ecology

parasitism

1 benefits, 1 harmed; dogs and fleas

commensalism

1 benefits, 1 not affected; sharks and remora fish

In the American Southwest, annually emerging cicadas are dependent upon the cottonwood trees in the floodplain. Adult male cicadas perch in the cottonwood trees and chirp to attract females. Females lay their eggs in the branches of the cottonwoods, and, upon hatching, the cicada nymphs drop to the ground, burrow into the soil, feed on the tree roots, and later emerge as adults. Other organisms in the floodplain community prey on the cicadas, as shown in the food web. Figure 1. Food web in floodplain community Human activity has caused a decrease in the amount of flooding and an increase in the incidence of wildfires in the floodplain. In an investigation into the recent changes in the floodplain ecosystem, researchers monitored the soil temperature, amount of cottonwood ground coverage (i.e., area of the ground that is shaded by leaves), and cicada emergence for a period from mid-June until late July. The results of the investigation are represented in Figure 2 and Figure 3. To assess the impact of wildfires on soil temperature and cicada emergence, the researchers compared mean emergence dates for two natural sites where portions had been affected by wildfire. In addition, cicada emergence was monitored at an experimental site where the soil temperature was experimentally maintained. The data are shown in the table. Yellow-billed cuckoos typically hatch in midJuly. Emerging cicadas are a primary food source for nesting cuckoos. Which of the following best predicts the effect of wildfires on yellow-billed cuckoo populations? A. The yellow-billed cuckoo population will decline because the cicadas will emerge before the hatching season begins. B. The yellow-billed cuckoo population will decline because the decreased ground cover will allow lizards to prey on cuckoo nests. C. The yellow-billed cuckoo population will grow because the adults will more easily see and eat the cicada nymphs. D. The yellow-billed cuckoo population will remain unchanged because cuckoos do not nest in areas affected by wildfires.

A

Biome

A group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms

Nitrfication

Ammonium to nitrogen dioxide to nitrate

Organism

An individual living thing

What are density independent factors? Provide several examples and explain how they are density independent factors?

Any force that affects the population size despite the density of a population. - Natural disasters because the population size will not affect the damage. Temperature because population size does not affect it.

What are the biological components of a niche?

Biotic factors that it requires to survive

Differentiate between climate and weather.

Climate- weather of a certain area over a long period of time. Weather- short term atmospheric conditions.

What is the lowest level of environmental complexity that includes living and nonliving factors?

Ecosystem

Denitrification

Excess nitrate to nitrogen

What density dependent factors? Provide several examples and explain how they are density dependent factors.

Factors that have either a positive or negative correlation with the population size. -competition because one population might decrease if another is more powerful. Disease because it can negatively affect a population.

Draw and describe each step of the nitrogen cycle.

Fixation ---> takes nitrogen from the atmosphere Ammonification ---> Nitrogen to ammonium Nitrification ---> Ammonium to nitrogen dioxide to nitrate Assimilation ---> plants (non-legumes) absorb nitrate Denitrification ---> Excess nitrate to nitrogen

exponential growth

Growth pattern in which the individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate

Differentiate habitat and niche.

Habitat- the place where an organism lives Niche- an organism's role within that environment

Ammonification

Nitrogen to ammonium

What are the levels of complexity in the environment? List them and describe each one.

Organism Population Community Ecosystem Biome Biosphere

logistical growth

Population growth pattern that begins with rapid growth, and slows down as the environmental carrying capacity is reached; characterized by an S-shaped curve when graphed.

What is one difference between primary and secondary succession?

Primary succession- happens after an opening of a pristine habitat (lava flow). Secondary succession- response to a disturbance

Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that grow in areas where the soil contains low levels of key nutrients such as nitrogen. To obtain these nutrients, most pitcher plants capture prey using traps containing a digestive fluid. The captured prey are then broken down and digested, and the pitcher plant absorbs the nutrients. The traps of one species of pitcher plant, Nepenthes hemsleyana, do not contain digestive fluid. Instead they provide a suitable place for woolly bats (Kerivoula hardwickii) to sleep. The feces from the bat are released into the trap where nutrients in the feces are absorbed and provide the plant with the nitrogen it needs. A. Describe a mutualistic relationship in from the prompt above.

The plants provide the wooly bats a place to sleep. The bats' feces provides the plant with nitrogen that it needs.

What is the most likely cause of the decrease in moose population immediately after 1995?

The wolf population increasing

How are both carnivores and herbivores alike?

They both consume organisms for energy

Which part(s) of the water cycle is a biological process?

Transpiration, runoff, condensation, precipitation

What is the term for each step in the transfer of energy and matter within a food web?

Trophic level

What are invasive species?

an organism that causes ecological damage in a non-indigenous environment.

mutualism

both benefit; plants and humans

Biosphere

broadcast level (Earth)

Advection

clouds building up

What are the two models of growth?

exponential and logistical

Population

group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area at the same time

Ecosystem

multiple populations interacting (biotic & abiotic)

Community

multiple populations of animals & plants interacting (only biotic)

3 types of symbioses.

mutualism, commensalism, parasitism

How does carbon cycle through the biosphere?

photosynthesis takes carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and turns it into oxygen which can then be used for cellular respiration returning carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Assimilation

plants (non-legumes) absorb nitrate

Phosphorus cycle

plants absorb fertilizer, grows, animals eat & poop which becomes soil rain takes soil to lakes, ponds, & oceans aquatic animals absorb phosphates to grow & eat plants then excrete waste dissolved phosphate in water settles at the bottom as sediment over time, sediment becomes rock

Fixation

takes nitrogen from the atmosphere

Why do they (invasive species) outcompete other species in the same space?

there are no predators in the new enviornment

percolation

water drains through the soil into the underground water source

transferration

water leaves the leaf & evaporates into the air