Studied by 6 people
AP
ecology
the study of connections in nature, how organisms interact with one another and their environment
organisms
different forms of life on Earth classified into species based on appearance, behavior, chemistry, and genetics
population
group of organisms of same species in an area
How does genetic diversity help populations?
helps population survive and adapt to changing environments
indicator species
species that serve as early warning of damage to ecosystem
What are examples of an indicator species?
mainly birds and amphibians, specifically frogs
keystone species
species whose actions alter the environment and affect many species, determine success of ecyostem and other species
What are examples of keystone species?
beavers, sea otters, elephants, and dung beetles
What are the four major components of Earth’s “life-support system”?
atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere
atmosphere
spherical mass of air over earth held by gravity
troposphere
-inner most layer of atmosphere, contains all the air we breath (78% N, 21% O, 1% water vapor, CO2, and methane)
-layer where weather occurs and life can surivive
stratosphere
atmospheric layer above troposphere, lower level is ozone layer, filters 95% of UV rays
hydrosphere
all water at/near water’s surface in all forms
How much of the world’s water is ocean water?
97% is ocean water, close to 71% of earth’s surface
How much of the world’s water is freshwater?
2.5%, ¾ of that is ICE
geosphere
rocks, minerals, and soil
What is the structure of the geosphere?
inner hot CORE, hot MANTLE, thin CRUST
also includes fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas
biosphere
parts of atmosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere where life is found (comparison to apple skin)
What 3 factors sustain earth’s life?
Solar energy, cycling of nutrients, and gravity
How does solar energy sustain earth’s life?
supports plant growth and interacts with CO2 and water for greenhouse effect
cycling of nutrients
limited supply on earth, its fixed supply must recycle to supoprt life, chemical cycling principle of sustainibility
gravity
holds onto atmosphere, enables chemical cycling and movements of organisms
What are the five ecosystem components ecologists study?
biosphere, ecosystems, communities, populations, organisms
trophic level
feeding level based off nutrients and food sources
producers
organisms that make nutrients they need, photosynthesis, autotrophs, green plants, trees, ferns, shrubs, and some bacteria, first trophic level
photosynthesis
water plus solar energy plus carbon dioxide→ glucose plus oxygen
6H20 + sun+ 6CO2→C6H12O6 + 6O2
How did oxygen end up in atmosphere?
cyanobacteria began photosynthesis 2.8 billion years ago and added oxygen to earth, till 21% which is when oxygen-breathing animals could live
consumers
cannot make their own food, heterotrophs
primary consumers
herbivores, eat green plants, second trophic level
carnivores
meat eaters, eat flesh or parts of other animals
seconday consumers
eat primary consumers, third trophic level
tertiary consumers
eat secondary consumers, fourth trophic level
decomposers
get nourishment by breaking down waste or remains of other animals
detritus feeders, detritivores
feed on wastes or dead bodies (earthworms, soil insects)
scavengers
feed on carrion or dead bodies on a larger scale (vultures, hyenas, flies)
aerobic respiration
when organisms use chemical energy from glucose or compounds to fuel themsleves
uses oxygen to convert glucose back into water
glucose + oxygen→ carbon dioxide + water + energy
anaerobic respiration or fermentation
breaking down glucose without oxygen,
glucose→ methane gas, alcohol, acetic acid, hydrogen sulfide + energy
biological community
all the populations of a species in a given area
niche
biological role species pays in community
species diversity
consists of the number of different species and abundnce of individuals an area contains
species richness
the number of different species in an ecosystem
species evenness
abundance of each species in ecosystem
What is correlation between species richness and evenness?
positive correlation, both go up
ecosystem
community of different species interacting with each other and nonliving environment
biodiversity
variety of life on earth or in ecoystem
four components of biodiversity
ecological/habitat diversity, species diversity, functional diversity, genetic diversity
functional diversity
variety of processes involving energy flow and chemical cycling as species
genetic diversity
variet of genetic material within a given species
habitat/ecological diversity
diversity of biological communities
ecological niche
total way of life/role of a species in ecosystem, all conditions needed
Ex: Large grazing animal in herds could be zebras, kangaroos, or buffalo→ same niche
generalist species
broad niches, tolerate wide range of conditions
specialist species
narrow niches, tolerate narrow range of conditions
biomes
large regions like forests, desersts, or grassland characterized by distinct climates
community structure
how biomes differ based on types, sizes, and plant species
edge effect
large areas of biomes have core habitats and edge habitats
How have humans affected edge effect?
fragmentation means less core habitats that support more species than edge habitats
ecotone
transitional zone, region with mix of species or immigrating
Why is having biodiversity important?
-creates stable environments
-maintaining earth’s capital
-source of food, medicine, fuels, building materials
-variety provides adaptation and evolution
-natural services like water purification, topsoil renewal, decomposition
native species
normally live and thrive in certain ecosystem
invasive species
nonative spcies taht compete with native species
Ex: African honeybees
Example of keystone species in book
American alligator, dig gator holes, nesting mounds, maintain vegetation
eukaryotic cells
have membranes distinct nucleus (all organisms except bacteria
prokaryotic cells
bacterial cells, have no inner mebranes or nucleus (eucbacteria and archebacteria)
taxonomic classification
how scientists group organisms based off characteristics
kingdom
all organisms that have 1+ common features
What are the six kingdoms?
-Animals
-Plants
-Protists
-Euchbacteria
-Archebacteria
-Fungi
protists
many-celled eukaryotic organisms
ex: algae
fungi
many-celled organisms
ex. mushrooms, molds, mildews yeasts
Flowering plants make up what % of the plant kingdom
90%
annual v.s perennial
annual-replanted every year
perennial-multiple seasons
invertebrates
no backbone animals (insects like shrimp, worms, snails, clams, octupuses)
verterbates
animals with backbone (amphibians, fishes, reptiles, birds, mammals)
Divisions
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species (King Philip Came Over For Good Spaghetti)
What happens when living matter is broken down?
nutreints are returned to soil
Why do rainforests have low-nutrient soil?
matter is broken down extremely fast
Why do grasslands have fertile soil?
matter is broken down slower
macronutrients
chemicals organisms need a lot of to live, grow, and reproudce (ex. carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, iron)
micronutrients
chemicals organisms need in small amounts
carrying capacity
function of the biotic and abiotic components in ecosystem, function of density-dependent and density-independent factors
productivity of ecosystem
amount of increase in organic matter per unit of time
biomass
amount of organic matter produced by ecosystem, dry weight and represents chemical energy stored at each level
solar energy stored in chemical bonds
Lincoln Index
waty to estimate populations, P=N1N2/R
food chains and webs
way to illustrate how energy moves from one another
second law of thermodynamics
in any process, energy is lost through heat
net primary productivity
total energy stored through photosynethis
rate at which producers make chemical energy MINUS rate at which it is used through aerobic respiration
10% Rule
roughly 90% of energy is lost at each trophic level, only 10% is incorporate into consuming organism
pyramid of energy flow
graphic display of transfer loss
food chain
sequence of organisms with each one serving as nutrient source for next level
gross primary productivity
rate at which producers make chemical energy from sun
Do oceans have high or low NPP?
low NPP
How do oceans produce most biomass despite low NPP?
sheer amount of space, 71% of surface so they have most producers
Does rainforest have high or low NPP?
high NPP due to many producers
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