bio units 13-16

ecology

the study of the interactions among living things and their surroundings

levels of organization

biologists study nature on different levels, from a local to global scale

what are the levels of organization in order?

organism, population, community, ecosystem, and biome

organism

an individual living thing

population

group of the __same__ species that loves in one area

community

group of __different__ species that live together in one area

ecosystem

includes all organisms as well s the climate, soil, water, rocks, and other non-living things in a given area

biome

major regional or global community of organisms characterized by climate conditions and plant communities that thrive there

what are the ecological research methods?

observation, experimentation, and modeling

observation

the act of carefully watching something over time

experimentation

may perform experiments in the lab or in the field

modeling

use of computer or mathematical models to describe and model nature based on real data

biotic

living thingsabio

abiotic

non’living things such as moisture, temperature, wind, sunlight, and soil

biodiversity

the assortment, or variety, of living things in an ecosystem

keystone species

a species that has an unusually large effect on its ecosystem

a producer is also known as what?

an autotroph

producer/autotroph

get their energy from nonliving resources and make their own food

consumers are also know as what?

heterotrophs

consumers/heterotrophs

get their energy by eating other living things such as plants and animals

chemosynthesis

organisms make carbohydrates using chemicals instead of sunlight

food chain

sequence that links species by their feeding relationships

herbivores

only eat plants

carnivores

only eat animals

omnivores

eat both plants and animalsdet

detritivores

organisms that eat detritus(dead organic matter)

decomposers

type of detritivore that break down organic matter into nutrients that are recycled back into the environment

specialists

organisms that focus on a single organism to feed

generalists

organisms that have a varying diet

trophic levels

feeding levels in a food chain

what are the trophic levels in order?

producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers

producer

always fist level of trophic level

primary consumer

second level of trophic levels that is a herbivore

secondary consumer

third level of trophic levels that eat herbivores and are carnivores

tertiary consumer

carnivore that eats secondary consumers

food web

shows a complex network of feeding relationships

biogeochemical cycles

movement of a particular chemical throughout biological and geological parts of an ecosystem

hydrologic cycle

circular pathway of water on Earth

what does the hydrologic cycle consist of?

precipitation, surface runoff, groundwater seepage, evaporation, transpiration, and condensation

transpiration

evaporation that occurs between plant leaves and the atmosphere

what are the components of the carbon cycle?

photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, fossil fuels, and combustion

combustion

the burning of fossil fuels

what are the components of the phosphorus cycle?

weathering of rocks that create phosphate, plants taking up phosphate, the food web, decomposition, leaching into groundwater, sedimentation, and geologic uplift

what are the components of the nitrogen cycle?

nitrogen fixation, ammonia transforms to ammonium by adding hydrogen ions, ammonium is taken up by plants, the rest of the ammonium is used by nitrifying bacteria as energy, nitrificaiton, nitrates are taken up by plants and turned into amino acids and proteins, goes through the food web, decomposition, ammonification, denitrification

nitrogen fixation

gaseous nitrogen is converted into ammonia by bacteria

nitrification

nitrifying bacteria change ammonium into nitrate

ammonification

plants and animals return nitrate back to the soil as ammonium

dentrificaiton

bacteria in the soil returns nitrogen gas back to the atmosphere

energy pyramid

shows the distribution of energy among the trophic levels

how much energy is lost between each tier of an energy pyramid?

up to 90% through heat

how much energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next?

10%

biomass

the total dry mass of organisms

biomass pyramid

measures the total dry mass of organisms in given areas

pyramid of numbers

shows the numbers of individual organisms at each trophic level

habitat

all of the biotic and abiotic factors in the area where an organism lives(where a species lives)

niche

all of the physical, chemical, and biological factors that a species needs to survive, stay healthy, and reproduce (its job, role, or how it lives within a habitat)

what are the components of niches?

food (type, competition, role in food web), abiotic conditions (range of conditions such as air temperature and amount of water), and behavior (time active, and where and when it reproduces)

competitive exclusion

when two species are competing for the same resources, one species will be better-suited to the niche, and the other species will be pushed into another niche or become extinct

niche partitioning

dividing of niche by two competing species

evolutionary response

divergent evolution resulting in selection of different successful traits

ecological equivalence

species that occupy similar niches but live in different geographical regions

competition

occurs when two organisms fight for the same limited resources

interspecific competition

competition between different species

intraspecific competition

competition between organisms of the same species

predation

process by which one organism captures and feeds upon another organism

symbiosis

a close ecological relationship between two or more organisms of different species that live in direct contact with one another

mutualism

both species benefit from one another

commensalism

one species receives an ecological benefit from another, while the other neither benefits nor is harmed

parastism

similar to predation in that one organism benefits while the other is harmed

population density

the number of individuals that live in a defined area

equation for population density

\#of individuals/area=population density

geographic dispersion

shows how individuals in a population are spaced

types of geographic dispersion

clumped, uniform, or randomly dispersed

survivorship curve

generalized diagram showing the number of surviving members over time from a measured set of births

describe type I survivorship curves

low level of infant mortality and population that generally survives until old age

describe type II survivorship curve

at all times, the population has an equal change of living or dying

describe type III survivorship curve

many offspring die from predation, but a few survive to adulthood

what are the four factors that affect the size of a population?

immigration, births, emigration, deaths

immigration

movement of individuals into a population from another population

emigration

movement of individuals out of a population and into another

what are the two types of population gowth

exponential growth and logistic growth

exponential growth

occurs when population size increases dramatically over a period of time

logistic growth

begins with a period of slow growth, followed by brief exponential growth before leveling off at a stable size

carrying capacity

the maximum number of individuals of a particular species that the environment can support indefinitely

population crash

dramatic decline in size of population over a short time

limiting factor

a factor that has the greatest effect on keeping down the size of a population

what are the two categories of limiting factors?

density-dependent limiting factors and density-independent limiting factors

density-dependent limiting factors

affected by the number of individuals in a given area

what are types of density-dependent limiting factors?

competition(for resources), predation(can be limited by available prey), and parasitism and disease(can spread quickly through dense populations)

density-independent limiting factors

aspects of environment that limit population growth, regardless of density

what are types of density-independent limiting factors?

unusual weather, natural disasters, and human activities

succession

sequence of biotic changes that regenerate a damaged community or create a community in a previously uninhabited area

primary succession

development of an ecosystem in an area that was previously uninhabited

pioneer species

first organisms to move into an area

what are the steps of primary succession?

bare rock, pioneer species, small plants, small animals, larger animals and plants

secondary succession

reestablishment of damaged ecosystem where soil was left intact

dynamic process

always changing the face of an ecosystem

Who studied human population growth?

Thomas Malthus

nonrenewable resources

used faster than they are formed

renewable resources

resources that cannot be used up or can replenish themselves over time