Topic 7 - Ecology

• What is ecology primarily concerned with?

  Organisms and their environment interactions
• What are the key terms in ecology?

  • Habitat: place where an organism lives
  • Population: organisms of one species in a habitat
  • Community: populations of different species in a habitat
  • Abiotic factors: non-living environmental factors
  • Biotic factors: living environmental factors
  • Ecosystem: interaction of biotic and abiotic components
• What is a habitat?

  The place where an organism lives
• What defines a population in ecology?

  All organisms of one species in a habitat
• What is a community in ecological terms?

  Populations of different species in a habitat
• What are abiotic factors?

  Non-living factors of the environment
• What are biotic factors?

  Living factors of the environment
• What is an ecosystem?

  Interaction of biotic and abiotic components
• What do organisms compete for in their environment?

  • Resources to survive and reproduce
  • Plants need light, space, water, nutrients
  • Animals need territory, food, water, mates
• What is interdependence in a community?

  Species depend on each other for resources
• What can happen if a species is removed from an ecosystem?

  It can have far-reaching effects on others
• What is a food web?

  A diagram of what eats what in an ecosystem
• What happens to blackfly larvae if stonefly larvae are lost?

  Less competition for algae, population increases
• How does the loss of stonefly larvae affect water spiders?

  It leads to less food, causing a decrease
• What are stable communities?

  Communities where population sizes are constant
• What abiotic factors can vary in an ecosystem?

  • Moisture level
  • Light intensity
  • Temperature
  • Carbon dioxide level
  • Wind intensity and direction
  • Oxygen level
  • Soil pH and mineral content
• How can changes in abiotic factors affect populations?

  They can affect population sizes in a community
• What happens if light intensity decreases for plants?

  Photosynthesis rate decreases, affecting growth
• What can a decrease in soil mineral content cause?

  Nutrient deficiencies affecting plant growth
• How do animals depend on plants?

  Animals rely on plants for food
• What effect can a new predator have on a prey population?

  It can decrease the prey population size
• How do grey squirrels affect red squirrels?

  Grey squirrels outcompete red squirrels
• What does the graph of Species A's population suggest?

  A new pathogen arrived around 1985
• What are adaptations in organisms?

  • Features that allow survival in environments
  • Can be structural, behavioral, or functional
• What are structural adaptations?

  Features of an organism's body structure
• How does the Arctic fox's white fur help it?

  It camouflages against the snow
• What adaptation helps whales retain heat?

  A thick layer of blubber
• How do camels adapt to hot environments?

  They have a thin layer of fat
• What are behavioral adaptations?

  Ways that organisms behave to survive
• Why do swallows migrate in winter?

  To avoid cold conditions
• What are functional adaptations?

  Processes related to metabolism and reproduction
• How do desert animals conserve water?

  By producing little sweat and concentrated urine
• What do brown bears do in winter?

  They hibernate to conserve energy
• What are extremophiles?

  • Microorganisms adapted to extreme conditions
  • Can survive high temperatures, salinity, or pressure
• What is the structure of a food chain?

  1. Starts with a producer
  2. Producers are usually green plants or algae
  3. Producers make glucose via photosynthesis
  4. Biomass is the mass of living material
  5. Energy is transferred through consumption
  6. Consumers are categorized as primary, secondary, and tertiary
• What is the role of producers in a food chain?

  They make their own food using sunlight
• What is biomass in plants?

  The mass of living material in a plant
• How is energy transferred in an ecosystem?

  When organisms eat other organisms
• What are primary consumers?

  Organisms that eat producers
• What happens to predator and prey populations in a stable community?

  They go through cycles of increase and decrease