ECOLOGY
the study of relationships between organisms and their interactions with their environment
, Terms
- Species: A group of genetically similar organisms that are able to interbreed to produce a fertile offspring
- Community: A group of populations living and interacting in a particular environment (a single species can never live in isolation)
- Ecosystem: A community and its abiotic (physical, not organic) environment
- Abiotic factors: Non-living factors in an ecosystem, such as
- pH
- Salinity
- Wind speed
- Type of soil
- Biotic factors: Living factors in an ecosystem, such as
- Biome: A group of ecosystems having the same climate and dominant groups of plants and animals
- Biosphere: A collection of all biomes on Earth
, Species
- Species: A group of genetically similar organisms that are able to interbreed to produce a fertile offspring
- Interbreeding: When 2 organisms of the same species mate
- Cross-breeding: When 2 organisms of different species mate (offspring’s infertile)
- Examples of cross-breeds:
- Lion + Tigress = Liger
- Tiger + Lioness = Tigon
- Male Whale + Female Dolphin = Wholphin
- Male Bison + Cow = Beefalo
- Population: A group of organisms in the same species that are living in the same area at the same time
- 2 members of the same species may be reproductively isolated if they belong to different populations
→ unlikely to interbreed
- Occurs to behavioural, physiological, or genetic differences
- Still classified as the same species because interbreeding is functionally possible
, Types of nutrition
- Autotrophs: Produce their own complex organic compounds using carbon dioxide and other simple compounds
- Heterotrophs: Feed on other organisms to obtain organic compounds
- Consumers: organisms that obtain nutrients by ingesting or absorbing other organisms (either living or recently dead)
- Detritivores: Obtain nutrients from detritus (waste products or organic debris) by internal digestion (inside the body with the help of
a digestive tract)
- Saprotrophs: Gain nutrients from dead organic matter by digesting them externally. AKA Decomposers
- Mixotroph: Obtain organic compounds both autotrophically and heterotrophically (Euglena gracilis have chloroplasts and
can also feed on smaller organisms by endocytosis)
the study of relationships between organisms and their interactions with their environment
, Terms
- Species: A group of genetically similar organisms that are able to interbreed to produce a fertile offspring
- Community: A group of populations living and interacting in a particular environment (a single species can never live in isolation)
- Ecosystem: A community and its abiotic (physical, not organic) environment
- Abiotic factors: Non-living factors in an ecosystem, such as
- pH
- Salinity
- Wind speed
- Type of soil
- Biotic factors: Living factors in an ecosystem, such as
- Biome: A group of ecosystems having the same climate and dominant groups of plants and animals
- Biosphere: A collection of all biomes on Earth
, Species
- Species: A group of genetically similar organisms that are able to interbreed to produce a fertile offspring
- Interbreeding: When 2 organisms of the same species mate
- Cross-breeding: When 2 organisms of different species mate (offspring’s infertile)
- Examples of cross-breeds:
- Lion + Tigress = Liger
- Tiger + Lioness = Tigon
- Male Whale + Female Dolphin = Wholphin
- Male Bison + Cow = Beefalo
- Population: A group of organisms in the same species that are living in the same area at the same time
- 2 members of the same species may be reproductively isolated if they belong to different populations
→ unlikely to interbreed
- Occurs to behavioural, physiological, or genetic differences
- Still classified as the same species because interbreeding is functionally possible
, Types of nutrition
- Autotrophs: Produce their own complex organic compounds using carbon dioxide and other simple compounds
- Heterotrophs: Feed on other organisms to obtain organic compounds
- Consumers: organisms that obtain nutrients by ingesting or absorbing other organisms (either living or recently dead)
- Detritivores: Obtain nutrients from detritus (waste products or organic debris) by internal digestion (inside the body with the help of
a digestive tract)
- Saprotrophs: Gain nutrients from dead organic matter by digesting them externally. AKA Decomposers
- Mixotroph: Obtain organic compounds both autotrophically and heterotrophically (Euglena gracilis have chloroplasts and
can also feed on smaller organisms by endocytosis)
