Ecology

Cards (120)

  • What is an individual part of?
    A species
  • What does a habitat contain?
    A population of individuals
  • What do different populations in the same habitat create?
    A community
  • How are populations often related?
    They are dependent on each other
  • What is an ecosystem?
    Interaction of a community with abiotic factors
  • What are organisms adapted to do?
    Live in their environmental conditions
  • What happens when organisms need the same resources?
    They compete for those resources
  • What types of competition can occur?
    Within a species or between different species
  • What do plants compete for?
    Light, space, water, and mineral ions
  • What do animals compete for?
    Space, food, water, and mating partners
  • What does interdependence describe?
    How organisms depend on each other
  • What vital services do organisms depend on each other for?
    Food, shelter, and reproduction
  • How can the removal or addition of a species affect a community?
    It can greatly affect populations of others
  • What characterizes a stable community?
    Balance of biotic and abiotic factors
  • What happens to population sizes in a stable community?
    They remain roughly constant
  • What is an abiotic factor?
    A non-living factor
  • What abiotic factors can affect a community?
    Light intensity, temperature, moisture, soil pH
  • Why is light intensity important?
    It is required for photosynthesis
  • How does temperature affect plants?
    It affects the rate of photosynthesis
  • Why do plants and animals need moisture levels?
    Both need water to survive
  • How does soil pH affect a community?
    It affects the rate of decay
  • What does wind intensity affect in plants?
    The rate of transpiration
  • How do carbon dioxide levels affect plants?
    They affect the rate of photosynthesis
  • Why are oxygen levels important for aquatic animals?
    Most fish need high oxygen concentration
  • What is a biotic factor?
    A living factor
  • What biotic factors can affect a community?
    Food availability, new predators, new pathogens
  • How does food availability affect populations?
    More food allows for successful breeding
  • What happens when a new predator is introduced?
    It can disrupt the existing population balance
  • How do new pathogens affect populations?
    They can wipe out populations quickly
  • What happens if one species is better adapted?
    It will outcompete the lesser adapted species
  • What are adaptations?
    Traits that allow survival in specific conditions
  • What are structural adaptations?
    Shape or color of a part of an organism
  • What adaptation helps species in cold environments?
    A thick layer of fat for insulation
  • What are behavioral adaptations?
    Ways an organism behaves for survival
  • What are functional adaptations?
    Involved in processes like reproduction
  • What are extremophiles?
    Organisms living in extreme conditions
  • Where do extremophiles live?
    In environments with extreme conditions
  • What adaptations do organisms in cold climates have?
    Small surface area to volume ratio
  • What adaptations do organisms in dry climates have?
    Kidneys that retain water effectively
  • What do food chains begin with?
    A producer