Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Environmental Science > 2. Notes and revision. > Flashcards

2. Notes and revision. Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Ecology

A

The study of interactions and between organisms and their abiotic environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Abiotic factors

A

Nonliving physical factors that influence the ecosystems, for example, temperature and light

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

biotic factots

A

interactions between systems eg predation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

species

A

a group of organisms that share characteristic, can interbreed and produce fertile offspring

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

niche

A

this is an organisms response to abiotic and biotic factors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

realised niche

A

the habitat an organism lives in

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

fundamental niche

A

all the other places an organism can live in

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

examples of biotic factors

A

predation
herbivory
parasitism
mutualism
commensation; one animal benefits without harming the other
amensalism; one benefits while harming the other

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

community

A

a group of populations living and interacting with each other in a common habitat

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

respiration

A

covertion of organic matter into carbon dioxide and water releasing energy

Glucose + Oxygen → Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy (as ATP)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

pyramids of biomass

Define, advantages, disadvantages

A

storage of each trophic level in units.

Advantage
overcomes the problems of pyramid of numbers
Disadavantage
kills the animal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

pyramids of numbers

A

number of animals in each trophic level
Advantages
easiest way to measure
Disadavatages
counts animals reagrdless of size

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

pyramids of productivity

A

flow of energy in each trophic level

Advantage
overcomes the problems of pyramid of numbers
Disadavantage
kills the animal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Bioaccumulation

A

whwen harmful chemeicals are taken up by an organism

eating contaminant or being exposed to it

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Biomagnification

A

when a contaminant passes up the food chain through 2 or more trophic levels

eating an animal with contaminant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

DDT

A

DDT aka Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane is an insecticide used in agriculture

14
Q

Bioaccumulation and biomagnification examples

A
  1. DDT
    runs off into water bodies, eaten by fish , fish eaten by eagles, weakens eagles eggs, reduces eagle population
  2. Plastic
    fish eat it, e eat fish, we get plastic
  3. Mercury
    Japan, minamato disease yooutube video
15
Q

food chain

A

flow of energy from one organism to another

16
Q

food web

A

bunch of food chains

17
Q

How to calculate Net primary productivity

A

GPP - Respiration
aka
Total productivity - lost energy to respiration

18
Q

How to calculate Gross Secondary Productivity

A

total food eaten - waste/faeces

18
Q

How to calculate Net Secondary Productivity

A

total food eaten - waste/faeces - respiration

GSP - Respiration

19
Q

succesion

A

how an ecosystem changes overtime

20
Q

zonation

A

how an ecosyetm changes along an environamntal gradient eg temperature, altitude

21
Q

biomes

A

collections of ecosystems sharing similar characteristics

22
Q

K-strategists

A

K for CARE
eg humans, large mammals
have small number of offspring
most offspring survive
parental care

23
Q

R-strategists

A

eg invertebrates and fish
produce large number of offsprinf
most dont survive
lay eggs and leave them
reproduce quickly

24
Q

Simpsons diversity index

define and how to calculate

A

measure of diversity taking int o account the number of species present

Looks in notes for formula

N(N-1) / n(n-1)

24
Q

Lincoln index

Define, formula, adavantages, disadadvantages

A

measures population sizes of individual animal species
ie capture, mark, release, recapture

Disadavantages
Marks could disappear
its not easy to capture animals
its traumatising for animals to be caught

25
Q

biomes and their characteristics

A

Tropical Rainforest:
High biodiversity (hotspot)
Warm and wet climate
Dense vegetation with layers
Continuous growth and decomposition cycles

Desert:
Low precipitation
Extreme temperature fluctuations
Sparse vegetation, adapted to conserve water
Sand dunes or rocky terrain

Taiga/Boreal Forest:
Low to moderate precipitation
Long, cold winters and short summers
Coniferous trees (e.g., pine, spruce, fir)
Dense forests with acidic soil

Tundra:
Very low precipitation
Permafrost (permanently frozen soil)
Short growing season with cold temperatures
Low-growing vegetation (e.g., mosses, lichens, shrubs)

26
Q

Primary succesion

A

This occurs on bare inorganic ground eg land after volcanic eruptions

27
Q

Stages of primary succesion

ccc bes bcecsc

A

Bare inorganic ground
little soil and minerals
colonization
pioneer species colonize the area
establishment
species diversity increases and organisms start livivng in soil
competition
plants grow and pioneers die
stabilization
food webs establish
climax communtiy
maximum development

28
Q

secondary succesion

A

this is recovery occurs when an already established community has been destroyed but the soil still remains intact

Secondary succession refers to the ecological process of vegetation recovery and ecosystem development in an area that has been disturbed or altered, but where the soil remains intact

28
Q

Pioneer species

A

These are species that colonize an area after a disturbance

29
Q

Gross primary productivity

A

is the biomass produced by primary producers before respiration.

29
Q

Carbon cycle

storages
flows
human activities

A

Carbon Cycle:

storages: atmosphere
flows: photosynthesis
human activities: combustion of fossil fuels

Storages:

Atmosphere (carbon dioxide)
Terrestrial biosphere (plants, soil organic matter)
Oceans (dissolved inorganic carbon, organic carbon)

Flows:

Photosynthesis (carbon uptake by plants)
Respiration (carbon release by plants and animals)
Decomposition (breakdown of organic matter by microbes)
Combustion (burning of fossil fuels and biomass)
Diffusion (exchange of carbon dioxide between air and water)
Ocean-atmosphere exchange (exchange of carbon dioxide between oceans and atmosphere)

Human Activities:

Fossil fuel combustion (burning of coal, oil, and gas)
Deforestation and land-use change (clearing of forests for agriculture and development)
Industrial processes (e.g., cement production)
Agriculture (use of fertilizers, livestock methane emissions)
Waste management (landfills, waste incineration)

30
Q

WHY IS GPP LOW IN THE EARLIER STAGES OF SUCCESION AND NPP IS HIGH

A

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) is low in the earlier stages of succession due to limited vegetation cover and photosynthetic activity,

but Net Primary Productivity (NPP) is high because of low respiration because the energy lost through respiration by plants is minimal, resulting in a greater proportion of photosynthetically fixed carbon available for biomass production and growth.

31
Q

Nitrogen cycle

storages
flows
human activities

A

Nitrogen Cycle:

storages: atmosphere
flows: nitrification
human activities: fertilizer use

Storages:

Atmosphere (nitrogen gas)
Soil organic matter
Terrestrial biosphere (plants, animals)
Oceans (dissolved inorganic nitrogen)

Flows:

Nitrogen fixation (conversion of atmospheric nitrogen gas into ammonia by bacteria)
Nitrification (conversion of ammonia into nitrite and nitrate by bacteria)
Assimilation (incorporation of nitrogen into plant and animal biomass)
Mineralization (conversion of organic nitrogen into ammonium by decomposers)
Denitrification (conversion of nitrate into nitrogen gas by bacteria)
Leaching and runoff (loss of nitrogen from soils into water bodies)

Human Activities:

Fertilizer use (application of synthetic and organic fertilizers)
Industrial nitrogen fixation (Haber-Bosch process for producing ammonia)
Livestock farming (manure production, nitrogen emissions)
Combustion of fossil fuels (nitrogen oxides emissions)
Land-use change (deforestation, agricultural expansion)
Wastewater treatment (release of nitrogen-containing compounds into waterways)

32
Q

Draw both the nitrogen and carbon cycles

A

https://biomanbio.com/HTML5GamesandLabs/EcoGames/nitrogencyclepage.html

Environmental Science (16 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions