Ecology and Bio-Chemical Processes Flashcards

Comprehensive flashcards covering ecology terms, biotic and abiotic components, food webs, energy transfer, symbiotic relationships, and the biochemical processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

Ecology

The study of an ecosystem and the relationship of their biotic and abiotic components.

Biotic

Living organisms within an ecosystem, such as humans, sea turtles, grass, and bacteria.

Abiotic

Nonliving factors of an ecosystem, such as water, soil, and temperature.

Ecosystem

The combination of abiotic and biotic components together in a particular place.

Community

The biotic components of an ecosystem consisting of a group of organisms that live in a particular place and interact.

Habitat

The place where a living thing lives.

Autotroph

Organisms that use sunlight to make their own food through photosynthesis; also known as producers.

Heterotroph

Organisms that need to eat other organisms for food; also known as consumers.

Herbivore

A consumer that eats only plants.

Carnivore

A consumer that eats only animals.

Omnivore

A consumer that eats both plants and animals.

Decomposer

Organisms that obtain nutrients by breaking down dead plants and animals, such as Fungi and bacteria.

Niche

The specific role of an organism within a community, including its diet, reproduction, time of activity, and trophic level.

Renewable Resources

Resources that can be replaced, such as solar energy, waves, and replanting trees.

Nonrenewable Resources

Resources that cannot be replaced, such as fresh water, fossil fuels, species, old growth trees, and land.

Sustainability

The goal of society to balance the use of resources while protecting the environment and allowing social and economic growth.

Competition

Occurs when any two organisms in the same ecosystem need the same resource, such as food, shelter, space, or water, at the same time.

Food Chain

A model that shows the sequence of energy transfer when one organism eats another.

Energy Transfer Efficiency

In a food pyramid, only $10\%$ of the energy available in each level can be passed to the next level.

Food Web

A model of all the different food chains in an ecosystem showing how they are connected and the relationships between organisms.

Carrying Capacity

The largest number of individuals an ecosystem can support; it is influenced by food, water, space, and predators.

Symbiosis

Any relationship in which two species live closely together.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other is not harmed or helped.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives on or in another organism and harms it.

Predation

An interaction in which one organism (predator) hunts, kills, and feeds on another organism (prey).

Biological Magnification

The process by which chemicals like pesticides build up in an ecosystem and accumulate in higher concentrations in organisms higher in the food chain.

Photosynthesis

The process of using energy from the sun to combine $CO_2$ and $H_2O$ to make a sugar ($C_6H_{12}O_6$) and $O_2$.

Stomata

Openings in leaves that allow $CO_2$ to enter and allow $O_2$ and $H_2O$ gas to leave as waste products.

Guard Cells

Cells that surround the stomata and control when they open.

Cellular Respiration

The process where food (glucose) is broken down to release energy, performed by the mitochondria in both plant and animal cells.

Aerobic Respiration

The process of using oxygen to break down glucose molecules into carbon dioxide, water, and ATP.

ATP

The main form of energy used by all living organisms.

Anaerobic Respiration

Also called fermentation; the breakdown of glucose without oxygen into carbon dioxide, ethyl alcohol, or lactic acid.

Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria

Organisms that convert nitrogen from the air into a usable form for plants.

Carbon Cycle

The movement of carbon between plants, animals, land, oceans, and the atmosphere.

Lactic Acid Fermentation

A type of anaerobic respiration that happens during strenuous exercise when the body lacks oxygen, causing cramps and a burning sensation.