Ch. 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, and 4-2 Bio Ecology

community

a collection of different populations that live together with their physical environment at the same time

ecosystem

a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system

ecological pyramid

a diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a food chain or food web

biome

a group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities

population

a group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area at the same time

species

a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed together and produce fertile offspring in nature

food chain

a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten

biotic factors

all the living things with which organisms interact

symbiosis

any relationship in which two species live closely together

where is the most nitrogen found on earth

atmosphere

why can each trophic level support only about one tenth the amount of living tissue of the level below it?

because each tropic level harvests only 1/10 of the energy from the level below it. 90% is used for life processes or lost as heat.

why cant most organisms use nitrogen in atmosphere

because it hasnt been fixed yet, changed from N2 to nH3, nO2, nO3

why is only part of the energy stored in one trophic level is passed on to the next level

because organisms use a lot of the energy on the respiration movement and reproduction and some remaining energy is released into the environment

what are organisms in ecosystems influenced by

biological, biotic and physical or abiotic

mutualism

both species benefit from the relationship +/+

decomposers

break down organic matter (fungi, bacteria)

niche

consists of all the physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions

trophic level

each step in a food chain or food web 1st trophic level- producers higher trophic levels- consumers

omnivores

eat both plants and animals (humans, bears, crows)

detritivores

eat plant and animal remains and other dead matter (earthworms, crabs, vultures)

how do organisms get nitrogen they need

eat plants or eat something that eats plants

types of ecological pyramids:

energy, biomass, and pyramids of numbers

how does energy flow through an ecosystem

it flows in one direction only; from the sun or chemicals to autotrophs to heterotrophs

what is at the core of every organsims interaction with the environment?

its need for energy to power lifes processes

food web

links together all the food chains in an ecosystem

biogeochemical cycles

matter moves through an ecosystem

nitrogen cycle

needed by all organisms to build protiens

nitrates

nitrogen compounds

predation

one organism captures and eats another

commensalism

one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed +/0

parastism

one species benefits by living in or on the other and the other is harmed +/-

carnivores

only eat animals (cheetahs, snakes, lions)

herbivores

only eat plants (cows, rabbits)

autotrophs (producers)

organisms that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use that energy to produce food

heterotrophs (consumers)

organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food

competition occurs when

organisms try to use the same resources or necessities of life

4 elements that make up over 95% of the body in most organisms

oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen

how is carbon brought from atmosphere into living organisms

photosynthesis

matter is

recycled within and between ecosystems and the biological systems do not use up the matter they only change it

pyramid of numbers

shows the relative number of individual organisms at each trophic level

habitat

the area where an organism lives

nutrients

the chemical substances that an organism needs to survive

host

the organism from which a parasite obtains nutritional needs

biosphere

the parts if the planet in which life exists; includes land, water, and air, or atmosphere - all living things and their non-living environment - the highest level of organization ecologists study

chemosynthesis

the process in which autotrophs use chemical energy to produce chemical energy (preformed only by certain types of bacteria)

photosynthesis

the process in which autotrophs use light energy to make food (carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates)

evaporation

the process in which water changes from a liquid into a gas

transpiration

the process in which water evaporates from the leaves of plants

what do biotic and abiotic factors together determine

the productivity of the ecosystem - how productive it is

primary productivity of an ecosystem

the rate at which organic matter is created by producers

ecology

the scientific study of interactions among organisms and their environment; study of all the different levels of life, ranging from the individual organism to the biosphere

who do consumers depend on for their energy

the trophic level below it

other source of energy is it isnt the suns

they use the energy stored in inorganic chemical compounds

limiting nutrient

when an ecosystem is limited by a single nutrient that is scarce or cycles very slowly

biochemical cycles

when matter is passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another

carbon cycle

- a key ingredient of living tissue - processes involved; photosynthesis and human activities such as burning