Ecology-Bio Review

• Ecology


  the study of how organisms interact with their environments
• abiotic factor


  non-living
• biotic factor


  living
• biosphere


  life supporting portions of Earth which includes air, land, salt, and freshwater

  
  

  highest level of organization
• ecosystem


  populations in a community and the abiotic factors with which they interact with
• community


  a group of interacting populations that inhabit a common environment and are interdependent
• population


  a group of organisms of the same species that live in the same place at the same time, and interbreed and compete with each other for the same resources
• organism


  any multi/uni cellular form exhibiting all characteristics of life
• habitat


  the place where an organism lives out its life
• niche


  the role a species plays in a community
• producer

  all autotrophs, capture energy from the sun, bottom of food chains, large populations
• consumer


  all heterotrophs, ingest food that contains the suns energy
• herbivore


  eats only plants; primary consumers, and prey animals
• carnivore


  eats only meat; predators
• omnivore


  eats both plants and animals
• decomposer


  breaks down the compounds of dead/decaying plants and animals into simple molecules that can be absorbed
• scavenger


  feeds on carrions (dead animals)
• symbiotic relationship


  relationship where 2 species live together
• commensalism


  relationship between 2 organisms in which one benefits from the other without harming it
• mutualism


  relationship between 2 organisms in which BOTH mutually benefit
• parasitism

  relationship between 2 organisms where one benefits from the other by harming it
• predation


  1 benefits and the other dies
• trophic level


  shows the position an organism occupies in a food web

  
  

  shows the levels of energy transfer
• food chain


  a simple diagram which shows how matter and energy is transferred

  
  

  ONLY 1 energy path
• food web


  shows all of the food chains in an ecosystem combines

  
  

  ALL possible energy paths
• biomass


  shows the amount of organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a habitat

  
  

  decreases as you move up a food chain
• biological magnification


  while energy decreases as you go up the food web, toxin levels increase
• ecological succession


  a predictable series of changes in a biotic environment (both successions)
• primary succession

  new BARREN area

  
  

  the colonization of a new site by communities of organisms

  
  

  NO life before, LONG time to reach climax community
• secondary succession


  when the climax or intermediate community is impacted by a disturbance

  
  

  Life before, SHORT time to reach climax community
• climax community organism

  plants, animals, and fungi

  
  

  final stage of succession
• pioneer organisms


  organisms that are 1st to colonize a newly developed or previously disturbed environment

  
  

  high metabolic rates, short life spans
• carbon cycle

  photosynthesis and cellular respiration cycle carbon and oxygen throughout the environment
• water cycle

  evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation
• transpiration

  plants release water
• nitrogen cycle

  -nitrogen makes up 80% of the Earth's air

  -non usable until converted by bacteria and lightning
• nitrogen fixation

  atmospheric nitrogen in converted into ammonium which can be used to make organic compounds like amino acids
• Which ecological level contains individuals of the same species living together?

  Population
• Which ecological level contains many similar ecosystems put together?

  Biome
• Which ecological level is made up of many populations of different species?

  Community