Ecology Test Study Guide

Key Concepts in Ecology

• Ecosystem: Combination of living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) elements interacting in a specific area.
• Habitat: Specific location where an organism resides and obtains necessary resources for survival.
• Abiotic Factors: Nonliving components such as water, air, and minerals influencing ecosystem dynamics.
• Biotic Factors: Living organisms within an ecosystem that interact and affect each other's survival.

Organism Dynamics

• Photosynthesis: Process by which organisms convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into food, essential for plant life.
• Species: A grouping of similar organisms capable of producing fertile offspring.
• Population: All individuals of a particular species inhabiting a defined area.
• Community: Diverse populations coexisting within a specific environmental space.

Foundation of Ecology

• Ecology: Scientific discipline exploring the interactions among organisms and their environments.
• Biome: Larger regional classifications of ecosystems sharing common climatic conditions and life forms.

Interactions and Relationships

• Predation: Interaction where one organism (predator) kills and consumes another (prey), crucial for regulating populations.
• Niche: A specific role played by an organism within an ecosystem, including its habitat and interactions.
• Natural Selection: Evolutionary mechanism favoring individuals better suited to their environments, enhancing survival and reproduction.

Adaptation and Competition

• Adaptation: Traits and behaviors developed by species that enable success in their environments.
• Competition: Rivalry among organisms for limited resources like food, space, and mates, influencing population dynamics.

Ecological Relationships

• Commensalism: Symbiotic relationship where one species benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.
• Parasitism: Relationship wherein one organism (parasite) benefits at the expense of another (host), often causing harm.
• Mutualism: Interdependent relationship where both species involved benefit.

Trophic Levels

• Producers: Organisms that generate their own food, forming the base of the food web.
• Consumers: Organisms that derive energy by consuming other organisms, categorized into herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.
• Scavengers: Carnivores that eat dead organisms, facilitating nutrient recycling.
• Decomposers: Break down dead material, returning vital nutrients to the ecosystem.

Energy Flow

• Food Chain: Linear sequence depicting energy transfer as one organism consumes another.
• Food Web: Complex interrelated networks of multiple food chains in an ecosystem, illustrating diverse dietary relationships.
• Energy Pyramid: Represents energy flow between trophic levels, indicating energy loss at each transfer from producers to consumers.