BIOL 1110 Quiz Review - Lectures 11 & 12A

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering ecological interactions, energy flow, and cellular transport mechanisms from BIOL 1110 Lectures 11 and 12A.

Trophic level

Where a species fits in the feeding structure, encompassing what it eats and what eats it.

Producers

Organisms that make sugar using carbon from $CO_2$ and energy from light (or inorganic compounds like $H_2S$).

Consumers

Organisms that obtain both energy and carbon from organic compounds in other organisms.

Primary consumers

Herbivores that feed directly on producers.

Secondary consumers

Carnivores that feed on primary consumers.

Apex predators

Organisms occupying the highest trophic level, upon which no other animals feed.

Decomposers

Organisms that feed on dead organisms and organic wastes at all levels of the food chain.

Food-chain arrows

Pointers directed from the organism being eaten toward the consumer, showing the direction of energy and matter transfer.

Trophic efficiency

The percentage of energy transferred between trophic levels, which is typically $\sim 10\%$.

Intraspecific

Interactions or relationships occurring between individuals of the same species.

Interspecific

Interactions or relationships occurring between individuals of different species.

Competition

An interaction in which both species are harmed because they use the same resource in limited supply.

Predation

An interaction where the predator benefits and the prey is harmed.

Batesian mimicry

A form of mimicry in which a harmless or palatable species resembles a harmful or unpalatable one.

Mullerian mimicry

A form of mimicry in which two or more harmful or unpalatable species resemble each other.

Parasitism

A relationship where a smaller parasite lives and feeds in or on a larger host, resulting in the parasite benefiting while the host is harmed.

Mutualism

An interspecific interaction in which both participating species benefit.

Commensalism

An ecological interaction where one species benefits and the other is unaffected, such as licorice fern growing on big leaf maple.

Keystone species

A species whose impact on community structure is not proportional to its population size, such as sea otters that control urchin populations to protect kelp forests.

Habitat destruction

The complete removal of habitat caused by deforestation, agriculture, fossil fuel extraction, or urbanization.

Habitat fragmentation

A disturbance where habitat remains mostly intact but is cut and divided by barriers such as roads, power lines, pipelines, and seismic lines.

Diffusion

The movement of a population of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration down their concentration gradient.

Equilibrium

The state where net movement of molecules is zero, while individual molecules continue to move and cross the membrane.

Cell membrane

A selectively permeable double layer of phospholipids through which some molecules cross directly and others cannot cross at all.

Simple diffusion

The direct transport of molecules down their concentration gradient across the membrane without transport proteins.

Osmosis

A special case of diffusion where water moves across a membrane from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration.

Hypotonic

A relative term describing a solution that possesses a lower solute concentration compared to another solution.

Isotonic

A relative term describing a solution that possesses the same solute concentration as another solution.

Hypertonic

A relative term describing a solution that possesses a higher solute concentration compared to another solution.

Lysed

The state of an animal cell that has burst due to being placed in a hypotonic environment.

Turgid

The normal, firm condition of plant cells maintained when the extracellular fluid is hypotonic.

Plasmolyzed

The shrunken state of a plant cell that has lost water due to being placed in a hypertonic solution.

Flaccid

The limp state of a plant cell that occurs when it is placed in an isotonic solution.

Facilitated diffusion

The passive movement of molecules down their concentration gradient through transport proteins without consuming energy.

Passive transport

Transport that moves molecules down their concentration gradient, analogous to a ball rolling down a slide.

Active transport

Transport that moves molecules against their concentration gradient, requiring a selectively permeable membrane, transport proteins, and ATP.