Carbon Cycle & Interdependence Flashcards
Define these terms: producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, predator, prey,
decomposer, and bioaccumulation.
Producer:
Producers, like plants and algae, make their own food through processes such as photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.
Consumer:
Consumers, like herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, get their energy by eating other organisms.
Herbivore:
Herbivores eat plants for energy. Examples include deer and cows.
Carnivore:
Carnivores eat other animals for energy. Examples include lions and wolves.
Omnivore:
Omnivores eat both plants and animals. Examples include humans and bears.
Predator:
Predators hunt and eat other animals. Examples include eagles and snakes.
Prey:
Prey are animals hunted by predators. Examples include rabbits and mice.
Decomposer Community:
Decomposers, like bacteria and fungi, break down organic matter, recycling nutrients in ecosystems.
Population:
A population is a group of the same species living in an area.
Interdependence:
Interdependence refers to the reliance and interaction between organisms in an ecosystem.
Bioaccumulation:
Bioaccumulation is the buildup of substances in organisms over time, which can harm ecosystems.
Describe how populations are affected by predator prey relationships (e.g. what impact
would there be if Species B numbers decreased)
Impact of Decreased Prey (Species B) Numbers on Predators (Species A):
Food Shortage: Decreased prey availability may lead to a shortage of food for predators.
Decreased Reproduction: Predators may struggle to find enough food for themselves and their offspring, resulting in reduced reproduction rates.
Increased Competition: Competition for remaining prey may intensify among predators.
Emigration: Some predators may leave their habitat in search of food elsewhere.
Impact of Decreased Prey (Species B) Numbers on Prey (Species B) Survival:
Reduced Predation Pressure: With fewer predators, remaining prey may face less predation pressure, allowing their populations to stabilize or grow.
Increased Resource Availability: Reduced competition for resources can improve individual prey survival and reproduction.
Expanded Habitat Range: Some prey species may expand their habitat range or change behavior to avoid predation.
Explain effects of toxins on the environment
Toxins from sources like industrial discharge and agricultural runoff can contaminate soil, water, and air.
Contaminated soil affects plant growth, water pollution harms aquatic life, and air pollution affects human health and ecosystems.
Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification:
Toxins accumulate in organisms’ tissues, especially higher up the food chain, through ingestion and absorption.
This leads to higher toxin concentrations in predators, a process called biomagnification, posing risks to top predators and ecosystem balance.
Health Impacts on Organisms:
Toxins cause health issues like developmental abnormalities and immune suppression.
Chronic exposure weakens immunity and affects fitness, impacting individual and population health.
Disruption of Ecosystem Functioning:
Toxins alter nutrient cycles, reduce biodiversity, and impair ecosystem services like water purification.
Key species are harmed, causing cascading effects and reducing ecosystem resilience to disturbances.
Long-Term Environmental Damage:
Persistent toxins persist in the environment, causing long-term harm to ecosystems and future generations.
Cleaning up contaminated sites requires costly and challenging efforts, including long-term monitoring and remediation.
Define bioaccumulation and give an example of this
Bioaccumulation is the gradual buildup of substances, like pollutants or toxins, in the tissues of organisms over time. For example, mercury in water transforms into methylmercury, accumulating in fish tissues. As smaller fish absorb it, larger predators consume them, accumulating even higher levels. This illustrates how pollutants accumulate and pose risks to organisms along the food chain.
- Describe the composition of the atmosphere
Nitrogen (N2):
It’s the most abundant gas in the atmosphere, making up about 78%.
Essential for proteins and nucleic acids, crucial for life’s growth and development.
Oxygen (O2):
Second most abundant gas, about 21%.
Vital for respiration in most organisms, supporting cellular metabolism and energy production.
Argon (Ar):
Makes up about 0.93%.
Chemically inert, stabilizes the atmosphere by not reacting with other substances.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2):
Trace gas, about 0.04%.
Key in Earth’s carbon cycle, acting as a greenhouse gas regulating temperature and climate.
Identify which gases are greenhouse gases
Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), ozone (O3), and water vapor (H2O).
- Draw and label the carbon cycle
Carbon dioxide (CO2) enters from respiration, combustion, and volcanic eruptions.
Photosynthesis:
Plants absorb CO2 during photosynthesis, producing organic compounds and oxygen.
Consumers:
Animals consume plants, transferring carbon compounds through the food chain.
Respiration:
Organisms release CO2 during cellular respiration.
Decomposition:
Bacteria and fungi decompose dead organisms, releasing CO2.
Ocean Carbon Storage:
CO2 dissolves in oceans, stored as dissolved inorganic carbon.
Marine Organisms:
Phytoplankton and shell-forming organisms use dissolved carbon.
Ocean Carbon Sink:
Some carbon is stored in the deep ocean, resurfacing over time.
Geological Carbon Storage:
Carbon stored as fossil fuels and carbonate rocks.
Volcanic Activity:
Carbon is released through volcanic eruptions, completing the cycle.
Explain how humans have impacted the carbon cycle
Combustion of fossil fuels releases CO2 into the atmosphere, intensifying the greenhouse effect and global warming.
Deforestation:
Removal of carbon-storing forests reduces carbon sequestration capacity, elevating atmospheric CO2 levels.
Agricultural Practices:
Livestock farming and rice cultivation emit methane and nitrous oxide, potent greenhouse gases.
Industrial Processes:
Cement, chemical, and metal industries release CO2 and other greenhouse gases, adding to emissions.
Waste Management:
Improper waste disposal generates methane and CO2, especially in landfills.
Land Use Practices and Urbanization:
Urban development and land use changes disrupt carbon storage, leading to habitat loss and increased emissions.
Explain what causes global warming
Atmosphere contains gases like CO2, CH4, N2O, and H2O, trapping heat through infrared radiation.
Acts like a blanket, maintaining Earth’s temperature for life.
Enhanced Greenhouse Effect:
Human activities increase greenhouse gas levels, primarily from fossil fuel burning, deforestation, and agriculture.
More gases trap more heat, leading to rising global temperatures.
Increased Heat Trapping:
Rising greenhouse gas levels trap more heat, causing global warming.
Results in rising sea levels, melting ice, changing weather patterns, and more extreme events.
Feedback Loops:
Warming triggers self-reinforcing cycles like ice-albedo feedback and methane release from thawing permafrost.
Reduction of carbon sinks exacerbates climate change impacts.
List the effects of global warming
Rising Temperatures:
- Global warming, increased average surface temperatures, frequent and severe heatwaves, health risks, cities.
Melting Ice and Rising Sea Levels:
- Higher temperatures, accelerate ice melt, sea levels, coastal communities, islands, ecosystems, flooding, erosion.
Changes in Precipitation Patterns:
- Global warming, alters rainfall intensity, distribution, regions, droughts, floods, water scarcity, disasters.
- Rising temperatures, disrupt habitats, species distributions, biodiversity, ecosystem services, survival.
Extreme Weather Events:
- Global warming, intensity, frequency, extreme events, hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, heatwaves, damage, displacement.
Health Risks:
- Global warming, worsens heat-related illnesses, air and water pollution, diseases spread by vectors, respiratory, waterborne, vector-borne diseases.
