BIO120 - 1

Ecology

The study of interactions between organisms and their environment, including the distribution and abundance of living things.

ecology

it emphasizes species, populations, communities, ecosystem, landscapes or the entire biosphere.

ecosystem

refers to all the elements of the system both living and nonliving interacting to each other

biotic elements

living, their populations and communities

abiotic elements

nonliving, physical and chemical

species

a group of organisms which can interbreed with each other and not with other groups

populations

a group of individuals of a single species living in the same area such that they can interbreed

communities

are population of different species living together in the same area

biosphere

consist of all living organisms on Earth plus their environment which they live ; highest level of organization

biodiversity

the ‘variability’ among living organisms including the number of species, their genetic variation, & how they interact with each other

habitat

simply the area and environment which populations and communities of organisms live

adaptation

a feature of an organism that improves its ability to survive or reproduce in its environment

natural selection

an evolutionary process in which individuals that possess particular characteristics survive or reproduce at a higher rate than other individuals because of those characteristics

producer

an organism that uses energy from an external source (sun), to produce its own food without having to eat other organisms/their remains

consumer

an organism that obtains its energy by eating other organisms/their remains

net primary production (NPP)

the amount of energy (per unit of time) that producers fix by photosynthesis or other means, minus the amount they use in cellular respiration

nutrient cycle

the cyclic movement of a nutrient between organisms and the physical environment

physical environment

this is the ultimate determinant of where organisms can live

physical environment

this is the ultimate determinant of the availability of their resources

physical environment

this is the ultimate determinant of the rate which their populations can grow

climate, weather, soil, temp.

components of physical environment

climate

long-term description of weather at a given location based on averages and

variation measured

climate

Controls abiotic factors (temperature, precipitation, ocean currents) which also influence organisms

weather

short-term state of the atmosphere

global energy balance

drives the climate

global energy balance

the balance between the solar energy absorb and emit by the earth

solar radiation

this is the ultimate good source of energy which controls climate

342 watts

the earth receives this amount of solar radiation per square

longwave radiation

energy emitted by earth’s surface

latent heat

energy lost from water evaporation

sensible heat

energy lost transfer from warm air to cool air through convection and conduction

overall balance of incoming & outgoing energy

earth’s climate depends on this

temperature

one of the key components of climate

Atmospheric Circulation

movement of air in the earth

latitudinal gradient in temperature

this is the result of the differences when not every location on earth receives the same amount of energy from the sun

Uplift of air

a process when the air is heated, it becomes warmer than it surrounding air, it then rises

condensation

warm air rises and is being cooled and becomes clouds through this

hadley cell

a large scale pattern of atmospheric circulation in each hemisphere

polar cell

occurs at the poles

ferrel cell

occurs between polar and hadley cell

tropical zone

a climate zone that is 0 to 30 degrees, tropical climate

temperate zone

a climate zone that is 30 to 60 degrees, four season climate

polar zone

a climate zone that is beyond 60 degrees, polar climate

prevailing winds

winds flow from high to low pressure, creating consistent patterns of air at the Earth’s surface

Coriolis effect

because the earth rotates on its axis, circulating air is deflected

trade winds and westerlies

two types of prevailing winds

surface wind

one of the drivers of upwelling