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Biosphere at Risk > Chapter 2 > Flashcards

Chapter 2 Flashcards

1
Q

System

A

exchange of energy, matter, information; has inputs and outputs

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2
Q

Lithosphere

A

planet’s uppermost layer; the rock and sediment beneath our feet

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3
Q

Hydrosphere

A

all water, salt or fresh; liquid, ice, vapor in surface or underground and in the atmosphere

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4
Q

Biosphere

A

all the planet’s organisms and the abiotic portions of the environment with which they interact

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5
Q

System Feedback Loops

A

circular process; system’s output can serve as input for the same system

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6
Q

Negative Feedback Loop

A

exert a stabilizing influence on systems; inputs and outputs neutralize one another’s effects; too much of something so you want to dampen that effect; i.e. body temp sweat glands and shivering; thermostat in room; economic recession; predator/prey relationships; common in nature

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7
Q

Positive Feedback Loop

A

has a destabilizing effect; increased output leads to increased input, leading to further increased output; i.e. exponential growth in a population= more offspring; proliferation of cancer cells; melting of sea ice/glaciers; having a baby (contractions); fairly rare in nature but common in human altered systems

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8
Q

Dynamic Equilibrium

A

processes that move in opposite directions at equivalent rates so their effects balance out, stabilized by negative feedback; no net effect; i.e homeostasis

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9
Q

Homeostasis

A

internal stable conditions

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10
Q

Watershed

A

the land area that funnels water to a bay or lake through rivers

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11
Q

Hypoxia

A

low oxygen; phytoplankton die, settle to the bottom, decomposed by bacteria and oxygen depleted; creates dead zones

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12
Q

Dead zones

A

deprived of oxygen; grasses, oysters & other immobile organisms perish; mobile organisms flee; caused by excessive nutrient pollution from human activites

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13
Q

Airshed

A

the geographic area that produces air pollutants that are likely to end up in the waterway

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14
Q

Eutrophication

A

nutrient overenrichment, blooms of algae, increased production of organic matter and subsequent ecosystem degradation

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15
Q

Law of Conservation of matter

A

matter may be transformed from type of substance to another but it can’t be created or destroyed; can’t wish away toxic materials or nuclear waste

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16
Q

Element

A

chemical substance that cannot be broken down; 98 occur in nature and about 20 are created in the lab

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17
Q

Isotopes

A

atoms with differing numbers of neutrons; 12C or 14C

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18
Q

Atoms

A

smallest unit that maintains the chemical properties of an element

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19
Q

Protons

A

positively charged particles in the atom’s nucleus; element’s atomic number

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20
Q

Neutrons

A

particles with no charge in the nucleus

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21
Q

Electrons

A

negatively charged particles surrounding the nucleus that balance the positively charged particles

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22
Q

Ions

A

electrically charged atoms or combinations of atoms; happens when atoms gain or lose electrons; i.e. Ca2+

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23
Q

Molecules

A

Combinations of 2+ atoms because attractions between electrons

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24
Q

Compounds

A

a molecule composed of atoms of 2+ different elements; i.e. water H2O

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25
Q

Ionic bond

A

compounds made up of ions of different charges bind together; i.e. table salt NaCl

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26
Q

Covalent bond

A

share electrons; atoms that lack electrical charge so they combine

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27
Q

Hydrogen bond

A

weak chemical bond in which a hydrogen bond (proton) is attracted to an electronegative atom especially nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine

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28
Q

Solutions

A

liquid homogeneous mixture of 2+ substances; solute uniformly distributed in solvent; elements, molecules, and compounds can come together w/o chemically bonding

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29
Q

pH scale

A

measures how acidic or basic; log scale; difference of base 10; neutral=7

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30
Q

Acids

A

solutions where the H+ concentrations is greater

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31
Q

Basic

A

alkaline; solutions where the OH- concentration is greater

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32
Q

Organic Compounds

A

consist of carbon atoms and usually hydrogen atoms joined by covalent bonds

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33
Q

Inorganic Compounds

A

lack carbon-carbon bonds

34
Q

Hydrocarbon

A

consists only of carbon and hydrogen atoms bonded; i.e fossil fuels

35
Q

Macromolecules

A

very large molecule (lots of atoms) such as proteins, lipids, etc

36
Q

Carbohydrates

A

made up of chemically bonded simple sugars; i.e starch, glucose

37
Q

Proteins

A

made up of long chains of organic molecules called amino acids; enzymes catalyze reactions; proteins in skin, hair, muscles and tendons

38
Q

Nucleic Acids

A

DNA and RNA; composed of a series of nucleotides that have a sugar molecule, phosphate group and a nitrogenous base; directs the production of proteins and encodes genetic information

39
Q

Lipids

A

fats, oils, phospholipids, waxes, steroids; do not dissolve in water (hydrophobic)

40
Q

Energy

A

intangible phenomenon that can change position, physical composition or temp of matter; measure indirectly

41
Q

Potential energy

A

the energy of position; i.e. dam preventing water from moving downstream builds potential energy

42
Q

Kinetic enegy

A

the energy of motion; i.e. dam gates open and potential energy is converted to kinetic; energy is released when it is converted

43
Q

First law of Thermodynamics

A

energy can change from one form to another but it cannot be created or destroyed; total energy in the universe is constant and conserved

44
Q

Second law of Thermodynamics

A

the nature of energy tends to change from a more ordered state to a less ordered state and entropy increases (increasing disorder)

45
Q

Light

A

form of energy that makes it possible to see things; light reactions water is converted to oxygen in the presence of sunlight creating ATP

46
Q

Photosynthesis

A

autotrophs produce their own food this way; powered by sunlight chemical reactions convert CO2 and water into sugar (glucose); 6CO2+6H2O–>C6H12O6+6O2

47
Q

Autotrophs

A

primary producers; only organisms that photosynthesize; use sun’s radiation to produce their own food; includes green plants, algae, cyanobacteria

48
Q

Cellular Respiration

A

almost every organism does this to produce ATP (including plants); only animals respirate; cell uses chemical reactivity of oxygen to split glucose into water and CO2 and releases chemical energy that can be used to form chemical bonds or do other tasks; C6H12O6+6O2–>6CO2+6H2O+energy

49
Q

Heterotrophs

A

consumers; organisms that gain their energy by feeding on the tissues of other organisms; includes most animals

50
Q

Ecosystems

A

all organisms and nonliving entities occur and interact in a particular area at the same time

51
Q

Energy flow

A

flows in one direction in a system, from the sun; released as heat

52
Q

Matter cycling

A

matter is recycled between living and nonliving parts of the environment; nutrients move among trophic levels and detritus

53
Q

Primary Productivity

A

autotrophs convert solar energy to the energy of chemical bonds in sugars during photosynthesis; energy conversion to biomass

54
Q

Gross Primary Productivity

A

the total amount of chemical energy produced by autotrophs

55
Q

Net Primary Production

A

NPP always limits the number of consumers; the energy or biomass that remains in an ecosystem after autotrophs have metabolized enough for their own maintenance thru cellular respiration; NPP is the energy or biomass available for consumption; NPP=GPP-cellular respiration

56
Q

Productivity

A

the rate at which autotrophs convert energy to biomass

57
Q

High Productivity Ecosystems

A

freshwater wetlands, tropical forests, coral reefs and algal beds; higher temp/ sun exposure = more productive

58
Q

Low Productivity Ecosystems

A

deserts, tundra, open ocean (very dry); water is a limiting factor

59
Q

Determinates of NPP

A
  • Terrestrial= precip and temp

- Aquatic= nutrients, light and temp

60
Q

Landscape Ecology

A

scientists study how landscape structure affects the abundance, distribution and interaction of organisms; level above ecosystems; very broad

61
Q

Patches

A

spatial area within a landscape; may consist of habitat for a particular organism. or communities or ecosystems

62
Q

Mosaic

A

an array of patches

63
Q

Ecotone

A

a transitional zone where ecosystems meet; creates unique dynamics/ diversity of species

64
Q

Remote Sensing

A

scanning of the Earth by satellite or high-flying aircraft; satellite imaging; MODIS

65
Q

GIS

A

computer software that takes multiple types of data (geology, human development, vegetation, hydrology) and overlays it on a common set of geographic coordinates

66
Q

Ecological Modeling

A

always simplifications of reality; can be wrong b/c no model can capture complexity of the real world; aim to explain and predict how ecological systems function; i.e. used to understand flow of nutrients into Chesapeake bay and predicting responses of oysters

67
Q

Ecosystem Services

A

essential service an ecosystem provides that supports life and makes economic activity possible;

  • provisioning: drinking water, timber, natural gas;
  • regulating: decomposition, erosion and flood control, climate regulation
  • cultural: recreation, spiritual
  • supporting: nutrient cycling, photosynthesis, water cycle
68
Q

Biogeochemical cycles

A

circulate elements (nutrients) or molecules thru the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere; main components are reservoirs and fluxes

69
Q

Flux

A

the rate at which materials move between reservoirs; can change over time

70
Q

Reservoir

A

Pool

71
Q

Sink

A

when a reservoir accepts more materials than it releases; storage

72
Q

Source

A

when a reservoir releases more materials than it accepts

73
Q

Hydrological Cycle

A

water cycle

  • Reservoirs: oceans, ice caps/ glaciers/snowfields, groundwater, atmosphere
  • Fluxes: evaporation (esp from ocean) and precipitation
  • Human impacts: humans don’t really effect water cycle but pollution and climate change increased temp
74
Q

Evaporation

A

the conversion of a liquid to gaseous form

75
Q

Transpiration

A

release of water vapor by plants through their leaves; water movement through plants

76
Q

Precipitation

A

water vapor condenses and falls as rain or snow; used by plants and animals, flows as runoff into lakes, etc

77
Q

Aquifer

A

underground reservoir

78
Q

Water table

A

the uppermost level of groundwater held in an aquifer

79
Q

Carbon Cycle

A
  • Reservoirs: sedimentary rock (biggest but not key); important ones are fossil fuels, ocean and atmosphere
  • Fluxes: fossil fuel combustion, ocean-atmosphere exchange; more flux into atm than sink/ warmer ocean releases more gases
  • Human impacts: burning fossil fuels and cutting down trees
80
Q

Nitrogen Cycle

A
  • Reservoirs: atmosphere, oceans (inorganic N used by phytoplankton), soil organic matter
  • Fluxes: lightning, natural biological fixation, fixation by crops and fertilizer production
  • Human impacts: eutrophication creates hypoxia driven by excess nitrogen in soils and runoff, fertilizer
81
Q

Phosphorous cycle

A
  • Reservoirs: sediment and sedimentary rock and oceans
  • Fluxes: mining and runoff
  • Human Impacts: mining, plant fertilizers/runoff and detergents
  • big biological component of phophorous=ATP and phospholipids

Biosphere at Risk (4 decks)

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