Biotic and Abiotic
living (biotic) and nonliving components of an ecosystem (abiotic)
3 components of the ecosystem
Producers-plants that convert energy into matter Consumers-animals that eat plants/animals Decomposers-break down waste into reusable components
Niche
An organism's particular role in an ecosystem
Habitat
the environment were species usually live
Carrying Capacity
Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support
J-Shaped Population Growth Curves
Exponential growth under ideal conditions with plenty of resources and limited competition. Population continues to grow until environmental resistance takes effect.
S-shaped curves
when resources are limited (limiting factors). Only possible for a short period of time because as the population grows, resources are depleted and the growth rate slows and will eventually plateau off. More likely to be accurate until population approaches carrying capacity.
Interactions
regulate population size and impact the balance of the food web
Predation
where one organism (the predator) kills another organism (the prey) for energy to survive and reproduce.
Herbivory
the consumption of plant material by herbivores
Parasitism
is when an organism (the parasite) takes nutrients from another organism (the host).
Mutualism
where two organisms of different species exist in a mutually beneficial relationship.
Trophic levels
Is the position an organism occupies in the food chain. LEVELS: producers, herbivores, omnivores, carnivores
Photosynthesis
green plants are able to take light energy and use it to make chemical energy to gain biomass Inputs - carbon dioxide, water, light energy Outputs - Oxygen, Glucose, chemical energy
Respiration
is the oxidation of glucose to release energy that is then used in all activities in the organism. Inputs - Oxygen, Glucose Oxidation Outputs - carbon dioxide, water, energy
NPP
the amount of usable biomass in an ecosystem
GPP
all the biomass produced by primary producers in a given time
Secondary Productivity
The production of organic matter by the consumers
NSP
calculated by substracting respiratory losses from GSP
Sustainable Yield/Natural income
the amount of biomass that can be extracted without reducing natural capital of the ecosystem.
3 Cells Models
Hadley Cells(larger cell; greatest heating), Ferrel Cells (flow in the opposite direction) Polar Cells (smaller cells)
Biomes
is a collection of ecosystems that are classified according to their predominant vegetation.
Zonation
is the change in a vegetation community along an environmental gradient (spatial and terminated by changes in the abiotic factors)
Sucession
is the predictable change in a vegetation community over time (starts with a pioneer community) a group of species whom all inhabit new land together) Primary - occurs in areas that never have been occupied Secondary - occurs in areas has been a natural or human-made disturbance
Sucession Stages
Colonization - initiated by pioneer and r-strategists species Energy and nutrient cycling is limited. NPP is high, GPP is low. Establishment - the 'ecosystem' starts to compose. Soil becomes deep enough for invertebrates. Competition - The environment is less extreme and more sustainable—k-strategist start to dominate. Climax Community - is in steady state equilibrium. NPP is low and GPP is high.
K-Strategist (K-selcted species)
Produce very few offsprings, but they increase the quality of them by investing in a lot of parental care. In this case quality means fit for purpose - survive long enough to reproduce themselves. K-selected species tend to produce few off springs at a time but they invest lots of time and energy looking after them to ensure they survive. In succession, stability increases with time so K-strategists are more common in the climax community.
R-strategist (r-selected species)
Focus on increased quantity of offspring at expense of quality. With little or no parental care, survival chances are low but high numbers of offspring ensures at least some to survive.The early stages of succession are unstable, harsh environments thus r-selected species are
Random sampling
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
Systematic Sampling
select some starting point and then select every kth element in the population
Stratified sampling
divide subjects into subgroups called strata based on characteristics that they share
Quadrat
is a shaped plot used to identify an area you wish to study
Testing Abiotic Factors
Turbidity, flow velocity, wind speed, slope angle, and soil
Testing Turbidity
To measure the transparency of a water body. Measured using a Secchi Disk which enters the water until is no longer visible.
Testing flow velocity
The speed at which a river flows. Measured using a flow meter, and simple flow. Which you put it on the water and the speed at which it rotates tells you the speed of the river.
Testing wind speed
Measured using an anemometer.
Testing Slope angle
Measured using a clinometer.
Capturing motile organisms
Traps, Nets, Pitfall Traps, Aerial Photography, Kick-sampling, Sweep Nets
Lincoln Index
:an indirect method by which the size of an animal population can be estimated. capture/mark/release/release/recapture Assumptions - the proportion of marked animals in the second sample is the same as the proportion of marked animals in unmarked animals - Enough time has elapsed to allow full mixing of marked and unmarked animals - The population is closed and that there is no immigration