EcologyBy Ashley Olsen
What is ecology?Ecology is the study of the relationship between the environment and living organism
Their interactions
What are individual
organisms?Individual organisms are the smallest unit that an ecologist would concern themselves with
What are species?Species are the same organisms (as a group) that live in the same location at the same time.
They are capable of breeding and producing fertile young
A group of species
They may or may not interact with one another
These populations make up a community
What are populations?
What are communities?
They are a group of all the populations interacting with each other
What are ecosystems?
Ecosystems are a group of habitats
When you put different habitats together, you get ecosystems
What is a biosphere?
A biosphere is all of the places on Earth and where the atmosphere/oceans/caves etc. where life exists
What is a habitat?
A habitat is where all of the biotic interact with the abiotic features
What are abiotic factors?
Abiotic factors are non-living factors in the environment
What is the First Tropic Level/
Producers in the food pyramid?
The first level is equal to something taking a step up in the pyramid
There is the most energy that comes from the sun
What is the Second Tropic Level/ Primary
Consumers in the food pyramid?
The second level is the first level of consumers
A consumer = a heterotroph
Herbivores
What is the Third Tropic
Level/Secondary Consumers in the
food pyramid?A heterotroph
Carnivores and/ or omnivores
Consume the primary consumers and maybe the producers
What is the Fourth Tropic Level/Tertiary
Consumer in the food pyramid?
The top of the pyramid
Third level consumer but its on the fourth level
Carnivores or omnivores that consume primary consumer and things below them
What is the Fifth Tropic
Level/Quandary Consumer
The Fifth Tropic level is when you rarely get a Fourth level consumer
This level doesn’t have enough energy to supply them
In this level there is .1 calories of energy
What is the Flow of Energy in a Tropic
Level?A you go down in the pyramid, the amount of food required for you to consume gets larger and larger
It is impossible to supply if there are large quantities at the top of the pyramid
What is the difference between a food pyramid and a
food web?Food Pyramid: It may talk about different types of animals and plants or it may talk about one type.
Food Web: It talks about many types of animals and plants
What is a decomposer?
A decomposer is an organism that breaks down dead animals and recycles the material back into the environment
An autotroph is an organism that is capable of making its own food
Carbon Dioxide + Water + Sunlight = Glucose + Oxygen
What is an autotroph
(photosynthesis)?
What is a heterotroph?
A heterotroph is an organism that is not able to make it’s own food and it gets its nutrients from other sources
What is an herbivore?
An herbivore is an organism that only eats plants
What is a carnivore?
A carnivore is an organism that only eats meat
What is an omnivore?
An omnivore is a organism that eats both meats and plants; eats everything
What is a saprobe?
A saprobe is a form of decomposers, like bacteria, that help to recycle materials back into the environment
What is a scavenger?
A scavenger is something that can eat dead things
What is carry capacity?
This is the amount of individuals in a species that an amount of land can support
What are limiting factors?
Limiting factors have access to resources.
These resources are food, water, shelter and money
What is density dependent?
Food is density dependent
The more people you have, the less food you will have
They are all affected by population
What is density independent?
Density independent is when everyone is equally affected no matter how many individuals there are
What is the competition between and
among species?Between – food, shelter and water
Within the same species – food, shelter, water and mates
What is symbiosis?
Symbiosis is the way two or more organisms interact with each other
What is competition?
Competition is an interaction between organisms or species, in which the fitness of one is lowered by the presence of another.
What is mutualism?
Mutualism has an equal relationship
Both organisms benefit from this, no organisms are harmed
What is parasitism?
Parasitism is when one animal benefits (the parasite) and one organism is harmed (the host)
They do not want to kill the host, they want to make it as sick as possible
If the host dies, the parasite will most likely die
What is commensalism?
Commensalism is when one organism benefits and the other organism neither benefits nor harmed
What is the predator/prey?
A predator is the one who hunts
The prey is the one that is hunted
The predator population lags behind the prey in numbers
The prey population is lower
What is amensalism?
Amensalism is when One organism benefits and completely destroys/kills the other organism
What is the J-curve?
Tend to be small
To produce a lot of young
They reach sexual maturity at an early age
They have little or no parental evolvement
This is affected by the environment
What is the S-curve?
Tend to be large
Produce only a few young
Reach sexual maturity later
They have a lot of parental care
The environment is a very important factor in their life
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