Honors Biology Unit 0 &1: Ecology

ecology

study of how organisms affect and interact with each other and their environment

biotic

(living)-anything related to other organisms in a community, ex:competition, predation, affected by living organisms in a community

abiotic

(nonliving)- chemical and physical features, ex; temperature, light, water, and nutrients 

species

population or group who can inbreed with one another to produce fertile offspring

population

group of same species living in a particular geographical area

community

 all organisms of different populations inhabiting a particular area

ecosystem

 All of the abiotic factors in addition to the community of species that exists in a certain area(majority are aquatic, minority are land)

biome

major types of ecosystems that occupy broad geographical regions 

biosphere

the global ecosystem of all the planet's ecosystems, where all life lives

producers(autotrophs)

make their own food by their self using chemosynthesis or photosynthesis (plants, protists, bacteria)

ex: Plants need nitrogen to make their own food(Venus flytrap eats flies=need nitrogen)

consumers(heterotrophs)

a group consisting of primary, secondary, tertiary, decomposers, and detritivore, gets protein from producers or other consumers

decomposers(saprophytes)

decompose organic material of non living matter and absorbs their nutrients (types-scavengers, saprophytes)(ex; bacteria, fungi, wasps)

herbivores

eats plants

carnivores

eats meat

omnivores

eats both plants and meat

detrivores

feed off of non living organic matter using oral digestion, type of decomposer (ex: beetles, flies, mice)

scavenger

eat feces of animals, internally digest organic material, type of decomposer

food web

the feeding relationships within an ecosystem

organic

carbon based life form

niche

role or function of an organism or species within an ecosystem 

ecological pyramid

show nutritional relationship in an ecological system, food chain,

trophic levels

• products and consumers are separated on the ecological pyramid based on their main source of nutrition 

• 90% loss of energy between each trophic level

energy pyramid

the multiplicative loss of energy in an ecological system, only 10% remaining energy form level to level

net productivity

Measure of the efficiency and effectiveness of a system or process in generating output relative to the input it consumes. It indicates how well resources are utilized to produce desired results.

pyramid of numbers

measures population size in trophic levels, not always gradual

pyramid of biomass

Pyramid of biomass: measures the amount of dry organic matter(not water) in each trophic level

energy flow

majority of the time starts with the sun and goes in one direction

water cycle

• powered by the sun

• Evaporation and transpiration lead to precipitation in a cycle

carbon/oxygen cycle

• relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the biosphere leads to most sources of release and storage of carbon. 

nitrogen cycle

• composed mainly of an essential component of nucleic acids and proteins

• component is in 80% of the atmosphere

• converted to be useable through atmospheric deposition or the component fixing bacteria

phosphorus cycle

phosphorus major component of many important biomolecules such as nucleic acids, phospholipids, and ATP. how organisms get phosphorus to make these things 

symbiosis

 living together, close associated between two species one being a host and the other being a symbiont 

commensalism

one species benefits and one is neither harmed nor benefited(birds nest and a tree)

parasitism

one organisms harms the host (mosquito and it’s hose)

mutualism

both organisms benefit from the relationship (crocodile and plover bird- crocodile needs teeth cleaned and bird eats food and parasites around the crocs teeth) 

types of predation:

• Parasitism: predators live in their host

• Parasitoidism: insects laying eggs on the larva of other insects

• Herbivory: consumers eating plants 

• Carnivory: consumers eating other consumers

camouflage vs mimicry

adoption for defense where an organisms blends into its surroundings,  a predator or prey species gains a significant advantage by mimicking or bearing a superficial resemblance to a model species

habitat vs niche

an ecological area inhabited by a particular species of organisms, the role

competitive exclusion principle

organisms are going to compete against each other for resources to survive and reproduce, have similar needs cannot live in the same place  

J- curve

populations always grow exponentially

lag phase

population begins with small pop and small growth 

log phase

populations growth is exponential as long as conditions are ideal-> maximum growth rate can be achieved 

S curve

• population rarely ever achieve this

• when they start to level out growth again

•  population levels off, the birth rate and death rate are equal

iron law

ThomasMalthus, population will increase exponentially because they tend to over produce, however resources grow linearly

point of crisis

where resources and population meet

carrying capacity

the biotic and abiotic factors of an ecological scythe, determine the amount of individuals the ecosystem can maintain and support 

predator prey curve

the population of predator and prey are interdependent of each other 

flux

 when populations exceed the carrying capacity of an ecosystem 

interspecific competition

competition between members of opposing species occupying similar niches 

intraspecific competition

competition between members if the same species occupying the same niche 

density dependent factors

Population Size, Predation, Parasites, Disease, Stress, Competition

density independant factors

natural disasters & climate change 

r-selected organisms

Found in highly variable ecological systems where population densities changes and there is little to no competition.

k-selected organisms

Found at densities at or near the carry capacity of an ecological system

natality

the number of offspring produced in a certain period of time

morality

the number of individuals that die off in a certain period of time

immigration vs emigration

Individuals of one species entering a non-native ecological system, Individuals of one species leaving their native ecological system

bioaccumulation

chemicals are taken up in a organism body, occurs over time, 

biodiversity

 the relative concentration of species in a given area

biomagnification

contaminants move in a food web, when a higher trophic organism eats a lower trophic level organism and eats the contaminants that were in their body, eventually gets a high contamination level as it adds up.  Retained substances which become more concentrated with each link in the food chain.

invasive species

 a human introduced(non-native) organism that has negative impacts on an ecological system due to a lack of density dependent limiting factors. 

edge effect

changes to the abiotic and biotic factors at the boundary of two habitats, __ communities thrive well here, oppurtunistics plants/insects survive

local extinction

 the loss of a species from a specific area

ecological extinction

the loss of a species niche within an ecosystem

biological extinction

the complete loss of a species from the biosphere, population will never recover