Terms to know Prokaryotic: a microscopic single-celled organism that has neither a distinct nucleus with a membrane nor other specialized organelles. Prokaryotes include the bacteria and cyanobacteria. Eukaryotic: An organism whose cells contain a nucleus surrounded by a membrane and whose DNA is bound together by proteins (histones) into chromosomes. The cells of eukaryotes also contain an endoplasmic reticulum and numerous specialized organelles not present in prokaryotes, especially mitochondria, Golgi bodies, and lysosomes. Ecology: the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings. Abiotic/Biotic: Biotic factors are all of the living organisms within an ecosystem. These may be plants, animals, fungi, and any other living things. Abiotic factors are all of the non-living things in an ecosystem. Biosphere: the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth (or analogous parts of other planets) occupied by living organisms. Biome: a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g., forest or tundra. Ecosystem Ecology: Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework. This science examines how ecosystems work and relates this to their components such as chemicals, bedrock, soil, plants, and animals. Community Ecology: Community ecology or synecology is the study of the interactions between species in communities on many spatial and temporal scales, including the distribution, structure, abundance, demography, and interactions between coexisting populations. Population Ecology: Ecologists study many different aspects of ecosystems. One aspect that is of particular importance is population ecology. This field of study is concerned with populations and how they interact with their environment. A population is all of the individuals of the same species within an ecological community. Carrying Capacity: the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation. Density Dependent Factor: density-dependent factor Any factor limiting the size of a population whose effect is dependent on the number of individuals in the population. For example, disease will have a greater effect in limiting the growth of a large population, since overcrowding facilitates its spread. Exponential Population Growth: Growth of a system in which the amount being added to the system is proportional to the amount already present: the bigger the system is, the greater the increase. ( See geometric progression.) Note : In everyday speech,exponential growth means runaway expansion, such as in population growth. Logistic Population Growth: Logistic population growth occurs when the growth rate decreases as the population reaches carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals in a population that the environment can support. Life History: Life history may refer to: Life history theory, a theory of biological evolution that seeks to explain aspects of organisms' anatomy and behavior by reference to the way that their life histories have been shaped by natural selection. K/R-Strategist Population: K-selected species, also called K-strategist, species whose populations fluctuate at or near the carrying capacity (K) of the environment in which they reside. R-selected species, also called r-strategist, species whose populations are governed by their biotic potential (maximum reproductive capacity, r). ... The production of numerous small offspring followed by exponential population growth is the defining characteristic of r-selected species. Symbiosis: Interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both. Commensalism: An association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm. Predation: The preying of one animal on others. Mutualism: Symbiosis that is beneficial to both organisms involved. Ecological Niche: An ecological niche is the role and position a species has in its environment; how it meets its needs for food and shelter, how it survives, and how it reproduces. A species' niche includes all of its interactions with the biotic and abiotic factors of its environment. Primary Succession: Primary succession is one of two types of biological and ecological succession of plant life, occurring in an environment in which new substrate devoid of vegetation and other organisms usually lacking soil, such as a lava flow or area left from retreated glacier, is deposited. Secondary Succession: As opposed to the first, primary succession,secondary succession is a process started by an event (e.g. forest fire, harvesting, hurricane) that reduces an already established ecosystem (e.g. a forest or a wheat field) to a smaller population of species, and as such secondary succession occurs on preexisting soil. Autotroph/Primary Producer: Primary producers are organisms in an ecosystem that produce biomass from inorganic compounds (autotrophs). In almost all cases these are photosynthetically active organisms (plants, cyanobacteria, protists and a number of other unicellular organisms; see article on photosynthesis). Heterotroph/Consumer: An organism that cannot manufacture its own food and instead obtains its food and energy by taking in organic substances, usually plant or animal matter. All animals, protozoans, fungi, and most bacteria are heterotrophs. Compare autotroph. Detritivore: An organism that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter, returning essential nutrients to the ecosystem. Detritivores include microorganisms such as bacteria and protists as well as larger organisms such as fungi, insects, worms, and isopod crustaceans. Trophic Level: Each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy. Intro: What are the characteristics of life? They are: responsiveness to the environment, growth and change, ability to reproduce, have a metabolism and breathe, maintain homeostasis, being made of cells, and.passing traits onto offspring. What are the biological levels? The biological levels from the least complex to most is: organelle, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, organisms, populations, communities, ecosystem, and biosphere. Biosphere/Biome: The biomes are: The Tropical Rainforest, the tropical dry forest, tropical savanna, desert, temperate grassland, temperate woodland and shrubland, temperate forest, northwestern coniferous forest. For terrestrial and aquatic weather and rainfall dictates the location. What are terrestrial biomes? The terrestrial biomes are: tropical forests,savannas, deserts, temperate grasslands, temperate deciduous forests, Mediterranean scrub, coniferous forests, and tundra. Population Ecology What is carrying capacity? How it is controlled by density dependant factors? What are density dependent factors? Carrying capacity is the maximum population of a population in an ecosystem that is supported by the environment. Some factors that control carrying capacity are weather, food and water supply, etc. These control it because these factors can only go to a certain limit before the population can’t get that high. What are the two models of population growth? Logistic and Exponential. How is random sampling conducted? You take a small sample of some sort of bigger population and you conduct tests on the small sample. Community Ecology What are the different types of symbiosis? Commensalism, Mutualism, Predation, and competition. What are the two types of succession? Primary and Secondary Succession. Ecosystem Ecology What are the differences between all the producer, consumer, detritivore/trophic levels, and how do they all relate to each other within an ecosystem? Producers make nutrients from suppliers with photosynthesis. consumers eat other animals or plants for their nutrients. Detritivores feed off of dead corpses and decompose them. It starts at the highest amount from the plants and it slowly shrinks down by 10% for each new creature that eats the previous one. Humans: What type of population growth we are humans in, and why? We are exponential, we were originally logistic however since a long time ago we have been exponential. How do humans impact the ecosystem? We damage it in many ways be polluting it and destroying their habitats and increasing global warming (for certain habitats).
