bio
ecosystem
all the interactable parts of a biological community and its environment
symbiosis
interation between members of two different species that live together in close associasion
interspecific competition
competition between two different species
limiting factor
a factor that limits the growth, distribution or amount of a population in an ecosystem
carrying capacity
the carrying size of a population that can be supported indefinetly by the available resources and services of an ecosystem
nitrification
the process of converting ammonia to nitrate, which may be converted to nitrogen gas
overexploitation
the use or extraction of a resource until its depleted
biotic factor
a living organism that shapes its environment
intraspecific competition
competition between members of the same species
density-dependent factors
any factor in the environment whose impact on populations does not depend of the size of the population
nutrient cycles
continuous flow of nutrients in and out of stores
cellular respiration
a reaction in the cells of most living organisms that releases stored energy, producing carbon dioxide
resilience
the ability of an ecosystem to remain functional and stable in the presence of disturbances to its parts
threatened
any species that is likely to become endangered if factors that make it vulnerable arent reversed
abiotic factor
non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems
population
a population of animals, plants, or humans among whose members interbreeding occurs
decomposer
an organism, especially soil bacterium, fungus, or invertabrate that decomposes organic material
competition
takes place when two or more organisms vie for the same resources in the same place at the same time
density-dependent factor
any factor in the environment whose impact on populations does depend on the size of the population
stores
nutrients accumulated in the atmosphere, oceans, or land masses for long periods of time
denitrification
the process of converting nitrates to nitrogen gas
biomass
renewable organic material that comes from plants and animals
biomagnification
the increase in the concentration of a toxin as it moves from one trophic level to the next
invasive species
non-native species that have colonised a new area to the point of damaging the surrounding environment
endangered
a species that is close to extinction in all parts of canada or a significantly large location
vulnerable
any species that is at risk because of low declining numbers at the fringe of its range or in some restricted area
food web
a system of interlocking and interdependant food chains
examples of abiotic factors
extreme storms, droughts, floods, fires, cold snaps, heat waves
examples of biotic factors
disease, parasites, predation, and competition
examples of density dependant limiting factors
food
examples of density independant limiting factors
light, tempurature, pH, oxygen
predator prey relationship
as predator populations increase, they put strain on prey population pushing them to decline
carbon cycle
carbon in atmosphere --> photosynthesis --> cellular respiration --> decomposition
photosynthisis reaction
carbon dioxide + water = glucose + oxygen + water
nitrogen cycle
nitrogen in atmosphere --> nitrogen in soil via precipitation --> nitrogen fixation --> nitrification --> denitrification
trophic efficiency
measure lf the amount of energy transferreed from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level
trophic efficiency %
10% transferred
effect of DDT
effects reproduction in fish eating birds
effect of PCBs
nearly caused the extinction of the peregrine falcon
ecosystem services provided by forests
store carbon dioxide, reduce erosion, provides habitat, provides humans with resources
exosystem services provided by wetlands
stores water, reduces risk of floods, provides habitat, provides humans with filtered water
exosystem services provided by insects
decomposers, protein rich food, pollinators
whats the relationship between biodiversity and resilience and sustainablity
ecosystem resilience and sustainablity promoyes biodiversity by providing a safe and reliable habitat for a variety of different species
human activities that threat biodiversity and cause extinction
deforestation, draining wetlands, damming rivers
biotic threats to biodiversity and cause of extinction
invasive species
bioaccumulation
a toxin being in a preys body long enough to be passed along the food chain