Introduction to Ecology exam Flashcards
Introduction to Ecology exam
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11 TermsTerms in this set (29)
- EcologyThe study of interactions between organisms and their environment, including both biotic and abiotic factors.
- BioticRefers to the living components of the environment, such as trees, bacteria, and other forms of life.
- AbioticRefers to the nonliving components of the environment, such as weather, mountains, bodies of water, and soil.
- What is a habitat?The specific location where an organism lives and reproduces, meeting its basic needs for survival.
- NicheThe ecological role or job of a species in its habitat, including how it utilizes resources and interacts with biotic and abiotic components.
- What does organismal ecology study?Focuses on the behavior, physiology, and evolutionary adaptations of individual organisms.
- Population EcologyExamines the population dynamics of a single species, including birth rates, death rates, and population size changes over time.
- Community EcologyStudies the interactions between multiple species within a defined area or habitat.
- What is ecosystem ecology?Investigates an ecosystem's flow of energy and nutrients and analyzes biotic and abiotic interactions.
- Landscape EcologyExamines spatial arrangement and interactions across multiple nearby ecosystems, focusing on terrestrial ecosystems.
- Seascape EcologySimilar to landscape ecology but focuses on aquatic ecosystems.
- Global EcologyExplores interactions between all of Earth's ecosystems and their impacts on a global scale.
- What is the environment?The total sum of all external biotic and abiotic factors that surround and influence an organism.
- What is an example of a biotic factor of the present?Modern day seals, which are the main prey of polar bears.
- What is an example of an abiotic factor of the present?Sea ice, which polar bears use for hunting seals.
- What is an example of a biotic factor of the past?Woolly mammoths, which influenced the evolution of polar bears.
- What is an example of an abiotic factor of the past?Continental drift, which isolated polar bears in the northern hemisphere.
- What question might an ecologist ask at the organismal level?What is the diet of a capybara in this region?
- What question might an ecologist ask at the population level?What happens to the capybara population size over time?
- What question might an ecologist ask at the community level?How do caiman affect the distribution of capybaras in a wetland ecosystem?
- What question might an ecologist ask at the ecosystem level?How does precipitation impact capybaras in a wetland ecosystem?
- What question might an ecologist ask at the landscape level?How do forest and mountain ecosystems affect capybaras in nearby wetland ecosystems?
- What question might an ecologist ask at the global level?How does global climate change affect worldwide capybara distribution?
- What is the role of a beaver in its niche?Utilizes resources to build dams, which slow down water flow and create new habitats for other organisms.
- What does the term 'biotic' mean?Living components of the environment.
- What does the term 'abiotic' mean?Nonliving components of the environment.
- What is the focus of community ecology?Interactions between multiple species within a defined area or habitat.
- What is the focus of ecosystem ecology?Flow of energy and nutrients and biotic-abiotic interactions in an ecosystem.
- What is the focus of global ecology?Interactions between all of Earth's ecosystems on a global scale.