transfer of energy and population dynamics

what is a biotic factor

anything considered living, like an organism

what is an abiotic factor

any organism that is non-living

what are examples of biotic factors in an environment

trees, human, dead fish

what are exampless of abiotic factors in an environment

wind, water current, sunlight, humidity

what is an example of something that is both biotic and abiotic

pond muck

what is pond muck made up of

made up of mud, but contains dead, decomposing organic matter like leaves and microorganisms

what is an organism

a living thing

what is an environment

all living or nonliving factors surrounding an organism

what is a species

a group of the same organism that can produce fertile offspring

what is a population

a group of the same organism/species living in the same area

what is a community

more than one population living in the same area with no abiotic factors

what is a ecosystem

combines both abiotic and biotic things interacting with each other in the same area

what is a biome

a group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms

what is the biosphere

all parts of earth where life exists, with all its organisms and physical envrionments

what is a autotroph/producer

an organism that use photosynthesis to produce food for themselves

what does auto mean

self

what does troph mean

to feed

what does autotroph mean

self feed

what does hetero mean

different/other

what does heterotroph mean

feed on other organisms

how can you identify organisms on a food chain/web

first identify the primary producer, then label the different trophic levels based on how far away from the producer they are

what is an apex predator

top predator of the food chain/web

what are carnivores

organisms that eat other animals

what are herbivores

organisms that eat plants

what are omnivores

organisms that eat both plants and animals

what are scavengers

animals that eat the carcasses of other animals that have died/been killed

what are decomposers

bacteria and fungi that chemically break down organic matter

what are detritivores

organisms that feed on detritus and chew them into smaller pieces

what is detritus

small pieces of dead/decaying remains

what would happen if there were no more decomposers in an envrionment

nutrients would not be able to be returned back into the soil that plants use to grow

what is the difference between a food chain and food web

a food chain is less complex, while a food web is more complex and is more realistic

what do the arrows in a food chain/web represent

the flow of energy

what is the 10% rule

only about 10% of the energy in one trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level

what happens to the other 90%

it is burnt off as energy or heat

what does the pyramid of energy show

the amount of energy available at each trophic level

what does the pyramid of biomass show

shows the weight of the organisms at each trophic level

what does the pyramid of numbers show

how many organisms there are in each trophic level

difference between an ecosystem and a biome

biome has similar climates and organims, while an ecosystem are all organisms that live in a place together with abiotic factors

difference between abiotic and biotic

abiotic is nonliving and biotic are living factors

put these terms in order: ecosystem, population, organism, biosphere, community, biome

organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere

what is a limiting factor

things that restrict the number, distribution, or reproduction of a population

what is a niche

an organism’s role in its envrionment

what does it mean to be interdependent

to interact with the environment in order to survive

what is competition

when organisms attempt to use the same limited resource at the same time

example of competition

lion and hyena competing for a zebra

what is predation

where the predator captures and feeds on its prey

what is herbivory

when a consumer eats a plant

what is a symbiotic relationship

where 2 species live closely together

3 kinds of symbiotic relationships

mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism

what is an antagonistic relationship

where one organisms benefits at the expense of another

3 kinds of antagonistic relationship

parasitism, predation, herbivory

what is mutualism

where 2 or more organisms benefit from each other like sea turtles and yellow tang

what is commensalism

where one organism is benefitted, but the other isn’t harmed, like the whales and barnacles

what is parasitism

where a parasite lives inside of a host and harms the host, like tapeworms steal the humans’ nutrients and the humans lose out on the nutrients

how is population growth affected by birth rates and death rates

when the birth rates are greater than death rates, the population increases, and if vice versa, the population decreases

what is immigration

movement out of an area

what is emigration

movement out of an area

why can’t populations just keep growing

it will eventually reach a limiting factor to hit the carrying capacity

what is a carrying capacity

maximum number of individuals that's an environment can support for long term

how do limiting factors relate to the carrying capacity for an organism

limiting factors determine the carrying capacity

what is exponential growth

growth pattern where individuals reproduce at a constant rate

what is logistic growth

growth pattern where a population’s growth slows and then stops

what is ecological succession

series of predictable changes that turn empty land into ecosystems

3 major difference between primary and secondary succession

prescence of soil, speed, and existing community

what is a pioneer species

first species to appear during succession

how does soil develop

soil develops when organisms die and decompose

what is a climax community

the stable mature community that results when there is little change in the makeup of species in the community