Chapter 4: Living Things in Ecosystems

Flashcards covering Chapter 4: Living Things in Ecosystems, including the organization of life, natural selection, adaptations, artificial selection, and the diversity of living organisms across domains and kingdoms.

How does the pesticide DDT impact birds of prey and their reproduction?

DDT is unintentionally consumed through the food chain by birds of prey, causing their eggshells to become too thin to withstand incubation, leading them to be crushed.

In what year were bald eagles placed on the Endangered Species list due to population declines from DDT?

In 1967.

What is the definition of an ecosystem?

All living organisms in a certain area as well as their physical environment.

What are the six most common basic components of an ecosystem?

Energy, nutrients (chemicals), carbon dioxide ($\text{CO}_2$), water ($\text{H}_2\text{O}$), oxygen ($\text{O}_2$), and living organisms.

What is the difference between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem?

Biotic factors are any living or once-living things (such as animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, and protists), whereas abiotic factors are nonliving chemical or physical factors (such as water, temperature, air pressure, pollution, light, and soil).

What is the biological definition of a species?

A group of organisms that are able to produce fertile offspring.

How does a population differ from a community in ecological terminology?

A population consists of individuals of the same species living in the same area at the same time, while a community is a group of interacting populations of different species.

What is an ecological niche?

An organism's way of life, how it fits into its environment, and what it does.

What is a subspecies, and what are three recognized subspecies of pine snakes?

A group within a species that shares unique genetic characteristics with each other not shared with the larger species; examples include the black pine snake, Florida pine snake, and Louisiana pine snake.

Why are hybrid animals such as mules, ligers, and zorses classified as organisms but not separate species?

They are the product of interbreeding between two different species and are infertile, meaning they cannot produce fertile offspring of their own.

What is the difference between an organism's habitat and its home?

A habitat is the overall place or environment where an organism lives, whereas a home is the physical structure it lives in or on (for example, a wasp's home is its nest, but its habitat is a forest).

What is evolution by natural selection as proposed by Charles Darwin?

The process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce with more success, causing population characteristics to change over generations.

What is an adaptation?

An inherited trait that increases an organism's chance of survival and reproduction in a specific environment.

What are two common misconceptions regarding adaptations and natural selection?

Adaptation does not involve trying, and natural selection does not grant organisms traits based on what they "need."

What type of adaptation is illustrated by the relationship between the venomous Eastern Coral Snake and the non-venomous Scarlet King Snake?

Mimicry, which is copying the appearance or behavior of another organism.

What is the primary function of coloration as an adaptation?

Using bright colors to warn other species of danger, attract prey, or distract prey.

How did the Industrial Revolution affect the peppered moth population in England?

Soot blackened the tree trunks, giving dark-colored moths better camouflage against predators, which led to a dramatic increase in dark moths and a decline in light-colored moths.

By what steps does an insect population evolve resistance to a pesticide?

Pesticide application kills susceptible insects, but individuals with a gene for resistance survive and reproduce, passing the resistance gene to subsequent generations until resistant insects predominate.

How does MRSA develop antibiotic resistance?

Antibiotics kill weaker bacteria lacking resistant traits, leaving behind resistant bacteria that survive, reproduce, and multiply into an antibiotic-resistant population.

What is artificial selection?

The human-caused, intentional reproduction of organisms with certain desired traits, also known as selective breeding.

Which modern cultivated vegetables were derived from the artificial selection of wild mustard?

Cabbage (apical bud), Brussels sprouts (axillary buds), kohlrabi (stems), kale (leaves), and broccoli (flowers and stems).

What are the four components of Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

1. Overproduction
2. Variation
3. Selection
4. Adaptation

What is coevolution?

The process of two species evolving in response to long-term interactions with each other, where one species adapts as the other evolves to maintain survival.

What are the three biological domains of life?

Domain Archaea, Domain Bacteria, and Domain Eukarya.

What are the defining characteristics of organisms in Domain Archaea?

Unicellular extremophiles that reproduce asexually, have unique cell wall compositions differing from bacteria, and are not known to cause human diseases.

What are the distinguishing characteristics of Kingdom Fungi?

Eukaryotes that have cell walls, live on land, and absorb nutrients through their body surface (e.g., mushrooms, yeast, molds, and mildews).

What are the three main groups of Kingdom Plantae described in the lecture?

Nonvascular plants (lack true roots, stems, leaves; e.g., mosses), Gymnosperms (woody plants with naked seeds not enclosed in fruit; e.g., pine trees), and Angiosperms (flowering plants producing seeds inside fruit; e.g., grasses, trees, wildflowers).

What evolutionary milestone is unique to reptiles among vertebrates?

They were the first vertebrates to complete their entire life cycle on land.

What group constitutes the most diverse and abundant type of animal on Earth?

Insects (invertebrates).