biology lions flashcards

population

all organisms of the same species in a given area

what leads to decreased biodiversity

human interference, overhunting, urbanization, climate change, limited resources, etc.

community

populations of different species in a given area together make up a community

niche

all species have a role they fulfill in an ecosystem, niche of a species can change

for example, lions are predators but if they died other predators would take over their place

what determines the dominant species in an ecosystem

biomass and abundance

what determines plant life

temp and moisture

what makes an ecosystem

biotic/living (animals, plants, protists, bacteria, fungi) and abiotic/nonliving factors (pH, weather, soil, wind etc)

keystone species

some species have a more dominant impact and if removed will cause instability and potentially ecosystem collapse

species

a population that breeds in the wild and produces genetically similar viable offspring

producers

also known as autotrophs, these rely on abiotic factors to get their energy and make their own food

consumers

also known as heterotrophs, these organisms get energy by eating other organisms

primary consumers are herbivores/omnivores, secondary consumers are omnivores and carnivores, and after that higher levels are just carnivores

decomposers

also known as detritivores, these are technically heterotrophs (they don’t make their own food) BUT they occupy a different category because they can consume waste produced by other organisms. they also digest compounds produced by both consumers and producers

trophic levels

self explanatory

reminder that there are less and less of a species as the levels go up because they inherit less and less energy, and thus need more to survive

how are biotic and abiotic factors linked

just look at pic

how does water impact the ecosystem

homeostasis (temp and pH regulation), solubility, structure of body

how does carbon impact ecosystem

basic building block of all organisms

how does nitrogen impact the ecosystem

forms amino acids, proteins, and DNA/RNA

how does phosphorus impact the ecosystem

essential to the formation of cell membranes and ATP

water cycle

nitrogen cycle

• nitrogen is unreactive, so it must be fixed by microorganisms into NH3 (ammonia) and NH4 (ammonium)

• nitrifying bacteria turn ammonia and ammonium into nitrates (NO3) and nitrites (NO2), which plants can then use

carbon cycle

sediment:

• carbon can be stored in rocks, soil, and the compressed in the form of fossil fuels

• water can wash the carbon out of soil and weather it out of rocks, pulling the carbon into the ocean where it forms CO3 (carbonate) and CaCO3 (calcium carbonate)

• calcium carbonate is used in the shells of sea creatures, and it forms limestone

organisms:

• photosynthesis converts CO2 into glucose, removing carbon from the atmosphere

• plants die or are eaten and the carbon is exhaled by consumers through cellular respiration

• organisms die and reform

phosphorus cycle

• exists as PO4 (phosphate)

• weathering of rocks and erosion of soil leeches PO4 from the ground into the ocean

• microorganisms absorb PO4 from the soil and create nucleic acids

• plants and animals that use phosphorus die and return it to the soil

resources

most resources are limited

most things need food, water, and shelter

but also territory

competition

interactions between organisms where both require a resource that is in limited supply

indirect competition (explotiation and apparent)

• exploitation competition

  • competition between organism for a common limited resources

  • the use of the resource by one organism limits its availability to other organism

  • exploitation competition happens over TIME

  • ex: birds and bats eating bugs at different times of day

• apparent competition

  • prey species compete with each other’s fitness level against a shared predator

direct competition (interference competition)

interference competition: competition where organisms enter into direct physical conflict with each other for resources

k-selected

examples: humans, whales, elephants, horse, giraffe

produce fewer offspring and provide long-term care for said offspring (stable environments, long gustative periods)

r selected

produced large numbers of offspring and provide little to no care after birth, unstable enviro., short gestation periods

like turtles, frogs, bunnies

type 1 type 2 type 3

animals are considered extinct when

1. no indivduals alive or

2. none in the wild and not enough in captivity to repopulate and maintain diversity (below the critical number)

what causes species to go extinct (HIPPO)

H — habitat loss

I — invasive species

P — pollution

P — population (overpopulation and human population)

O —- overexploitation

what do endangered and extinct species have in common

specialist, k-selected, slow reproduction/growth

low adaptability/low range of tolerance

generalists

highly adaptable organism that have a wide range of tolerance for resources, food, habitat, climate

specialist

low adaptability organisms that have a narrow range of tolerance for resources, food, habitat, and climate

factor most responsible for endangered species

habitat loss

what happens when a nonnative species movesi nto a new ecosystem

competition, there can only be one specie in any niche

poor competitors can:

shift strategy (find new niche/resource)

move

die

what can invasive species do

destroy crops, native plants, small animals, transmit disease, compete with native plants

what determines a biome

temperatures and water/moisture levels

A population of frogs and newts live in the same lake. A small population of catfish prey on both newts and frogs. Scientists notice that as the population of newts increases, the population of frogs decreases even though the resources that both frogs and newts need are abundant. What explains the change in frog population?

This is an example of apparent competition!!! The increase in the newt population allows the catfish to eat more newts, this increase in resources for the catfish allows them to reproduce more and the population of catfish increases. This means there are more catfish to prey on frogs, decreasing the frog population.

water cycle

• Sun hits bodies of water so they evaporate

• Evaporated water (water vapor) condenses into clouds in the sky

• The clouds will release water through rain (precipitation)

  • Can go to soil, rivers, plants, and repeats

carbon cycle

• Carbon is mostly found in the air (CO2), plants, soil, fossil fuels, and animals

• Photosynthesis--plants take in CO2 and convert it to glucose and other products

  • Carbon locked up inside plants can go back to atmosphere through respiration

  • OR it can be passed on to animals that eat the plants (who can also release carbon dioxide through breathing

• When plants and animals die…

  • Organisms decay and are broken down into smaller pieces until carbon is released through microbial respiration

  • If the organisms decay in conditions without oxygen, they become fossil fuels, which are burned to produce CO2

nitrogen cycle

• We need nitrogen to live but we must absorb it through food

• Atmospheric nitrogen comes down to the earth through precipitation

• Absorbs into soil and is "fixed" to become ammonia and ammonium

• Then, bacteria combine ammonia with oxygen in a process called nitrification (nitrites and nitrates)

• Plants absorb these new nitrogen products, and so does denitrifying bacteria that releases nitrogen back to the atmosphere

• Animals who eat plants will die/poop and decomposers break down the nitrogen and bring it back to ammonia/ammonium (ammonification) and cycle restarts

phosphorus cycle

• Weathering--phosphorus is found in rocks, over time it's released and goes into soil and the water

• Absorption--plants/fungi absorb it and grow, and animals will eat them eventually, and phosphorus in the water is digested by animals

• Decomposition--animals excrete waste and decomposers use phosphorus in waste, bacteria convert organic phosphorus into inorganic phosphorus

• Sediment to rocks--phosphorus gets buried in sediment which eventually becomes rocks; in the ocean, plants and animals absorb phosphorus, die, decompose, and end up as sediment which becomes rock