Chapter 4 - Characteristics Of Ecosystems Flashcards

1
Q

What is Ecology?

A

The study of how organisms interact with one another and their physical environment

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2
Q

What is a population?

A

A group of organisms of the same species

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3
Q

What is a community?

A

A group of multiple populations

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4
Q

What is an Ecotone?

A

The grey area between two different ecosystems where organisms of both ecosystems interact with one another. There is usually a greater biodiversity in an ecotone than either ecosystem it is made up of

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5
Q

What may an ecological niche consist of?

A

The organisms place in the food chain, the time of day it is active, the things it eats, its habitat, and its breeding area

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6
Q

Why are niches important?

A

Niches in an ecosystem help to reduce competition for territory and resources

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7
Q

Why is biodiversity important?

A

Because in an ecosystem if a predator, for example, loses one source of prey there is likely many others to compensate

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8
Q

The more niche oppurtunities in an ecosystem, the _______ the biodiversity

A

Higher

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9
Q

Why may an exotic species thrive in a new environment?

A

Because usually there is no ways to keep the new species in check and it may multiply lots

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10
Q

What is a biome?

A

A biome is a large stertch of land home to many different ecosystems. They usually have their own dominant species

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11
Q

What are Canadas 4 major biomes?

A

Taiga
Tundra
Deciduous forest
Grassland

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12
Q

What is the Taiga Biome like?

A

Found in every province in Canada
Dominated by Conifer trees
The floor is covered in shade

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13
Q

What are Conifers like?

A

Have needles rather than leaves
Needles have a waxy coating which keeps waterloss to a minimum
Flexible branches and triangular shape allow for the snow to slide off

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14
Q

What kind of organisms live in the Taiga Biome?

A

Grizzly and black bears
Wolverines
Weasels
Owls
Spruce Grouse
White-winged Crossbill
Shrubs
Mosses
Ferns

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15
Q

What is the Muskeg Ecosystem?

A

The Muskeg ecosystem is an ecosystem north of Alberta that has a layer of permafrost covered by swampier grasses where the water drains into
Due to the low temperature, decomposotion is slow making it a fragile eco system

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16
Q

What organisms are in the Muskeg ecosystem?

A

Mosses, lichens, other plants with long roots that can shift
Caribou

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17
Q

What organisms do not grow in Muskeg ecosystems?

A

Fungi, soil bacterias growth are limited due to the low temperature

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18
Q

What ecosystem has the most fertile soil? Why?

A

THe grassland ecosystem
Warm temperatures + short-lived, long-rooted grasses tend to live there and can help with decomposition

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19
Q

What is humus?

A

A rich layer of soil from decayed plant matter

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20
Q

How many layers does the grasland ecosystem have? WHat does this effect

A

Only one. This effects the biodivesrity in the ecosystem, resulting in a less biodiverse ecosystem

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21
Q

What kind of producers are in the grasslands?

A

Rough fescue, wheat grass, and spear grass

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22
Q

What organisms are in the grasslands?

A

Deer, squirrels, rabbits, snakes, yellow-bellied sap-suckers, rattlesnakes

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23
Q

What are Deciduous Ecosystems?

A

An ecotone between Grassland and Taiga ecosystems

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24
Q

What kind of trees are in the Deciduous ecosystem? How much water do they need?

A

Poplar, aspen, balsam
They need less water than a Conifer tree
Can be found near water sources

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25
Q

What kind of soil does a deciduous ecosystem have?

A

Due to the warmer temperatures and precipitation, the soil is very rich

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26
Q

What is an Understorey?

A

Below the canopy layer, usually including shorter trees and shrubs

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27
Q

What are abiotic factors in the Taiga ecosystem?

A

Northern and Central Alberta
Changeable weather
Soil contains some water and can be acidic
Heavy precipitation

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28
Q

What are abiotic factors in the Muskeg ecosystem?

A

Cold temperatures
Short growing season
Permafrost layer
Mid precipitation

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29
Q

What are abiotic factors in the Grasslands ecosystem?

A

Central and Southern Alberta
Extra sunlight and warmer than other ecosystems
Rich, fertile soil
Mid precipitation

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30
Q

What are abiotic factors in the deciduous forest ecosystem?

A

Central Alberta
Increased sunlight and warmer temperatures
Rich fertile soil
Heavy precipitation

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31
Q

What are the three zones in a lake?

A

Littoral, Limnetic, Profundal

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32
Q

Explain the Littoral zone

A

The littoral zone is where the shore begins and plant matter ends. This is the most productive area of a lake and lots of photosynthesis occurs here

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33
Q

Explain the Limnetic zone

A

The limnetic zone is where light still penetrates the surface of a lake. Photosynthesis also occurs here. Plankton (heterotrophic and autotrophic) live here

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34
Q

Explain the Profundal zone

A

The lowest part of a lake. The organisms here feed off of the dead organisms that fall to them. They are called detritus feeders

35
Q

What happens if a lake doesn’t get much sunlight and a lot of organisms die?

A

Decomposers will use up the oxygen in the lake and it will not be able to be replenished, so the oxygen content in a lake may go down

36
Q

What are the four layers of soil?

A

Litter, Topsoil, Subsoil, bedrock

37
Q

Explain the Litter layer

A

The litter layer has lot of nutrients and lots of decaying plant matter
It acts as a blanket on top of the soil and regulates temperature as well as the amount of water loss

37
Q

Explain Topsoil

A

Topsoil has lots of nutrients as well
Rocks are in there as well which are able to allow decomposers to decompose decaying plant matter

38
Q

Explain Subsoil

A

Similar to the topsoil, but less humus and more rock

39
Q

What determines the pH of soil?

A

Acid rain caused by global warming
The plants that grow in the soil
The rock the soil is formed from

39
Q

What organisms flourish in acidic soils? What organisms don’t?

A

Mosses flourish because they have less competition that way
Conifers do not flourish, though they are adapted to withstand it

39
Q

What may an organism do to survive if they are in an area with little water?

A

Have adaptations that help them. Rough fescue has long thin leaves that reduce water loss

40
Q

What is available water dependant on?

A

How much precipitation occurs
How long it stays in the upper layer of soil and how much collects beneath the soil

41
Q

What is groundwater?

A

Water in soil or below the earths surface

41
Q

What is leaching?

A

The process of water carrying nutrients down below the surface

42
Q

How is Leaching corrected?

A

Plants can adapt to grow longer roots which will allow them to reach the nutrients under the surface

43
Q

How are conifers needles well adapted to the winters? Why is this better than regular leaves?

A

Conifers keep their needles year round rather than expending energy to shed and regrow them

44
Q

How are grasses in the grasslands well suited for the winter?

A

They have deep roots which allow them to keep their roots and only freeze off the top portion of the grass

45
Q

How can oxygen get into lakes?

A

WInd stirring the surface of the water
Photosynthetic palnts

46
Q

What does sunlight vary with?

A

Altitude and Latitude

47
Q

As temperature INCREASES the concentration of O2 in water ________

48
Q

Why does the bottom of a lake have higher CO2 levels?

A

Because decomposers live at the bottom and respirate

49
Q

Pressure in waterincrease 100kpa per ____m

50
Q

What happens to lakes in winter?

A

Light can slightly penetrate the top layer and photosynthesize, or there will be no photosynthesis to occur if the lake is covered in snow and thick ice

51
Q

What happens to lakes during spring?

A

Spring turnover:
Since the densest water can be is 4 Degrees, when the cold water from the winter warms up and eventually warms to 4 degrees, it will sink to the bottom replacing the water below. This process carries O2 to all depths

52
Q

What is the Epilimnion?

A

The top layer of water, heats up easily

53
Q

What is the Hypolimnion?

A

THe lowest layer of a lake, has a consistent low temperature

54
Q

What is the thermocline?

A

THe rapid decline of temperature between the Epilimnion and the Hypolimnion

55
Q

What are the four factors that limit the overall growth of a population?

A

Biotic potential, Limiting factors, Carrying capacity, Limits of tolerance

56
Q

What is the definition of Biotice Potential?

A

Maximum number of offspring a species could have in a perfect world

57
Q

What are the four factors Biotic Potential is limited by?

A
  1. Birth potential
  2. Capacity for survival
  3. Breeding frequency
  4. Length of reproductive life
58
Q

What are some Abiotic limiting factors?

A

Sunlight, temperature, chemical environment

59
Q

What are some biotic limiting factors?

A

Sufficient food, predators, diseases

60
Q

What’s an example of a density-independent factor?

A

WIldifres, natural disasters, drought

61
Q

What is an example of a density-dependent factor?

A

Food, space, water

62
Q

What is the law of minimum?

A

The resource in the lowest quantity will determine how limited growth is

63
Q

What is ‘slash-and-burn’?

A

The process of getting rid of a forest through burning the trees

64
Q

What is ‘clear-cutting’?

A

The removal of trees in an area for timber or pulp

65
Q

What is ‘selective cutting’?

A

The removal of only certain trees in an area

66
Q

What are some positives to clear-cutting?

A

Inexpensive
Helps the timber and pulp industries
Can help moose by allowing berried shrubs to grow so they can feed

67
Q

What are some negatives to clear-cutting?

A

Soil erosion and runoff into streams increases
Nitrates can be carried into streams
soils can be warmed and result in water loss

68
Q

What is the most valuable tree? Why?

A

Softwoods grow quicker and are used for timber industries

69
Q

Why are fires good?

A

They create and maintain many different ecosystems in one forest, allowing for very high biodiversity

70
Q

What are Oligotrophic lakes?

A

Deep and cold
Low amount of nutrients
Not many producers
Not very biodiverse
Clear water

71
Q

What are Eutrophic lakes?

A

Shallow and warm
Lots of nutrients
Biodiverse
Murky

72
Q

What is Eutrophication?

A

Oligotrophic -> Eutrophic -> Dry land

73
Q

What are five ways water can be polluted?

A

Organic solid waste like sewage (causes water to be used up)
Disease-causing organisms
Inorganic solids and dissolved minerals
Thermal Energy (decreases solubility of oxygen in the water)
Organic compounds, like oil (promotes algae growth)

74
Q

What are three indicators of water quality?

A

Bacteria
Dissolved Oxygen
Biological Oxygen demand

75
Q

What is coliform bacteria?

A

A bacteria present in the colon. Used as a sign to see if water may be polluted with other similar bacteria

76
Q

What do healthy trout indicate in water?

A

High oxygen levels

77
Q

If droughts become continuous, what may happen to lake shores?

A

If there is a lack of new water being put into a lake, the minerals may settle and be able to build up chloride and sodium ions

78
Q

What is primary succession?

A

Succession that begins in an area with no existing community

79
Q

What is secondary succession?

A

Occurs in a partially destroyed area