Science 1206 Ecology Review #2

Population

The number of organisms of one species living in a particular area, at the same time, which can successfully reproduce.

Exponential Growth

Accelerating population growth that usually only occurs under certain conditions for a short period of time.

Limiting Factors

Any factor that restricts population growth, distribution or amount of population in an ecosystem.

Density-Independent Factor

The type of limiting factor which does not depend on the size of a population.

Density-Dependent Factor

The type of limiting factor which does depend on the size of a population.

 Carrying Capacity

The size of a population that can be supported indefinitely by the available resources of a given ecosystem.

Equilibrium

The balance between the number of organisms added to the population and those that are removed, often experienced when a population is maintained at its carrying capacity.

Ecological niche

The term that describes the roles that an organism occupies in an ecosystem, including all of the biotic and abiotic factors that influence its position in the ecosystem.

Exponential growth

What type of population growth is most likely when a new organism arrives in a new habitat that has plenty of resources?

Limiting Factors

What type of population growth is seen when a population has grown to a point where it can no longer sustain continued growth due to the resources available and the number of individuals added to the population and those which leave balance out?

Density-Independent Factors

A strong hurricane decreases the population of woodland animals. What type of limiting factor does this represent?

Density-Dependent Factors

A parvovirus affects a large population of black bears and spreads quickly, reducing the size of the population. What type of limiting factor does this represent?

Reservoirs

Places where nutrients accumulate for a short or long periods of time.

Nutrient Cycling

The continuous flow of nutrients between biotic (organic) and abiotic (inorganic) reservoirs.

Organic Matter

Matter composed of atoms of carbon and hydrogen and sometimes other atoms such as nitrogen and oxygen.

Inorganic Matter

Matter that does not contain carbon and hydrogen together.

Photosynthesis

Plants use the sun's energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars and oxygen.

Cellular Respiration

The process in animals where glucose is oxidized to produce energy.

Carbon dioxide + Water + Light energy→Sugar + Oxygen

What is the word formula for photosynthesis?

6 CO2 + 6 H2O→C6H12O6 + 6 O2

What is the chemical formula for photosynthesis?

Sugar + Oxygen→Carbon dioxide + Water + Light energy

What is the word formula for cellular respiration?

C6H12O6 + 6 O2→6 H2O +

6 CO2 + Energy

What is the chemical formula for cellular respiration?

 Decomposers

Organisms that change organic matter from living things into smaller inorganic compounds.

Combustion

A material combines with oxygen to give off carbon dioxide and water.

Decomposition

The process of changing organic material into inorganic material

The Carbon Cycle

The process by which carbon atoms move from an inorganic form in the air, water and soil/rocks, to an organic form in living things, back to an inorganic form.

* Biotic Components (Living or Dead)


* Peat Bogs
* Fossil Fuels

Name several reservoirs of organic matter.

* Oceans 


* Earthś Crust 
* Atmosphere

Name several reservoirs of inorganic matter.

Fertilizer

A chemical that provides nutrients to help crops grow better.

1\.  Combustion of Fossil Fuels   

2\. Burning Forests

3\. Clearing Vegetation 

4\. Intensive Farming

What are 4 ways humans add carbon to the atmosphere?

1\. Burning Forests

2\. Intensive Farming

3\. Vegetation Rotting

What are 3 ways that humans remove oxygen from the atmosphere?

Greenhouse Effect

The process by which gases build up energy in the form of warmth in the atmosphere by absorbing infrared radiation from the Earth's surface (just like a greenhouse)

Water vapour Carbon Dioxide, Ozone, and Methane

Name the gases which contribute to the greenhouse effect.

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* Melting Ice Caps
* Increase in Sea Levels 
* Extreme Weather 
* Extinction of Plants and Animals

Name several consequences of the greenhouse effect (global warming).