Review

Ecology

Chapters 3,4,5, & 6

What is Ecology?

What is an ecosystem?

The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

The populations of living things and their physical surroundings (includes biotic and abiotic factors)

What is a population?

What is a community?

What does biotic mean?

What does abiotic mean?

A group of living things of the same species living in the same place.

Several populations interacting.

Living Non-living

Group the following from largest group to smallest group:

Community Individual Ecosystem Biosphere Population

1. Biosphere (largest)

2. Ecosystem

3. Community

4. Population5. Individual (smallest)

What is a producer?

give an example

What is a consumer?

give an example

An organism that makes its own food (autotrophs)

Ex: plants

An organism that depends on other organisms for food.

Ex: An antelope eats grass

What is an organism that breaks down dead organisms?

What is an organism that feeds on the remains of dead animals?

What is an organism that hunts and kills other animals?

Decomposer

Scavenger

Predator

What is mutualism?

What is commensalism?

What is parasitism?

A relationship in which both organisms benefit

A relationship in which one organisms benefits and the other is not affected

A relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed.

What is an organism’s job?

What is the place where an organism lives?

What are limiting factors?

What is carrying capacity?

Its niche

Its habitat

A factor that restricts life, reproduction, or distribution of a population.

The number of organisms that an environment can support.

What is primary succession?

What is secondary succession?

What plants usually appear first?

Last?

The creation of a new community by pioneer species and then continued growth and development.

(starts w/out soil)

When a natural disaster causes old species to die and new species move in .

(starts w/ soil)

Grasses and herbs

Hardwood trees

Name the type of growth shown in the following graphs:

Exponential

Linear

Logistic

Only 10% of the energy stored in an organism can be passed on to the next trophic level. What happened to the rest?

Some is used in life processes

Some is lost as heat

What is the contamination of the environment by waste materials?

Resources that are available in limited amounts and not easily replaced?

The process by which heat is retained in the atmosphere?

Pollution

Non-renewable

The greenhouse effect

Increase in temp (greenhouse effect) due to too much Carbon Dioxide

The layer of gas in the atmosphere that blocks UV radiation.

Global Warming

Ozone layer

Chemicals that contribute to the thinning of the ozone layer (ozone depletion)

Exposure to UV radiation can cause…

CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons)

Skin Cancer Eye damage Decreased resistance

to disease

How does the size of the population of humans affect the world’s natural resources?

Pollution Depletion of

nonrenewable resources

Loss of habitat for other organisms

What are introduced species?

Species that are not native to an area, but have been introduced into an area by man.

May cause problems with the local community/ disrupt the food web

What is acid rain?

What causes it?

How does it affect the environment?

Rainwater or snow that has a lower pH than normal rainwater.

Air pollution (carbon dioxide) combining with water in the atmosphere to form acids such as carbonic acid.

Damages plants, kills fish, contaminates water

Describe the steps of the water cycle.

1. Evaporation

2. Transpiration

3. Condensation

4. Precipitation

5. Runoff

6. Seepage

1. Water turns into a gas

2. Water evaporates from the leaves of plants

3. Water vapor turns back into a liquid – forms clouds

4. Water falls to Earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail

5. Water runs along the surface of the earth

6. Water is absorbed into the ground