Intro to Ecology
What is Ecology?
The study of the relationships between living things and their environment
Where does all the energy on Earth come from?
The Sun
What is an ecological community?
A group of interacting organisms living in a specific area.
What is an ecological population?
A group of organisms of the same species living in a specific area.
Why is biodiversity important?
What are biotic factors? List 3 examples.
Biotic Factors are the living components of an ecosystem. Examples include plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, etc.
What is the difference between a producer and a consumer?
Producers make their own food (autotrophs), consumers get their food from other organisms (heterotrophs).
What are 3 things that species compete for in a community?
Food, water, space, mates, etc.
Describe 3 ways we can characterize a population.
Population size (number of individuals), density (number of individuals per unit area), dispersion (how individuals are spaced out).
List 2 ways humans are negatively impacting biodiversity and climate change.
Deforestation, burning fossil fuels, building dams, invasive species, overexploitation
What are Abiotic Factors? List 3 examples.
Abiotic Factors are the non-living components of an ecosystem. Examples include: soil, sunlight, pH, temperature, rocks, air composition, pollution, weather, etc.
What are the different kinds of consumers?
Herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, decomposers
What is an ecological niche? What's the difference between a fundamental and realized niche?
An ecological niche is the role and position of an organism in its environment. A fundamental niche is the full potential niche an organism could occupy, while a realized niche is the actual niche it occupies due to competition.
How can we tell if a population is growing, declining, or staying the same?
By looking at population size over time (growing, shrinking, or staying the same). You can check this by seeing how many individuals are being added and lost in an area. Individuals can be added by being born or immigrating into the are. Individuals can be lost by dying or emigrating out of an area.
If amount added=amount lost, the pop. size will stay the same. If amount added>amount lost, the pop. size will increase. If the amount added<the amount lost, the pop. size will decrease in that area.
What is a pollutant? How does acid rain affect the environment?
A pollutant is a harmful substance released into the environment. Acid rain is caused by pollution from burning fossil fuels and harms plants, animals, and buildings.
What are the levels of organization within an ecosystem, starting from the smallest?
Individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere (increasing in complexity)
Explain how energy flows through an ecosystem using the concepts of food chains, food webs, and trophic levels.
Energy flows in a one-way direction through an ecosystem. Food chains show a simple linear path of energy transfer, food webs show a more complex network. Trophic levels are the feeding positions in a food chain/web.
Define symbiosis. What are the four main types of symbiotic relationships?
Symbiosis is a close and long-term interaction between different species. The four main types are mutualism (both benefit), commensalism (one benefits, the other is not affected), parasitism (one benefits, the other is harmed), and predation (one benefits by feeding on the other).
What is the difference between immigration and emigration?
Immigration is when an organism(s) move into an area and increases population size. Emigration is when an organism(s) move out of an area and decreases population size.
What are invasive species and why are they a threat to biodiversity?
Invasive species are non-native organisms that are introduced to a new environment and can harm the surrounding ecosystem, economy, or human health. They harm the environment because they can outcompete native species, disrupt food webs, and spread diseases. This can cause extinctions of native plants and animals, reducing biodiversity, competing with native organisms for limited resources, and altering habitats. This can result in huge economic impacts and fundamental disruptions.
What is biodiversity and why is it important?
Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. It is important for the health of ecosystems and provides us with many benefits such as clean air and water, food, and medicine.
Why does the available energy decrease as you move up the trophic levels? What about the concentration of toxins?
Energy is lost as heat at each trophic level because organisms use some energy for their own life processes (only about 10% of energy gets passed to the next trophic level). Toxins become more concentrated as you move up the food chain due to bioaccumulation.
Give an example of each type of symbiotic relationship (mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, predation).
Explain the difference between exponential and logistic growth models. What is carrying capacity (K) and how does it affect population growth?
Exponential growth is rapid, uncontrolled population growth, and has a J-shaped curve. Logistic growth is slower, S-shaped growth that levels off at the carrying capacity (K), which is the maximum population size an environment can support.
What is overexploitation and how does it impact ecosystems?
Overexploitation, also known as overharvesting, is when a renewable resource is harvested faster than it can be replaced. This can lead to the destruction of the resource/biodiversity and can have a negative impact on ecosystems.
Describe the process of succession. What are the two main types?
Succession is the process of an ecosystem changing over time. Primary succession happens on bare rock or sand and requires pioneer species, while secondary succession happens on disturbed land that already had soil.
What is biomass and why does it form a pyramid shape as you move up the trophic levels?
Biomass is the total amount of living matter in an ecosystem at a given trophic level. It pyramids because less energy is available at higher levels so there needs to be more total mass of the organisms below to support the ones above.
Can two organisms have the exact same niche in the same ecosystem? Why or why not?
No, two organisms cannot have the exact same niche in the same ecosystem because this would lead to competition and one organism would likely outcompete the other.
What are the three main types of dispersion patterns?
Clumped, random, uniform
What are some ways humans can protect biodiversity?
Switching to renewable energy sources: Burning fossil fuels is a major contributor to climate change, which is a big threat to biodiversity. By switching to renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and geothermal, we can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and help to protect ecosystems.
Legal protection: Laws and regulations can be used to protect endangered species and habitats. For example, the Endangered Species Act in the United States prohibits the harming of endangered species and their habitats.
Habitat corridors: Habitat corridors are strips of land that connect fragmented habitats. This allows animals to move more freely between different parts of their range, which is important for maintaining healthy populations.
Reintroduction programs: Reintroduction programs aim to reintroduce species that have been wiped out from an area. This can help to restore balance to ecosystems and increase biodiversity.
Seed banks: Seed banks store seeds from a wide variety of plants. This can be used to preserve biodiversity in the face of threats like climate change or habitat loss. Seed banks can also be used to restore degraded ecosystems.
In addition to these methods, there are many other things that individuals can do to protect biodiversity. This includes things like reducing consumption, recycling, and supporting organizations that are working to conserve biodiversity.