biology unit 1 chapters 1,3,4,5, and 6 Flashcards
1
Q
study of the interactions of organisms and their environment
A
ecology
2
Q
thin layer of life around earth
A
biosphere
3
Q
one type of living thing, can breed and produce viable young
A
species
4
Q
a single living thing
A
organism
5
Q
all the members of one species in a defined area
A
population
6
Q
all the different species in a given area
A
community
7
Q
all the living and non-living things in an area
A
ecosystem
8
Q
a major type of area with similar characteristic life
A
biome
9
Q
living factors
A
biotic
10
Q
nonliving factors
A
abiotic
11
Q
producer
A
autotroph
12
Q
consumer
A
heterotroph
13
Q
What two processes do producers use to produce food?
A
- photosynthesis - from light
2. chemosynthesis - from chemicals
14
Q
What is the source of energy for most life on earth?
A
sunlight
15
Q
Give one place chemosynthesis occurs.
A
deep ocean (abyss)
16
Q
How does energy move through an ecosystem?
A
Energy flows through food chains and food webs
from producer to consumers and ending with decomposers.
17
Q
How much energy is passed on to each successive step in a food chain?
A
10%
18
Q
What happens to the energy that is not passed on to the next step in a food chain?
A
used by the organism or lost as heat to the environment
19
Q
drifting organisms in water - Name and describe the 2 types.
A
plankton
- phytoplankton - plant-like
- zooplankton - animal-like
20
Q
a feeding level in a food chain
A
trophic level
21
Q
Name and describe the trophic levels.
A
1st trophic level - producer - plants
2nd trophic level - primary consumer - herbivore
3rd trophic level - secondary consumer - carnivore
4th trophic level tertiary consumer - carnivore
5th trophic level - quaternary consumer - carnivore
22
Q
What acts on every step of the food chain to recycle the nutrients?
A
decomposers
23
Q
interconnected food chains in an area
A
food web
24
Q
What shape is good for representing the numbers of the various trophic levels in a food web? Explain.
A
pyramid - large numbers of producers at the bottom
- small numbers of top consumers
25
Name the three types of pyramids, and say what they measure.
1. energy - calories
2. biomass - grams
3. numbers - counts
26
the total amount of living tissue
biomass
27
the continued movement of materials through living things and the earth
biogeochemical cycles
28
What is the difference between the movement of nutrients and the movement of energy in ecosystems?
energy flows - constantly need more
| nutrients recycle - same matter is used over and over
29
the movement of standing water into the air
evaporation
30
when water vapor collects into clouds
condensation
31
when condensed water vapor falls back to earth as rain, snow...
precipitation
32
when water percolates through the ground to become groundwater
infiltration
33
water flowing downhill along the earth's surface
runoff
34
an underground body of water
aquifer
35
water loss through plant leaves
transpiration
36
a dead zone in the ocean with no oxygen
hypoxic zone
37
another name for the water cycle
hydrologic cycle
38
What is the energy for the water cycle?
the sun causes evaporation and wind
39
What happens to runoff when there are fewer plants in an area? What does increased runoff do to erosion?
runoff moves faster and can cause more erosion - carry more sediment
40
How do plants get carbon?
from the atmosphere during photosynthesis
41
How do animals get carbon?
by eating
42
What are 3 natural processes that release CO2 into the atmosphere?
1. respiration
2. combustion
3. volcanoes
43
What are 2 natural processes that remove CO2 from the atmosphere?
1. photosynthesis
| 2. dissolving into the ocean
44
What are 2 natural processes that “lock up” carbon in the ground?
1. formation of fossil fuels
| 2. formation of calcium carbonate rock - limestone
45
What does excess carbon dioxide to to the atmosphere?
traps heat - global warming
46
Where is most nitrogen?
atmosphere - N2 gas
47
What process converts nitrogen gas into usable nitrogen compounds that fertilize soil?
nitrogen fixation
48
What group of plants live mutualistically with bacteria that fix nitrogen? Give examples.
legumes - peas, peanuts, soybeans
49
the process where bacteria convert nitrogen compounds into nitrogen gas and release it back to the air
denitrification
50
What makes the phosphorus cycle unique from the other cycles?
Phosphorus is not found in the atmosphere.
51
What important compounds need nitrogen?
proteins, ATP and nucleic acids (DNA)
52
What important compound needs phosphorus?
ATP and nucleic acids (DNA)
53
The long-term phosphorus cycle is really what other cycle?
rock cycle - erosion - sedimentation and uplift
54
a factor when in short supply can slow the growth of an organism
limiting nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus are common limiting nutrients)
55
How are nitrogen and phosphorus typically added to soil to make it more fertile?
fertilizer
56
What happens when nitrogen and phosphorus runoff into waterways?
eutrophication causes algal blooms which can use up all the oxygen making the water stagnant (hypoxic)
57
What is the difference between weather and climate?
weather - short-term, day to day
| climate - long-term weather conditions
58
What are the major factors involved in determining an area's climate?
1. sunlight - latitude
2. temperature - carried by wind and water from warm to cold
3. precipitation
59
What are the Earth's 3 main climate zones?
1. tropical - around equator - gets the most direct sunlight
2. temperate - on either side of tropical - has seasons
3. polar - at extreme ends - least direct light
60
the phenomenon where gases like CO2 trap heat and keep the earth warm
greenhouse effect
61
What are two ways heat is transported through the biosphere? How does heat move?
1. wind patterns
2. water currents
Heat moves from warm to cold.
62
where an organism lives
habitat
63
the ideal conditions an organism likes for survival
optimum conditions
64
the area an organism can survive in
range of tolerance
65
the area an organism defends
territory
66
the role an organism plays in its community
niche
67
No two organisms can have the exact same what? Why?
niche - competitive exclusion - they will compete for resources, and one will be more successful than the other
68
the things organisms need to survive and compete for
resources
69
when one organism hunts and kills another - What are they called?
predation - predator and prey
70
a species so important to a community that when it dies off, the entire community is threatened - Give an example.
keystone species - sea otters in a kelp forest
71
any relationship in which two organisms live closely together
symbiosis
72
Name and explain the three main types of symbiosis.
1. mutualism - both benefit
2. parasitism - one benefits, and the other is unaffected
3. commensalism - one benefits, and the other is unaffected
73
Give 3 examples of mutualism.
1. bee and flower
2. lichen
3. plant roots and fungus
4. legumes and nitrogen fixing bacteria
5. sea anemone and clownfish
74
Give 3 examples of parasitism.
1. flea
2. tick
3. tapeworm
4. leech
75
What do we call the organism a parasite lives in or on?
host
76
Give 2 examples of commensalism.
1. barnacle on a whale
2. pilot fish on a whale
3. remora and whale
4. lion and vulture
77
a series of changes that occurs in an ecosystem as new organisms move into the area
ecological succession
78
Name and describe the two types of ecological succession.
1. primary succession - begins on bare rock
| 2. secondary succession - begins with some soil after a natural disaster
79
What do we call the first organisms to move into an area?
pioneer organisms
80
What do we call the mature, stable community created by succession?
climax community
81
Give 2 examples of pioneer organisms.
1. lichen
| 2. moss
82
Why is a lichen such a good pioneer?
It can live on bare rock because the fungus dissolves the rock to get nutrients and make soil, and the alga can do photosynthesis while the fungus protects it from drying out
83
Which type of succession happens faster, and why?
secondary - already some soil in place
84
What was DDT used for?
kill insects
85
What property of DDT makes it hazardous over time?
It is subject to biological magnification where it increases through the food chain.
86
Sulfur and nitrogen compounds in the air mix with water to form what?
acid rain
87
gray, brown haze over cities
smog
88
How do introduced or alien species threaten biodiversity?
They have no natural predators, so they crowd out native species and overpopulate.
89
a musing easure of our impact on the biosphere
ecological footprint
90
How does raising cattle and growing rice contribute to air pollution?
releasing the greenhouse gas methane in large quantities
91
non-renewable resources
coal, oil, natural gas
92
renewable resources
sunlight, water, fast-growing plants
93
using resources in a way that doesn't have long-term environmental harm while providing for human needs
sustainability
94
What does a healthy ecosystem provide us with?
breathable air, food, water
95
What caused the 1930's dust bowl?
poor farming techniques
96
poor farming, overgrazing and seasonal drought cause an area to not support plants
desertification
97
the scientific study of population
demography
98
The demographic transition changes high birth rates and high death rates to what?
low birth rates and low death rates
99
After what event did the human population begin experiencing exponential growth?
Industrial Revolution
100
What is a benefit of a monoculture to agriculture?
easier to farm and grow a lot of food
101
Is spraying for mosquitoes a density-dependent or density-independent limiting factor?
density-independent
102
Give 3 examples of density-dependent limiting factors.
crowding, competition for resources, disease
103
On what type of population do density-dependent factors have the biggest effect?
large and dense
104
Give 3 examples of density-independent limiting factors.
earthquakes, fire, flood, deforestation
105
What do we call the factors that control the size of a population?
limiting factors
106
the maximum number of individuals an ecosystem can support
carrying capacity
107
What happens to a population that grows higher than its carrying capacity?
death rate may rise
108
The major limiting factor in a desert is the availability of
water
109
What is the exponential phase?
period of rapid growth
110
What happens to a population as resources become less available?
reaches carrying capacity - growth slows
111
movement of individuals in a population - Name and describe the 2 kinds.
migration
1. immigration - moving in
2. emigration - moving out
112
the depth of water through which light penetrates
photic
113
the region of water without light
aphotic
114
Why is there less light in the aphotic zone?
phytoplankton need light for photosynthesis, and zooplankton eat phytoplankton
115
the bottom of a body of water
benthic zone
116
a mixture of fresh and salt water
estuary
117
Why are wetlands so important?
1. purify water
2. prevent flooding
3. recharge aquifers
4. place where many living things are born
118
how many individuals are in a given area
population density
119
the area inhabited by a population
range
120
1. eat meat
2. eat plants
3. eat plants and meat
4. eat dead organisms
1. carnivore
2. herbivore
3. omnivore
4. scavenger
121
an animal that hunts and kills another for food
| the hunted animal
predator - prey
122
How can several organisms live in the same habitat?
different niches
