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The flashcards below were created by user
FaisalNadeem
on FreezingBlue Flashcards.
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Population
A group of individuals belonging to a species living in the same region at the same time, and able to successfully reproduce.
- Tend to increase when individuals reproduce at rates faster than what is needed to replace individuals that have left or died
- Example : Elephants
- The size of the population is based on the ecosystems carrying capacity
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Exponential Growth
Very quick and accelerating growth of a species.
- Exponential growth occurs when a species has a lot of resources
- Produces a j-shaped curve when graphed against time
- Examples : algae growing in a new pond, and pressure being removed from elephants
- Cannot be sustained in nature
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Limiting Factors
Environmental restrictions that limit population growth.
- Exponential growth cannot continue forever because no ecosystem has an infinite amount of resources
- As a population increases, each animal has access to less resources, thus limiting their growth
- Includes biotic factors like food and abiotic factors like light and oxygen
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Carrying Capacity
The size of the population that can be supported by an ecosystem
- Is decided by the amount of resources
- When a population is maintained at carrying capacity it is at an equilibrium
- When a necessary resource is being used at a rate faster than the carrying capacity of the ecosystem, the population will drop to a natural equilibrium
- the limiting resource may also be an abiotic factor
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Ecological Niche
The function/place of an organism in its ecosystem
- Every living thing on Earth has a role to play in its environment
- Niche includes how resources are obtained and how an organism survives
- A job in the sense of providing benefits to an ecosystem
- Made up of : the resources used by an organism, abiotic limiting factors and bitotic relationships with other species
- Example: The space a bat takes up while sleeping a part of its ecological niche
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Predator
An animal that preys on/eats others
- A carnivore or meat-eater
- An animal on a higher trophic level
- Example: a lion is a predator of a zebra
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Prey
An animal that is hunted by another for food
- Usually a herbivore or secondary predator
- An animal on a lower trophic level
- Example: a rat is snake's prey
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Mutualism
A symbiotic relationship between two species that both species benefit from
- The animals "work together" in a sense
- Organisms in a mutualistic relationship evolved together
- A species may be so dependent that it cannot live without its mutualistic partner
- Examples of mutualisim: coral and algae, bees and flowers, humans and bacteria
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Parasite
Organisms that live on or in host organisms from which they leech nutrients and give nothing in return
- Parasites don't try to kill their hosts because they need the host to survive
- Sometimes the host is harmed and sometimes not
- The impact on the host is always negative
- Examples of parasites: tapeworms, fleas, and barnacles
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Competition
When two or more organisms compete for the same resource in the same place at the same time
- Can limit the size of a population
- The more energy spent competing is less energy spent growing and reproducing
- When there is now competition a species can occupy a broad niche but when there is competition the niche is narrower
- Example: When the sparrow population increased, the amount of eggs laid decreased
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Sustainable Use
The use of a resource that doesn't lead to long term depletion or affect the diversity of an ecosystem
- Allows the resource to meet the needs of present and future generations.
- If something is used sustainably it should last forever
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Doubling Time
The amount of time it takes for a population's size to double.
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Ecological Footprint
A measure of the impact an individual or population on the environment
- Measured in terms of energy consumption, land use, and waste production
- Reflects the behavior of individuals and the communities they live in
- A measure of land and water that are needed to support an individuals living standard
- Our ecological footprint shows that 1.5 earths would be needed to meet humanity's demands
- usually measured in hectares
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Unsustainable
A pattern of activity that leads to a decline on resources and function in the ecosystem
- Not able to be maintained forever
- The opposite of sustainable
- Non-renewable
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Sustainability
Using Earth's resources in a sustainable way in which they can last forever
- Involves meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations
- Includes land and water being used sustainably as well
- Opposite of unsustainable
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Ecosystem services
The Benefits provided to organisms(including humans) from sustainable ecosystems
- Includes many things like: the provision of food and clean water, the cycling of nutrients. the conversion of atmospheric carbon into biomass,etc.
- A natural result of all the activities in the biosphere
- Ecosystem services allow ecosystems to function
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Desertification
The change of a place that is not a desert into a desert
- May result from climate change and unsustainable farming and water use
- Usually occurs when large forests are cleared and annual precipitation is lowered
- Example: When European settlers clear cut forests the are became deserts
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Ecotourism
A form of tourism that is sensitive to the ecosystem and involved activities provided by sustainable ecosystems
- A sustainable form of tourism that is now a multi-billion industry
- Focuses on local cultures and wilderness adventures
- Examples: Hiking, snowshoeing,fishing and kayaking
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