Unit 6 - Lions

NOT ALL MY WORK!! From Ai_Vyh on Quizlet

Ecology

The study of the interactions between organisms and their environment.

Species/Organism

Individual living things. Members of a species interbreed with each other and produce fertile offspring.

Population

Consists of all the individuals of the same species living in a particular area. Members can cooperate but often compete with each other.

What is the difference between a population and a species?

A population also describes location

Habitat

Where an organism lives.

Community

Consists of all the living organisms living close enough together for potential interactions. Members can be both independent and competitive.

Ecosystem

Includes the communities (biotic component) living in an area and the physical environment (abiotic component), like temperature, water, and available energy.

Biosphere

Every place on Earth that life inhabits. It extends from the depths of the oceans, up to several kilometers above Earth's surface.

Autotrophs

"self-feeders" make their own organic nutrients using abiotic compounds

Heterotrophs

"other-feeders" that obtain organic nutrients from other organisms.

Trophic Levels

producers → primary consumer → secondary consumer → tertiary consumer

Producers

Bottom of the food chain, support all the other trophic levels, and consists of autotrophs.

Primary Consumers

These animals are herbivores

Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary Consumers

These animals are heterotrophs.

Apex Predator

A consumer at the top of the food chain with no natural predators.

Decomposers

Organisms that ingest dead organic matter and convert it to inorganic matter. (EG: prokaryotes (bacteria) and fungi)

Detritivores

Organisms that ingest dead organic matter. They do no conversion.

Why do the trophic levels get smaller as you go up?

There are fewer species and way less biomass the further you go up.

Biomass

The total mass of living/organic matter in an area or trophic level.

Food Chain

A sequence of food transfer up the trophic levels. Arrows point in the direction of nutrients and energy transfer.

Food Web

A network of interconnected food chains.

Food chains and food webs show ______ information, NOT ________ information

qualitative, quantitative

The 10% Rule

As you move up the trophic levels in the food chain/web, only around 10% of the energy available to organisms at one level will be available to organisms in the next.

The lack of efficiency of energy transfer is mainly due to...

Use of energy by organisms for metabolic processes like growth and reproduction, loss of energy as heat

Unlike nutrients, energy flow is _________

unidirectional

Habitat

The specific environment an organism lives in.

Niche

The role of an organism in its environment -- how it uses its biotic and abiotic resources.

Keystone species

A species that has a disproportionally large impact on other species in the same ecosystem (that its removal would reflect).

Trophic Cascade

When a keystone species greatly affects other trophic levels, causing a chain reaction of events, resulting in dramatic changes in ecosystem structure, trophic levels, nutrient cycling, and geography.

Three Major Keystone species:

Predators, Ecosystem Engineers, and Mutualists

Predators (keystone species)

Help control the population of prey species, which in turn affects the quantity of plants and animals further along the food web.

Ecosystem Engineers

An organism that creates, changes, or destroys a habitat.

Mutualists

When two or more species in an ecosystem interact for each other's benefit.

Population Size

The total number of individuals in a population. It can be limited by the number of births, the number of deaths, immigration, and emigration.

Population Density

The number of individuals of a species per unit area or volume.

Dispersion pattern (Clumped, Uniform, Random)

The way individuals in a population space out within an area.

Clumped

Individuals are grouped in patches; most common in nature

Uniform

Individuals evenly dispersed; often due to territorial behavior and competition for limited resources

Random

Individuals spaced in unpredictable ways; least common in nature

Biotic Potential

The maximum rate at which a population could increase under ideal conditions

Exponential Growth (J curve)

Idealized unlimited population growth

Limiting factors (Density-dependent and Density-independent)

Factors in the environment will restrict population growth.

Density-Dependent Factors

Vary with population density. Ex. living space, food/water supply, predators, disease, intraspecific competition

Density-Independent Factors

Do not vary with population density. Ex. weather, storms, floods, climate, droughts, fire

Logistic Growth (S curve)

Idealized population growth that limiting factors slow down as the population size increases.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size that a particular environment can sustain.

r-Selected Species

Small, short-living animals that require little to no parental care, mature rapidly, reproduce all at one time, and do best in uncrowded environments when resources are vast. (EG: insects)

K-Selected Species

Large, long-living animals that require intensive parenting, mature slowly, reproduce many times throughout their lives, and do best in environments that are stable and have reached their carrying capacity. (EG: humans and most mammals)

Survivorship Curves

Shows the probabilities of species members dying at certain ages. Three types (Type I, Type II, and Type III)

Type I

Relatively few offspring; many individuals survive early and middle life; higher mortality at older ages. Ex. humans and other large mammals

Type II

Constant mortality at all ages. Ex. many birds, small rodents, some reptiles

Type III

Produce many offspring; high mortality when young; very few survive to adulthood. Ex. many plants, marine invertebrates, and fishes

Intraspecific Competition

Occurs when members of the same species compete for the same resources. (EG: lions fighting for mates)

Interspecific Completion

Occurs when organisms that are not in the same species compete for resources.

Interference Competition

Occurs when species compete directly for resources. (EG: hyenas and lions fighting for prey)

Exploitation Competition

Occurs when organisms interact indirectly as they compete for resources. (EG: an organism’s resource use reduces resource availability v for other organisms)

Apparent Competition

Occurs when organisms indirectly affect each other by competing for survival to the same predator. A change in the population size of either prey can affect the other.

Age Structure

Describes relative numbers of organisms of each age in a population.

Age Structure Diagram

a chart that shows the age distribution of a population; also called age pyramid. Bottom heavy= capable of rapid growth, Evenly distributed= tend to remain stable, Top-heavy= likely decline

Cryptic Coloration

Protective and achieves camouflage. It decreases predator's ability to detect prey.

Aposematic Coloration

Warning coloration that typically uses bright colors, increases a predator's ability to detect prey.

Biomes

Occupy broad geographic regions and share typical climate and communities. They are caused by interacting abiotic factors such as temperature, amount of precipitation, and ocean currents.

Aquatic and Marine Biome

Cover 70%~ of the Earth's surface, fairly stable due to water's high specific heat, consists of different zones based on distance from shore, water depth, and the amount of light penetration

Terrestrial Biomes

Biomes on land (Tropical Forest, Savannas, Deserts, Chapparals, Temperate Grasslands, Temperate Forests, Boreal Forests, Tundra, Permafrost, Ice)

Tropical Forest

Near equator, lots of rainfall, most diverse biome

Savannas

Grasslands with scattered trees

Deserts

Subtropical (15-30 degrees north and south of the equator), arid; Sahara, Gobi

Chapparals

Dry summers and mild winters; "scrub forests"

Temperate Grasslands

Mostly treeless; further from equator than savannas; North American prairie

Temperate Forests

Contain deciduous trees, which lose their leaves each fall; "broadleaf forest"

Boreal Forests

Coniferous trees; cold winters; across North America and Russia

Tundra

North of boreal forests; low precipitation

Permafrost

Constantly frozen soil that limits root penetration by plants

Ice

covers Antartica; land north of artic tundra

Biochemical Cycle

Chemical cycling through biotic and abiotic components

Water Cycle

water evaporates and forms clouds, water falling from the atmosphere to Earth's surface is precipitation, runoff returns water from land to streams, which lead to lakes and oceans, evaporation of water from inside plants (particularly leaves) is transpiration

Carbon Cycle

Photosynthesis removes CO2 (inorganic carbon) from air and incorporates it into organic compounds, carbon moves through the food web, carbon is restored to the atmosphere via cellular respiration, decomposition, and combustion

Nitrogen Cycle

The transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to the atmosphere; nitrogen is a component of proteins and nucleic acids, 80%~ of atmosphere is nitrogen, atmosphere N2 is converted to ammonium ions (NH4+) by nitrogen-fixing bacteria in a process called nitrogen fixing, NH4+ is converted to nitrates (NO3-) by nitrifying bacteria, both ammonium and nitrate ions are taken up by plants, nitrogen moves through the food web, Denitrifying bacteria

Nitrogen Fixation

Process of converting nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds that plants can absorb and use

Denitrifying Bacteria

Converts nitrates back to atmospheric N2

Phosphorus Cycle

Phosphorus is a component of nucleic acids, phospholipids, and ATP, weathering of rocks add phosphate ions (PO4 3-) to soil, plants take up phosphate, which moves through the food web, decomposers return phosphate to soil, no atmospheric component, tends to be slower and more localized

Symbiosis

A long-term association between two organisms of different species

Mutualism

(+, +) Both partners benefit, Ex. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria and Leguminous plants, Plants and Pollinators

Parasitism

(+, -) One partner benefits, other is harmed, Ex. Human and Protozoa

Commensalism

(+, 0) One partner benefits, other unaffected, Ex. Bird and Tree

Competition

(-, -)

Predation

(+, -)

Adaptation

Helps a species thrive and change to match its environment

Detrius

Dead, organic matter

Generalist

Species that can survive a variety of habitats (humans)

Specialist

Species that need unique conditions to thrive (cacti)

Invasive/alien

Introduced species that become overpopulated due to a lack of natural competition which endangers the whole ecosystem

Endangered

A species that will face extinction in the near future

Threatened

A species that might experience extinction in the near future