergo death and decay - decomposers breakdown organisms and they respire, fossils formed from incomplete breakdown - fossil fuels burned (combustion) releasing CO2 back into atmosphere

Pollution

Any harmful addition to a habitat or the environment that leaves it less able to sustain life

Pollutant

Substance that causes harm to a habitat or environment

Agricultural pollution

Slurry - causes eutrophication, avoid spreading during rainy season

Conservation

The protection and wise management of existing natural resources and the environment

Fisheries conservation

Large net size - so young fish can escape and breed

Waste management

Collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal of waste materials, produced by human activity, to reduce their effect on human health or local aesthetics or amenities

Agriculture waste management

Stored in leak proof pits

Environment

External factors that influence an organism

Habitat

The place where an organism lives and is adapted to

Edaphic factors

Effects of soil

Aquatic factors

Effects of water

Quantitive study

Measuring numbers of organisms

Qualitative study

Establishing presence or absence of an organism