Introduction

Cards (51)

  • Ecology
    The study of relationships among organisms and between organisms and their environments
  • Ecology
    • How is life interacting with living things (biotic factors and abiotic factors)
    • Biotic- living organisms-related
    • Abiotic- non living organism (sunlight and air)
    • It is studying a bigger system that is complex
  • Levels of ecology
    • Organisms
    • Population
    • Community
    • Ecosystem
    • Biosphere
  • Evolution
    A process by which populations change over time
  • Population ecology
    Centered on factors influencing population structure and process where a population is a group of individuals of a single species inhabiting a defined area
  • Biosphere
    • What role does concentration of atmosphere CO2 play in the regulation of global temperature
    • Meta ecosystem, all ecosystems enclosed (the whole earth)
    • Encompasses the entire Earth, including all living organisms and their interactions with the atmosphere
  • Ecosystem
    • How does fire affect nutrient availability in grassland ecosystems
    • All the living and NONliving things in the area (abiotic factors)
    • Focus on the flow of energy and recycling of nutrients
  • Community
    • What factors influence the number of large mammal species living together in African grasslands?
    • All the living things that live in the area (different organisms and all the life)
    • Focus on the interactions between population and how there interactions shape the community
  • Individuals
    • The most basic level of ecological organization, focusing on a single organism
    • Examines the life processes, adaptations, and behaviors of the individual organism
  • Individual
    One organism and is also one type of organism (e.g., human, cat, moose, tree)
  • Population
    • A group of individuals that belong to the same species
    • Are geographically based, living in a particular area
  • Communities
    • Are made up of all the populations of different species in a given area
    • It involves multiple populations of all the different species in the given area and how these species interact with each other
  • Ecosystems
    Not only looking at the populations and species in the given area but also the physical environment and non-living or abiotic conditions, and not just what they are, but how they impact the organisms
  • Abiotic Components
    • Climate
    • Soil
    • Geology and Topography
    • Water
    • Sunlight
  • Biotic components
    • Producers
    • Consumers
    • Herbivores
    • Carnivores
    • Omnivores
    • Detritivores
    • Decomposers
  • Trophic levels
    These represent the hierarchical levels within a food chain or food web. The primary producers occupy the first trophic level, followed by herbivores (primary consumers), carnivores (Secondary consumers) and so on
  • Food chain
    Food chains depict the linear transfer of energy and nutrient from one organism to another in an ecosystem
  • Ecosystem
    Includes all the living organisms in an area and all the non-living things that affects it
  • Ecosystem
    • A group of organisms interacting among themselves and with environment
    • Abiotic and biotic organisms are interdependent/ interelated with one another
  • Components of ecosystem
    • Biotic
    • Abiotic
  • Biotic
    The living organisms or living members in an ecosystem collectively form its community
  • Abiotic
    The non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems
  • Ecology
    The scientific study of the interactions between different organisms and between organisms and their environment or surroundings
  • Levels of ecological organization
    • Species
    • Population
    • Communities
    • Ecosystem
  • Species
    Individual living things
  • Population
    Many of the SAME Kinds of species that live in the same area and compete for food, mates, water, and space
  • Community
    Many groups of populations that interact in an area
  • Community examples
    • A forest: population of trees, mushrooms, and birds
    • A lake: population of insects, fish, and algae
  • Ecosystem examples
    • Forest ecosystem: grass, soil, wind, sunlight, animals
    • Ocean ecosystem: fish, coral, rock at the bottom, temperature
  • Biosphere
    The part of the Earth that supports all organisms, made up of all the Earth's ecosystems
  • Biosphere examples

    • Water, land, living things, air, lithosphere, hydrosphere
  • Biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem are always interdependent
  • Roles of biotic components
    • Producers
    • Consumers
    • Decomposers
  • Producers
    Organisms that produce their own food, make their own in a form of glucose
  • Producers
    • Use light or chemical energy to make food
    • Photosynthesis uses light energy to convert CO2 and H2O into C6H12O6 and O2
    • Chemosynthesis performed by bacteria, uses chemical energy to produce carbohydrates
  • Plants form organic matter called glucose
  • Photosynthesis
    Sunlight + carbon -> glucose + oxygen
  • Chemosynthesis
    Bacteria make organic matter by reducing sulfide or oxidizing methane
  • Consumers
    Organisms that cannot make their own food, obtain energy by eating other organisms
  • Types of consumers
    • Primary consumers (herbivores)
    • Secondary consumers (primary carnivores)
    • Tertiary consumers (secondary carnivores)
    • Omnivores
    • Scavengers