Chapter 12

Question 1

Ecosystem Ecology

Answer 1

The study of energy flow and the cycling of chemicals among the various biotic and abiotic components in an ecosystem.

Question 2

Energy

Answer 2

The ability to do work.

Defined by the laws of thermodynamics.

Question 3

First law of Thermodynamics

Answer 3

Energy can be changed from one form to another, but cannot be created nor destroyed. Total energy of a system remains constant.

Question 4

Second law of Thermodynamics

Answer 4

In all energy conversions, the potential energy of the final state will always be less than the potential energy of the initial state.
You can’t break even.
There is always an increase in entropy (disorder) when energy is transferred.

Question 5

Trophic Structure

Answer 5

The different feeding relationships within an ecosystem which determine the route of energy flow and the pattern of chemical cycling.

Trophic level of an organism is its position in a food web.

Question 6

Producers

Answer 6

Reduce carbon to get food. They are autotrophs.

Question 7

Consumers

Answer 7

They eat reduced carbon in the form of living organisms. They are heterotrophs.

Question 8

Decomposers

Answer 8

They eat reduced carbon in the form of dead organisms. They are hetertrophs.

Question 9

Food Web

Answer 9

Demonstrates feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
It includes a feeding hierarchy with trophic levels.
Energy is lost each time you go up a level due to the 2nd law of Thermodynamics.

Question 10

Biomagnification

Answer 10

Top predators in a food web represent an accumulation of material from many lower animals.
If there are molecules in the environment that are not readily broker down or metabolized, they can reach high concentrations in top predators through biomagnification.

Question 11

Nutrient Cycles

Answer 11

AKA Biogeochemical cycles.

Pathway by which an element moves through biology and the environment.

Question 12

Lumpers vs Splitters

Answer 12

Lumpers: have a holistic view and define groups broadly.

Splitters: precise and create new categories to further subdivide groups.

Question 13

Terrestrial Biomes

Answer 13

Tropical and Subtropical:
-Moist broadleaf forests
-Dry broadleaf forests
-Coniferous forests
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests.
Tropical and subtropical:
-Grasslands
-Savannas, and shrublands
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Flooded grasslands and savannas
Montane grasslands and shrublands
Tundra
Mediterranean:
-Forests (we live here)
-Woodlands
-Scrub Sclerophyll forests
-Mangroves

Question 14

Deserts and Xeric Shrublands

Answer 14

Xeric means of characterized by, or adapted to an extremely dry habitat.
Varies by temperature.

Created by man in some regions through the process of desertification.

Question 15

Tropical and Subtropical moist broadleaf forests

Answer 15

Dominated by semi-evergreen and evergreen deciduous tree species.
High species diversity-half the world’s terrestrial species live here.

Question 16

Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests

Answer 16

Characterized by moderate temperatures but long dry seasons.
Dominated by deciduous trees, many that lose their leaves during the dry season.
Loss of leaves in the canopy allows the under canopy and shrub layers to receive more light.
Have less diversity than rainforests.
Have higher mammalian biomass than rainforests.

Question 17

Tropical and subtropical Coniferous Forests

Answer 17

Characterized by low rainfall and moderate variability in temperature.
Populated by diverse groups of conifers whose needles are adapted to low rainfall and variable temperatures.
Thick canopy often leaves only ferns and fungi capable of making a living on the ground.

Question 18

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

Answer 18

Characterized by variable temperatures and variable rainfall.
Includes conifers in the canopy layer.

Question 19

Temperate Coniferous Forest

Answer 19

Characterized by warm summers and cool winters and enough rainfall to sustain a forest.
Dominated by Evergreen conifers.
Have highest levels of biomass of any terrestrial biome.
Include temperate rainforests.

Question 20

Boreal forests/ Taiga

Answer 20

Characterized by low rainfall and cold temperatures.
Located in Northern latitudes.
Dominated by conifers.
World’s largest land of biome.
Still has relatively undisturbed large animal migrations.
Under threat due to climate change

Question 21

Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

Answer 21

Characterized by low rainfall (not enough to sustain a forest) and moderate to warm temperatures.
Dominated by grasses with some trees.
Home to large mammals.
Soon to only exist in natural parks.

Question 22

Flooded grasslands and savannas

Answer 22

AKA Swamps.
Located tropically or sub-tropically and flooded seasonally or year round.
High avian diversity with both resident and migratory birds.

Question 23

Montane grasslands and shrublands

Answer 23

Located at high altitude (alpine or subalpine) and above or below the treeline.
Plants adapted to cool temperatures and high light.

Question 24

Tundra

Answer 24

Treeless cold climate
Includes:
-Artic: polar desert
-Antarctic: Polar desert
-Alpine: Above the treeline

Dwarf vegetation and lichens.

Question 25

Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub

Answer 25

AKA Chaparral, maquis etc
Characterized by dry summers and rainy winters.
Most plants are fire adapted.
Highly distinctive fauna with many endemic plants.
Only 5 places in the world are a part of this biome.

Question 26

Mangroves

Answer 26

Waterlogged salty coastal soils in teh tropics and subtropics are hoe to a forest of various mangrove trees.
Plants uniquely adapted to temporally flooded, brackish, low oxygen conditions.
Protect against storms and tsunamis.

Question 27

Aquatic Biomes

Answer 27

• Lakes
• Wetlands
• Streams and Rivers
• Littoral Zone
• Pelagic Zone
• Coral Reef
• Benthic Zone

Question 28

Lakes

Answer 28

Standing body of water that can be large or small.
Surrounded by land and localized in a basin.
Weak tidal forces.
More temporary than an ocean in geological time scales.
The Caspian Sea is a lake.
Sensitive to pollution.

Question 29

Wetlands

Answer 29

AKA Marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens
A habitat that inundated with water at least some of the time and that supports plants adapted to water-saturated soil.
Includes mangroves and flooded grasslands and savannas.

Question 30

Streams and Rivers

Answer 30

Characterized by flowing water.
Upland headwaters tend to be faster, cooler, clearer, and more turbulent while lowland downstream water tend to be slower, warmer, turbid, and less turbulent.

Question 31

Littoral Zone

Answer 31

Contains both the intertidal zone and estuary zones.

Question 32

Intertidal Zone

Answer 32

Flooded with water twice a day.
Has sub-zones depending on amount of flooding. These sub-zones are compressed into narrow bands.
Biologically productive despite harsh conditions.

Question 33

Estuaries

Answer 33

Estuary is where a freshwater stream or river merges with the ocean.
It’s a transition zone with the temporal variation in salinity and temperature.
Very productive, but very impacted.

Question 34

Coral Reef

Answer 34

A warm water tropical ecosystem dominated by the hard skeletal structure secreted by corals. Some also exist in cold and/or deep waters.
Disappearing faster than rainforests and could be gone in 100 years.

Question 35

Pelagic Zone

Answer 35

AKA The water column
The open water component of aquatic biomes.
It’s not near the shore or the bottom.
Primary producers are phytoplankton.

Question 36

Benthic Zone

Answer 36

The bottom surface of any aquatic environment.
Begins at the shoreline and extends down the continental shelf.
The deeper regions are dark and nutrients come from detritus raining down from above or thermal vents from below.