Chapter 3 Flashcards
Ecozone
classification system that defines different parts of the environment with similar geography, vegetation, and animal life
Tundra and Arctic
precipitation= low
climate= dry
-arctic willow, polar bear, muscox (endemic to arctic)
Boreal (Taiga)
- forrest (pine, white spruce, black spruce, white birch, aspen)
- dominated by wildfire
- black bears , red fox
- lots of lakes and wetlands
Temperate Rain Forest
- highest biodiversity in Canada
- douglas fir
- spotted owl, sitka, black tailed deer
- heavily influenced by precipitation caused by Pacific Ocean
- dynamic interface between ocean, rivers, and land
- salmon spawning brings nutrients back to the land
Montane Cordillera
- mountain ranges
- temperature changes
- high snow pack
- mountain species of animals (mountain goat, big horned sheep, marmots)
pikas
indicators of climate change found on prairies and mountains
Prairie
good bison habitat
- height of grass determines what species will be there
- badger, bison, hawk
Mixed grass
where 2 ecosystems come together
Mixed Wood Plaines
- mix of spruce and aspen
- high biodiversity
- 2 ecosystems come together
Atlantic Maritime
hardwood maple, beach, oak,
- salamanders, turtles,
- different from west coast
Mountains
show ecosystem changes through latitude due to change in temperature
going up is like driving from south to north
Figure 3-17
Chart FOUND IN LECTURE 7
Marine Ecosystem
oceans, Pacific, arctic, atlantic
-costal area, open sea
deep ocean = low biodiversity
estuaries= high biodiversity
Freshwater Ecosystem
rivers, streams, wetlands, lakes,
- depends on depth (due to how much light for photosynthesis)
Implications
understanding helps management and protection
- natural vs. human induced change
- change= complex over space and time
- presents major management challenges
Scientific Method
1) Observe
2) Develop Hypothesis
3) Design controlled experiment
4) Collect and Record Data
5) Interpret Data
6) Conclusion
7) Compare conclusion with hypothesis
8) Accept hypothesis
9) Reject hypothesis
Hypothesis Testing
- Question derived from observations and literature
- hypothesis generated to explain phenomenon
Experiments or observations to disprove the hypothesis - If can’t disprove than incorporate into theory
Ecological Succession
- slow adaptive process
- gradual replacement of one assemblage of species by another, as conditions change over time
- use science to try and understand
- competition between species
- fire= natural process
Primary Succession
- colonization and subsequent occupancy of a previously unvegetated surface
- primary colonizers
- glacier recedes back
Primary Colonizer
- plant growth
- mosses or lichen (fungi and algae)
- photosynthetic structures
Common Successional Pattern
Lichen to moss to soils to herbaceous plants to shrubs to trees
Seral Stage
each step
Climax Community
final potential of ecosystem
-most productive stage
Cyclic succession
- ecosystem gets to a certain level and then fire, flood, wind, or colcano brings it back to an earlier sucession stage
Secondary Succession
have some soil and there is still stuff to work with
Eutrophication
- natural aging of aquatic systems
- increase in nutrient flows over time and increased plant grouwth and increased organic material
- decreased O2
- highly productive
Immature Ecosystem
- high net productivity
- low species diversity
- open nutrient cycles
- more generalists
- liner food chains
- poor nutrient conservation
- low stability
Mature Ecostyems
- low net productivity
- high species diversity (depends of ecosystem)
- closed nutrient cycles
- more specialists
- food web
- good nutrient conservation
- higher stability
Ecosystem homeostasis
- constant characteristics (n balance)
- internal processes adjust for changes in external conditions (dynamic equilibrium)
Inertia
ability of an ecosystem to withstand change
Resilience
ability to recover to the original state following disturbances
- vegetation starts to come back
- tundra= less resilience
Positive Feedback Loop
- increases change in a positive direction
- exacerbates and makes it worse
- dangerous
ex) global warming (starts with increase temperature)
ex) bear and human contact
Negative Feedback loop
moderates the change
ex) animal signs decrease number of animal fatalities on the road
level of biodiversity
1) genetic
2) species
3) ecosystem
biodiversity
number of species, amount of genetic variation, and number of community types in an area
Biodiversity in Canada
- species numbers decline from tropics to poles
- temperature is a major factor (solar radiation)
Biotic Potential
max rate at which a species may increase if there is no enviro resistance
Population Ecology
study of dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the enviro
Population
group of inter-bdreeding organisms of the same species
Population Density
population per area
Population dynamics
changes in population (births - deaths + immigration - emigration)
Density dependent
as population density increases, rate of growth decreases
-animals may also not breed or not produce offspring
delayed implantation
in enviro is too populated fertilized egg gets discharged
Density independent
population operative on a positive feedback loop more individuals=higher birth rate ex) humans
species area curves
as area increases in size the number of species also increases
r-strategists
large #s of young, little post natal care
- small & short life
- rapid reproduction
- early seral stages
- pioneering species
k-strategists
- few offspring, lots of time raising them
- live longer and are larger
- reach carrying capacity and are relatively stable
evolution
populations adapt to change via evolution
-change in genetic make-up over time
natural selection
favour certain conditions and species that are able to adapt
- mechanism in evolution
- survival of the fittest
species
life forms that resemble one another can interbreed successfully and producing fertile offspring
-similarity in DNA and morphology
Coevolution
change in one species causes change to occur in another
- one cannot live without the other
- ultimate in specialized species
Speciation
formation of new species as a result of divergent natural selection
-response to natural changes
CAUSES- isolation, interspecific competition, mutation
Effects of human activities
- huge effects
- monocultures are susceptible to outbreaks
- ex) pine beetle
Alien or Invader species
imported species not native to a location neutered insects brought to kill a specific pnat
Atlantic Puffin
live on side of cliff and return phosphorus, nitrogen back into enviro through feces and fish
matter
anything that has mass and takes up space
4 major kind of organic compounds
- CHO
- Fats
- Proteins
- Nucleic acids
Law of Conservation of Matter
-matter cannot be created or destroyed but simply transformed from one form to another by heat or pressure (gas liquid solid)
biogeochemical cycle
path where a chemical element moves through both biotic and abiotic compartments of an ecosystem
