5B2 Energy Flow Through Biomes Flashcards
Identify biomes based on climate, flora, and fauna. Describe energy transfer in ecosystems using pyramids, food chains, and food webs.
1
Q
What is a biome?
A
A regional area characterized by the plants, animals, and climate in that area.
2
Q
What is an endemic species?
A
A unique to a specific biome and only found in that specific part of the world.
3
Q
Name the five primary biomes in the world.
A
- Grassland
- Desert
- Forest
- Aquatic Biome
- Tundra
4
Q
What are the 2 different types of grassland biomes?
A
- Savanna
- Temperate Grassland
5
Q
Where are savannas located?
A
Near the equator.
Savannas cover over half of Africa and large portions of Australia, South America, and India.
6
Q
What are the three categories of savannas based on precipitation level?
A
- Wet savannas
- Dry savannas
- Thornbush savannas
Wet savannas with dry seasons lasting 3 to 5 months.
Dry savannas with dry seasons for 5 to 7 months.
Thornbush savannas with dry seasons longer than 5 to 7 months.
7
Q
What types of plants are commonly found on the savanna?
A
- Shrubs
- Grasses
- Few Trees
8
Q
What are some animals commonly found in savannas?
A
- Lions
- Zebras
- Cheetahs
- Giraffes
- Elephants
- Vultures
9
Q
What are the two types of temperate grasslands?
A
- Prairies
- Steppes
10
Q
How much precipitation do temperate grasslands receive annually on average?
A
10 to 20 inches.
11
Q
What types of plants are commonly found on temperate grasslands?
A
- Low to mid-range grasses
- Shrubs
- Succulents
- Short trees
- Grains
12
Q
What are the four main types of deserts?
A
- Hot and dry
- Semi-arid
- Coastal
- Cold
13
Q
Where are hot and dry deserts primarily located?
A
Near the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.
14
Q
What is the average annual rainfall in hot and dry deserts?
A
6 inches
15
Q
What is the temperature range in coastal deserts during summers?
A
55°F to 75°F
Examples: Namib Desert in Africa and the Atacama Desert in Chile
16
Q
Where are semi-arid deserts primarily located?
A
Northern Hemisphere in areas like Europe, North America, Russia, northern Asia.
17
Q
What is the average yearly rainfall in semi-arid deserts?
A
Up to 20 inches.
18
Q
What is the temperature range in cold deserts during the winter?
A
28°F to 39°F
19
Q
What is the temperature range in cold deserts during the summer?
A
70°F to 79°F
20
Q
What are the four main types of forest biomes?
A
- Temperate deciduous forests
- Temperate rainforests
- Tropical rainforests
- Taiga boreal forests
21
Q
Where are temperate deciduous forest biomes located?
A
Midlatitudes
Experience warm, rainy summers and cold winters.
22
Q
What is the average annual rainfall in temperate deciduous forests?
A
30 to 60 inches.
23
Q
Where are tropical rainforests located?
A
Around the equator.
Hot, humid, rainy.
24
Q
What is the average yearly rainfall in tropical rainforests?
A
80 to 400 inches.
25
What is the *estimated number of species* in tropical rainforests?
Over **15 million species** of plants and animals.
## Footnote
Tropical rainforests have the highest biodiversity in the world.
26
Where are **jungles** located?
Along the *equator*.
27
What is the main **difference** between rainforests and jungles?
* **Rainforests** have a canopy of tall trees preventing light from hitting the ground.
* **Jungles** have smaller, less dense trees.
28
What is the defining characteristic of **taiga/boreal** forests?
*Coldest and driest climate* of the forest biome categories.
29
Where are **taiga forests** primarily located?
*Northern hemisphere* south of the Arctic Circle.
## Footnote
Found in Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, Siberia.
30
What are common *plants* found in taiga forests?
* Mosses
* Lichens
* Mushrooms
31
What is the *largest biome* on Earth?
**Aquatic biomes.**
32
What is the *percentage* of Earth covered by aquatic biomes?
**Almost 75%.**
33
What are the two main categories of *aquatic biomes*?
* Freshwater
* Marine
## Footnote
Freshwater habitats have less than 1% salt in the water, while marine habitats have a high concentration of salt.
34
Where are **tundra biomes** located?
In high latitudes.
## Footnote
Can be found in Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia, and sub-Antarctic islands.
35
What is **permafrost**?
**Permanently frozen ground** located under the soil that is unique to tundra biomes.
36
What are the *two categories* of tundra biomes?
* Arctic tundra
* Alpine tundra
## Footnote
The arctic tundra is found at the North Pole above the tree line, while the alpine tundra is found further away from the poles.
37
What is the main characteristic of the **arctic tundra**?
The barren land with no plants due to harsh temperatures.
38
What are some *animals* found in the arctic tundra?
* Arctic foxes
* Polar bears
* Gray wolves
* Snow geese
* Musk oxen
39
What are **ecological pyramids**?
Conceptual illustrations of how *trophic levels* within an ecosystem are related.
40
What do *ecological pyramids* compare organisms based on?
Their **trophic level**.
## Footnote
Their level within the food chain.
41
What are the *three types* of ecological pyramids?
* Pyramid of Numbers
* Pyramid of Biomass
* Pyramid of Energy
42
What does the **pyramid of numbers** illustrate?
The **number** of organisms per trophic level within an ecosystem.
43
Describe the composition of a typical ecosystem's *pyramid of numbers.*
1. Plants greatly outweigh primary consumer.
2. Fewer secondary consumers.
3. One or two top predators.
44
What does the **pyramid of biomass** compare in ecology?
The mass of organisms per trophic level.
45
Explain the composition of a typical ecosystem's *pyramid of biomass.*
1. Heaviest plants.
2. Less massive primary consumers.
3. Low biomass at high trophic levels.
46
What are some ecosystems with *non-traditional shaped* pyramids of biomass?
Coral reefs - many heavy carnivorous animals and few small producers.
47
What is a **pyramid of energy**?
Depicts the *amount of energy* within each trophic level.
48
What is the pyramid of energy always *shaped* like?
Triangular, due to Lindeman's Ten Percent Law.
## Footnote
Lindeman's law states that 10% of the energy available is transferred between trophic levels.
49
What do **primary producers** consist of?
Plants and other organisms that **produce their own energy**.
50
What is the *role* of primary producers in an ecosystem?
Convert the sun's energy to a usable form of energy that is then available to all other organisms in an ecosystem.
51
What are **primary consumers**?
Organisms that **consume** primary producers.
## Footnote
The second trophic level of the energy pyramid.
52
What do **secondary consumers** consume?
Primary consumers.
## Footnote
The third level of the energy pyramid.
53
What is a **decomposer**?
An organism that *breaks down* dead material and turns it into nutrients that primary producers depend on for growth.
## Footnote
Found throughout the energy pyramid.
54
What are some physiological processes that cause energy loss in ecosystems?
* Breathing
* Digesting food
* Maintaining body temperatures
55
What is **biomagnification**?
The process where toxic chemicals accumulate in organisms and increase in concentration as they move up the food chain.
## Footnote
Examples:
* DDT in birds
* Toxic metals in fish
56
What is the general biomagnification process?
Toxic chemicals are liberated from the environment and absorbed by primary producers in the food chain. As substances move up the chain, their concentration increases.
## Footnote
Primary Producers - concentration x10
Primary consumers - concentration x100
Secondary consumers - concentration x500
Tertiary consumers - concentration x5000
57
How does biomagnification affect the food chain?
Organisms at lower levels contain small amounts of the compound, while organisms at higher levels accumulate large amounts by consuming multiple preys over their lives.
58
What are *examples* of contaminants in the biomagnification process?
* Heavy metals
* Pesticides like DDT
* Microplastics
* Pharmaceutical products
* Polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs)
59
What are the *risks* associated with biomagnification?
* Negative impacts on reproduction and development of organisms.
* Interruption of the food chain.
60
What are some *activities that contribute* to the biomagnification of toxic chemicals?
* Industrial factories emitting toxic substances.
* Mining in the ocean releasing heavy metals.
* Agriculture using pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
61
How can biomagnification compromise *human health*?
By consuming animals and plants that have accumulated toxic chemicals, humans may suffer from diseases like cancer, kidney and liver failure, brain damage, birth defects, and heart diseases as those toxins are transferred to the human.
62
How do *heavy metals and PCBs* affect marine birds?
They cause marine birds to lay eggs with *thinner shells*.
63
What caused the declining vulture population in India?
The prolonged consumption of *diclofenac-contaminated beef*, leading to kidney failure in vultures.
64
How do *PCBs* affect Arctic orcas?
PCBs accumulate in the food chain, leading to reproduction problems in orcas.
65
What happens when hawks consume pesticides?
Due to high pesticide concentration, hawks eventually become ill.
66
What is **DDT**?
Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, **an insecticide** that accumulates in the food chain and causes various harmful effects.
67
What are the harmful effects of **DDT**?
Causes cancer, reproductive system affections, and other symptoms.
68
How is mercury liberated into the environment?
Mining, combustion, and other activities.
69
How does *mercury* affect organisms in the food chain?
Mercury accumulates in organisms, affecting their health, particularly in the central nervous system and kidneys.
## Footnote
Mercury bioaccumulates in fish, when humans consume those fish they risk mercury poisoning.
70
What are the *sources of mercury* introduced to the environment?
* Combustion of fossil products
* Mining industry
* Combustion of solid waste
* Use of fertilizers in agriculture
* Leaking of industrial wastewater to water bodies
71
What are **microplastics** and how are they generated?
Plastic particles of small size (less than 5 mm) generated through the degradation of plastic waste in water bodies.
72
What are the impacts of microplastics on organisms?
* Eating disorders
* Reproductive disorders
* Disturbances in energy metabolism
* Changes in physiology
* Damage to the central nervous system
* Carcinogenic effects
73
What provides energy to all living things on Earth for survival?
The **sun**.
74
Which term describes the process where matter is cycled in an ecosystem?
Cycling
75
Which law of thermodynamics states that *energy cannot be created or destroyed*?
The **first law** of thermodynamics.
76
According to the **second law** of thermodynamics, what happens when energy is transferred?
Some of it is always *lost as heat*.
77
What type of *flow* does energy have in the ecosystem?
**Unidirectional**
## Footnote
Energy that is lost from one organism cannot be reused by another organism.
78
What is the first factor that affects the efficiency of energy transfer and flow?
Efficiency at the primary producer (plants) stage.
79
What is the process where plants use nutrients in the soil to create energy?
**Photosynthesis**
80
What is the term for molecules made of atoms that plants use for photosynthesis?
**Nutrients**
81
How is matter recycled in ecosystems?
* Plants absorb nutrients.
* Animals eat the plants.
* Animals excrete waste.
* Plants and animals die.
* Atoms in their waste and bodies reenter the soil.
* Other plants absorb the atoms continuing the cycle.
82
What can happen if a top predator is removed from an ecosystem?
**Trophic Cascade**
83
Describe **Trophic Cascade**.
There is a change to the food chain which disrupts the balance of an ecosystem due to the loss of a top predator.
84
What would happen if **autotrophs** were *removed* from an ecosystem?
Life would not be sustainable.
## Footnote
Heterotrophs need the autotrophs to convert the suns energy to ATP. Without autotrophs no other organisms would be able to survive.
85
What are the levels found within the heirarchical structure of the biosphere?
1. Biomes
2. Ecosystems
3. Communities
4. Populations
5. Organisms
6. Organ Systems
7. Organs
7. Tissues
8. Cells
9. Molecules
10. Atoms
