Environmental Science Module 2

Questions and Answers

Ecology indicates the relationship between organisms and their environment. It is the study of the ways organisms interact with each other and with their non-living surroundings. Ecology supplements our world and is crucial for humanity. It provides resources and services vital for sustaining biodiversity, food production, quality of air, clean water, etc.

Ecological Concepts

What are the Ecological Hierarchy ( Bottom to Top)

Species, Ecosystem, Biosphere, Population, Community

Refers to an interacting group of natural elements and the organisms in a given environment. It is a unit of interrelationships between biotic and abiotic factors. Thus, all living organisms depend on, influence, and adapt to nonliving components to maintain their steady-state conditions (homeostasis).

Ecosystem

It encompass all living organisms present in the ecosystem. These organisms are autotrophs and heterotrophs.

Biotic Components Signup and view all the answers

This are also called "self-feeders" or the “producers”. They use the energy from the sun (light energy) or chemical energy to make their food. There are two types of autotrophs

Autotrophs Signup and view all the answers

This are organisms that use the energy from sunlight to make their food in the process called photosynthesis. Some examples are plants, algae, and certain bacteria.

Photoautotrophs Signup and view all the answers

This are organisms that use chemical energy from compounds to make their food in the process called chemosynthesis. Examples are some bacteria and also archaea – a microorganism that resembles bacteria.

Chemoautotrophs Signup and view all the answers

This are called "consumers." These organisms cannot make their food, primarily animals; and get their energy from other plants and animals, and classify as:

Heterotrophs Signup and view all the answers

-feed directly on plants -1st order/ primary consumers Rabbit, Goat, Cow, sheep

Herbivores Signup and view all the answers

that feed directly on animals -2nd order/ Secondary consumers Snake, Tiger, Eagle, Lion

Carnivores Signup and view all the answers

-feed both on plants and animals -1st or 2nd order consumers Bears, birds, dogs, foxes, humans

Omnivores Signup and view all the answers

They are also unable to make their food. They decompose waste products and dead organisms for food and are returned to the soil to be recycled and used by plants again. Bacteria and fungi are decomposers. Decomposers are classified based on the type of organic matter they break down

Decomposers Signup and view all the answers

feed on the soft tissues of dead animals. Examples include vultures, raccoons, and blowflies.

Scavengers Signup and view all the answers

feed on detritus - remains of plants, animal feces, and other organic debris. They can be found on the soil like earthworms, millipedes, dung beetles; and at the bottom of bodies of water such as sea cucumbers and catfish.

Detritivores Signup and view all the answers

This are the nonliving features of the environment that influence an organism or group of organisms.

Abiotic Components Signup and view all the answers

Is required by all organisms to sustain life

Energy Signup and view all the answers

It is the ultimate source of energy for almost all organisms in ecosystems.

Light Energy Signup and view all the answers

the greatest importance to plants because it is essential for photosynthesis. The following factors play a crucial function in an ecosystem

Visible Light Signup and view all the answers

The most vital gases are oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen utilized by plants and

Atmospheric gases Signup and view all the answers

Used during animals' respiration, carbon dioxide on plant photosynthesis, and nitrogen made available by certain bacteria through various fixation processes

Oxygen Signup and view all the answers

It includes wind or air currents, soil, pH, and temperature.

Physical Characteristics. Signup and view all the answers

It is associated with the physical nature of the land surface/area. It includes altitude, the slope of the land, and the area's position with the sun or rain-bearing winds.

Physiographic factors Signup and view all the answers

All organisms play a critical role in the ecosystem. Different categories were involved.

Organisms Interaction Signup and view all the answers

Some organisms can make their own food (producers), and other organisms have to get their food by eating other organisms(consumers). The species that can eat many different types of foods is called a generalist. For example, raccoons eat many things, including human garbage. A specialist is a species that consumes only a specific type of food. For example, koalas only eat eucalyptus plants.

Obtaining food and energy. Signup and view all the answers

Happens between organisms arises when more than one organism struggles to obtain the same essential resources in the same habitat. Both participants in the interaction are potentially harmed. The one who is harmed less is considered the winner, and the one who is harmed more is the loser. It controls the population size by limiting the number of organisms that can survive on the area's resources.

Competition Signup and view all the answers

Happens between members of two or more different species over various limiting resources such as food, water, light, soil resources, or space. It often leads to extinction, specifically with the species that are less well-adapted, less likely to survive, and the species may go extinct. For example, predators of various species might compete for the same prey just like lions and leopards that compete for similar prey; and a farm of rice paddies with weeds growing in the field.

Interspecific competition Signup and view all the answers

Arises between members of the same species and may compete over mates, water, sunlight, territory, or food energy sources.This type of competition is a basic factor in natural selection that leads to the evolution of better adaptations. For example, two individuals of the same zooplankton species compete for nutrients in the ocean.

Intraspecific competition Signup and view all the answers

Occurs when one species directly affects the ability of another to consume resources. For example, (a) an animal may chase other individuals away from a potential food source; and (b) in some species, individuals or groups maintain and defend territories.

Interference competition Signup and view all the answers

Occurs when one species makes a resource unavailable for consumption of another species. It is the most common mechanism of competition in nature. Examples of exploitative competition include (a) lions and cheetahs competing for gazelles on the African plains, and (b) two species of prairie grasses competing for light, soil moisture, and soil nutrients.

Exploitative competition Signup and view all the answers

It is a place where an organism lives. It is characterized by the physical environment, including distinctive physical features, vegetation, and the group of species living in it. Conversely, each species' niche is defined by the sum of activities and relationships in which it engages to secure and use the resources necessary for its survival and reproduction.

Habitat Signup and view all the answers

Occurs when one species uses another species as food. The organism that hunts other living things for food is called the predator, and the prey is the animal hunted by a predator.

Predation Signup and view all the answers

Include the presence of armor in animals (spines) or thorns in plants to discourage predation and herbivory by preventing physical contact with the predato

Mechanical Defense Signup and view all the answers

include odors and toxins released by plants and animals.

Chemical Defense Signup and view all the answers

Indicate aposematic coloration

Warning Colors Signup and view all the answers

A protective coloration in which an animal resembles its background.

Camouflage Signup and view all the answers

It is when organisms resemble other species.

Mimicry Signup and view all the answers

It is where a harmless species imitates a harmful one.

Batesian mimicry Signup and view all the answers

It occurs when various species share the same warning coloration and resemble each other but have their own defenses.

Mullerian mimicry Signup and view all the answers

It describes a close and often long-term relationship between two or more different organisms. This relationship may be beneficial or harmful, or it may not affect the other organisms. The term symbiosis was first by the mycologist Heinrich Anton de Bary, who termed it "the living together of unlike organisms".

Symbiosis Signup and view all the answers

It is an interaction between two species in which both organisms benefit. An example of this is the pollination of plants by bees and other pollinators.

Mutualism Signup and view all the answers

It is a type of symbiosis where one organism benefits, but the others are unaffected. For example, numerous orchids, mosses, and ferns that grow atop higher plants benefit from structural support and greater access to sunlight.

Commensalism Signup and view all the answers

It is a relationship where one organism, termed the parasite, benefits at the expense of the host. Some parasites live on the surface of their host called an ectoparasite. Others live inside their host called endoparasite. Examples include tapeworms, lice, and fungus.

Parasitism Signup and view all the answers

(The global ecosystem)

Biosphere Signup and view all the answers

(A groups of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms)

Biomes Signup and view all the answers

(Different communities working as a unit, interacting with both its physical and biological environment)

Ecosystem Signup and view all the answers

(A group of different populations distributed into a specific geographical area

Community Signup and view all the answers

(A group of same species occupying a specific geographic area and time)

Population Signup and view all the answers

(A group of individuals with the same genetic characteristics and is capable of interbreeding with one another)

Species Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Ecology Overview

Ecology studies relationships between organisms and their environments, focusing on interactions with biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors.
Essential for sustaining biodiversity, food production, air quality, and clean water resources.

Ecological Hierarchy (Bottom to Top)

Individual: Single organism capable of interbreeding.
Population: Group of individuals of the same species in a specific area over time.
Community: Different populations interacting in a specific geographical area.
Ecosystem: Community integrated with its physical environment, including both biotic and abiotic components.
Biome: Groups of ecosystems sharing similar climates and typical organisms.
Biosphere: Global ecosystem comprising all living things and their environments.

Autotrophs and Heterotrophs

Autotrophs (Producers): Organisms that create their own food.
- Photosynthetic Autotrophs: Use sunlight to synthesize food (e.g., plants, algae).
- Chemosynthetic Autotrophs: Utilize chemical energy from compounds (e.g., certain bacteria and archaea).
Heterotrophs (Consumers): Organisms that rely on others for food.
- Primary Consumers: Feed directly on plants (e.g., rabbits, goats).
- Secondary Consumers: Feed on primary consumers (e.g., snakes, tigers).
- Tertiary Consumers: Feed on both plants and animals (e.g., bears, humans).

Decomposers

Organisms that break down waste and dead matter, recycling nutrients in ecosystems.
Categories include:
- Scavengers: Feed on dead animals (e.g., vultures).
- Detritivores: Consume decomposed organic debris (e.g., earthworms).

Abiotic Factors

Nonliving elements crucial for supporting life: light, temperature, water, soil composition, and gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide essential for respiration and photosynthesis.
Factors such as altitude, wind, and pH impact organisms' survival and adaptation.

Competition

Interspecific Competition: Different species compete for limited resources, potentially influencing population dynamics and leading to extinction for less adapted species.
Intraspecific Competition: Members of the same species compete over resources like mates and territory, driving natural selection.

Predator-Prey Relationships

Predation: One organism (predator) consumes another (prey).
Defense mechanisms include physical adaptations (spines, camouflage) and chemical deterrents.

Symbiosis

Describes close interactions between species, categorized as:
- Mutualism: Both species benefit (e.g., bees and flowering plants).
- Commensalism: One species benefits, the other is unaffected (e.g., orchids growing on trees).
- Parasitism: One organism benefits at the host's expense (e.g., tapeworms).

Key Definitions

Niche: The role and position a species has in its environment.
Habitat: The physical environment where a species lives, defined by its characteristic features and resident species.

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