Chapter 2 Flashcards
What is life?
life. ..
- uses energy
- increases in size and complexity
- reproduces
- reacts to environment
- regulates and maintains internal environment
biotic
living
abiotic
non-living
matter
anything that has mass and takes up space
elements
simplest building blocks of matter
compounds
two or more different elements held tightly together by chemical bonds between their atoms
-important because they can mix with human compounds that bond with the naturally occurring elements/compounds and disrupt the environment
Quality of Matter
measure of potential for use, concentration, organization
Energy
ability to cause change
ability to do work (movement, growth, reproduction, tissue replacement
-measure in calories
-has no mass and takes up no space
calories
amount of heat necessary to raise one gram or mililitre of water one degree C starting at 15 degrees C
Radiant Energy
from the sun
-used for photosynthesis, warming
Chemical Energy
stored in chemical bonds of molecules
Thermal Energy
motion of particles in matter. Feel the energy of particles in matter as heat. Add thermal energy, particles move faster.
Mechanical Energy
energy possessed by an object due to its motion of position
Electrical Energy
primary source of energy consumption in any modern household
Kinetic Energy
derived from an object’s motion and mass (energy of motion)
Potential Energy
stored energy available for later
Energy Quality
measure of ability to perform useful work
Low Quality energy
diffuse, disperses at low temperatures, difficult to gather
High quality energy
easy to use, but energy disperses quickly
Inefficient Energy use
Humans use high quality energy for tasks in which low quality energy could be used
Economy and technology is…
built around transformation of low-quality energy into high-quality energy
Largest source of Energy
the SUN 42%=heating of atmosphere and earth's crust 34%= reflected back 23%= evaporation 1%=wind/waves 0.023%= photosynthesis
Energy Flow in systems
everything is connected
see diagram in Lecture 5
nitrogen is the most abundant
1st Law of Thermodynamics
energy cannot be created nor destroyed
organisms do not create energy they obtain it from the surrounding environments
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
when energy is transformed from one from to another there is always a decrease in useable energy (dispersed energy often lost as heat at low temperatures)
Entropy
measure of disorder or randomness of a system (higher entropy=increase loss)
Which law is most important for organisms?
2nd law- must continually expend energy to maintain themselves
What do many ecological problems result from?
transformation of society from a renewable to non-renewable
Photosynthesis
CO2+ water+ sunlight–> O2+ CHO +water
Autotroph
organisms that can capture energy to manufacture matter (aka producer/primary producer) create their own food
Types of Autotrophs
Phototrophs- obtain energy from light
Chemoautotrophs- gain energy from chemicals available in the environment
Heterotroph/Consumer
eat other organisms for energy supply
Types of Heterotrophs
Herbivore- eat producers, source of energy for other heterotrophs
Carnivore- eat Primary and Secondary consumers
Decomposers- eat dead organisms/take nutrients and put it back into the earth
Omnivore
Have broad diets
Detrivore
earthworm, helps start the process
@ Trophic Levels
1) Producers
2) Primary consumers (herbivores)
3) Secondary consumers (carnivores)
4) Tertiary Consumers (top carnivores)
Food Web
numerous alternative route for energy flow through ecosystem
Food Chain
implies organization
small food chains have less resistance to change
Resilience
ability of an ecosystem to recover from change
Mid-latitude web vs. Arctic web
Arctic web does not have many species therefore if you take something out there will be drastic change whereas in the mid-latitude web each organism is linked to many different things so it is more resilient to change
Arctic Food Webs
- very short = very efficient
- less entropy (less dispersion)
Biotic pyramids
- lose energy at each trophic level (10%)
- loss of biomass at each level
- 2nd law of thermodynamics applies
- anthropomorphic due to hierarchy
How are these Laws relevant to Humans?
- can’t get something for nothing
- everything has to go somewhere (waste)
- recycling (energy vs. matter) takes energy to recycle
- efficient choices of energy (eat lower on food chain)
Vegetarianism- Pros
- 8-16kg of grain = 1kg of beef
- less energy needed to feed people
- heath and nutrition (fats-cancer&heart disease)
- animal welfare
- enviro impact of meat production
- coast- purchase, storage, cleaning
Vegetarianism Cons
- not all environmental impacts from agriculture are due to meat
- meat production can be ethical
- plant production also generates impacts
- natural to eat animals
- can be unhealthy
- meat and plant production can be compatible
- genetically modified foods
Gross Primary Productivity
rate at which energy is transformed into biomass
biomass
the sum of all living material or a species in an environment
Net primary productivity
NPP=GPP-R(cellular respiration from autotrophs)
- amounts of energy available to heterotrophs
Most productive areas in ecosystems per unit
estuaries
tropical rain forests (lots of biomass)
marshes and swamps (lots of critters)
estuaries
rivers meet oceans
ecotones
two habitat/ecozones coming together
Net Community Productivity
Subtracts respiration from heterotrophs
Increases as community matures to a maximization of NCP
HUmans look to maximize NPP
Problem- want to take it when it has most amount of potential gain
Ecosystem Structure
- Individual Organism
- Population
- Community
- Ecosystem
- Biome
Population
group of individuals of a species
Community
population of several species
Ecosystem
collection of communities interacting in the environment
Biome
many ecosystems together
classified by dominant vegetation and animal communities (climate)
Ecosystem components
Biotic- living
Abiotic- non living- but critical to the system
Soils
come from parent material
parent material
- remains of bedrock or where sediments deposited by water, ice, landslides, wind
Inorganic Elements in Soils
Ca (Calcium)
Fe (Iron)
Mn (Manganese)
P (Phosphorus)
Soil horizons
layers forming in the soil organic matter Dark- rich in humus light coloured Varied
Soil profile
View across these horizons
Fossorial species
live underground, change in soil can change an entire ecosystem
Limiting Factors (abiotic)
Temperature (increase cause change) Water Availability (dominant limiting factor) Nutrient Availability (phosphorous in a water body)
Law of Tolerance
species’ existence (presence, number, and distribution) is determined by level of factors in a tolerable range
(BELL CURVE) zone of intolerance, zone of physiological stress, optimum range
Niche
combination of physical, chemical, and biological conditions for a species growth (soils, minerals)
Habitat
where a species lives
Specialist Species
narrow niche, end up in trouble
Generalist species
very broad niche, many potential food items
Biodiversity types
1) Genetic diversity- enough genetic resilience to bounce back
2) Species Diversity- species richness (count how many species are in an area)
Competitive Exclusion Principle
No two species can occupy the same niche in the same area
Fundamental Nice
potential
REalized niche
reality
Interspecific interactions
between different species
- competition where niche are similar
- resource partitioning (divide resources so you don’t compete against each other)
Predation
death (owl eats mouse)
Parasitism
type of predation involving parasites (may be slow process, not always death)
parasites are smaller than the prey
Mutualism
both species benefit
Commensalism
one plant that grows on another
-One benefits the other no effect
Extinction
no individuals of a species exist on Earth
Extirpation
no individuals of a species left in a certain area
exotic
brought into ecosystem on purpose or by accident
endemic
normally thrives in a specific ecosystem
indicator
used to watch the environment
Keystone species
have disproportionately large effect on enviro relative to its own needs
Impacts of global climate change
- numbers and distribution of species
- functioning of ecosystems (energy and matter flows)
- productivity
- food webs
Implications of climate change
species with largest range of tolerance will increase
-see changes in species ranges, abundance and number
