Chapter 3: Functioning ecosystems Flashcards

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1
Q

What provides the Earth with the most energy?

A

Sun

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2
Q

What does the heating of the atmosphere cause?

A

Geochemical processes, tides, weather and ocean currents

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3
Q

What radiation does the sun emit?

A

Visible, infrared and ultraviolet radiation

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4
Q

How is the sun light converted to chemical energy?

A

Photosynthesis

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5
Q

What is the process of photosynthesis?

A

Binds molecules of water and carbon dioxide

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6
Q

How is energy made available?

A

Metabolism

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7
Q

How is glucose released?

A

Cellular respiration

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8
Q

What is an autotroph?

A

An organism which produces its own organic matter from sunlight

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9
Q

What is a trophic level?

A

A level in the food chain of an ecosystem based on feeding relationships

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10
Q

What is biomass?

A

The total mass of living matter in an ecosystem

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11
Q

What is photosynthetic efficiency?

A

How well a producer converts light energy into chemical energy

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12
Q

What does photosynthetic efficiency refer to within biomass?

A

Not all producers make the same amount of biomass, their ability to produce is referred to as photosynthetic efficiency

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13
Q

What is the difference between gross primary productivity and net primary productivity?

A

Gross is the amount of organic matter produced and net is the amount available to consumers through trophic levels.

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14
Q

What is heterotroph?

A

An organism that consumes other organisms for food

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15
Q

What is a biomass pyramid?

A

A diagram which shows the relative proportions of each trophic level

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16
Q

What is the general energy loss rule?

A

10%

17
Q

What does energy convert to and lost?

A

Metabolism into heat energy and is lost into the surrounding environment

18
Q

What does endothermic mean?

A

Internal body temperature is higher the surrounding temp

19
Q

What does ectothermic mean?

A

Internal body temperature reflects and fluctuates with its surroundings

20
Q

What is the percentage efficiency equation?

A

=(Net productivity of the organism )/(Net productivity of previous trophic level) × 100

21
Q

What is a detritivore?

A

Worms which consume dead tissue

22
Q

What is a decomposer?

A

An organism which absorbs nutrients from dead tissue

23
Q

What is an ecological niche?

A

The role an organism plays in an ecosystem and its interactions

24
Q

What happens if two organisms display the same ecological niche?

A

One will out-compete the other

25
Q

What is the fundamental niche?

A

The widest potential niche a species could occupy without predators

26
Q

What is realised niche?

A

The actual niche a species occupies with the influence of predators.

27
Q

What is resource partitioning?

A

The use of space allows species to occupy the same niche without out-competing one another. E.g. Using trees, one dwells in the canopy, secondary layer etc.

28
Q

What is the competitive exclusion principle?

A

An ecological principle that states no two species can occupy exactly the same niche

29
Q

What is carrying capacity?

A

The greatest population the resources of an area will allow the species

30
Q

What are keystone species?

A

A plant or species which plays a virtual role in the survival of the ecosystem

31
Q

What happens if a keystone species is removed?

A

The ecosystem will fail