Chapter 53 Flashcards

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1
Q

Def: ecosystem

A

one or more communities in an area + abiotic components

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2
Q

Primary producer (autotroph)

A

can synthesize its own food from inorganic sources

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3
Q

Gross primary productivity

A

the total energy captured by autotrophs

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4
Q

How is energy used in primary producers

A

cellular respiration or growth and reproduction (refered to as net primary productivity)

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5
Q

How can you calculate net primary productivity

A

NPP = GPP - R
-R represents energy used in cellular respiration

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6
Q

Why do plants utilize such a small percentage of solar energy

A

-use fraction of the wave length spectrum
-less or 0 during winter
-stalled if too dry
-enzyme efficiency varies with temperature

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7
Q

How does energy move through an ecosystem

A

-arrives as sunlight
-slowly dissipates as it flows through ecosystem
-primary producer to primary consumer to secondary consumer to tertiary consumer

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8
Q

How do nutrients move through an ecosystem

A

-cycle through ecosystem
-move from primary producer to primary consumer to secondary consumer to tertiary consumer
-when any of these species die they will decompose and provide nutrients to the primary producer

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9
Q

Food webs

A

allow summarizing energy flows and the complex trophic interactions in ecosystems

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10
Q

what % of potential NPP do humans currently prevent

A

24%

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11
Q

Biochemical cycle

A

the path that an element takes as it move from abiotic systems through organisms and back again

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12
Q

Terrestrial Nutrient cycle

A

-roots uptake organic matter in the soil
-assimilation occurs in plants
-animal (herbivore) consumes plants
-excretion and dead plants and animals become detritus
-decomposition occurs by providing nutrients to decomposer
-when they die the nutrients is returned to the soil

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13
Q

What 3 factors impact the rate of nutrient movement

A
  1. Abiotic conditions
    -oxygen availability, temperature (faster in warm climates) and precipitation
  2. Quality of the detritus as a nutrient source for the fungi, bacteria and archaea
  3. the abundance and diversity of detritivores present
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14
Q

What are major nutrient import/export agents

A

ACCELERATE NUTRIENT EXPORT:
farming, logging, burning and soil erosion

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15
Q

4 major mechanisms to replace lost nutrients

A
  1. Ions that act as nutrients are released as rocks weather
  2. nutrients blow in on soil particles or arrive as solutes in streams
  3. Carbon is added when primary producers fix carbon
  4. Nitrogen is added when nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert molecular nitrogen in the atmosphere to useable nitrogen in ammonium or nitrate ions
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16
Q

The global water cycle

A

-greater portion of evaporation occurs from ocean than precipitation over the ocean
-water vapor moved by wind over land
-precipitation greater than evaporation over land
-water runs off back into the oceans

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17
Q

What percentage of earths water is salt water

A

97.5%

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18
Q

What percentage of earths water is freshwater

A

2.5%

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19
Q

what percentage of earths water is freshwater available in lakes, rivers ad groundwater for drinking

A

0.5%

20
Q

Def: Aquifers

A

layers of porous rock, sand, or gravel that are saturated with water

21
Q

Def: closed aquifers

A

contained - nonporous rock layers above

22
Q

Def: open aquifers

A

can be recharged by percolation from above

23
Q

The global nitrogen cycle

A

-main reservoir is N2
-used in industrial production of fertilizer and burning of fossil fuels
-nitrogen-fixing bacteria in roots and soil convert to ammonia, ammonium or nitrate
-converted nitrogen is accessible to terrestrial organisms
-bacteria in mud use N-containing molecules as energy sources and excrete N2

24
Q

Efficiency in terms of energy transfer

A

the fraction of biomass transferred from one trophic level to the next

25
Q

biogeochemical cycle

A

the pattern of circulation of a element or molecule among living organisms and the environment

26
Q

The global photosynthetic rate

A

measures the rate of carbon flow from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to living biomass

27
Q

What effects are humans having on the water cycle

A

-asphalt and concrete surfaces reduce the amount of water that percolates from the surface to deep soil and rock layers

-when grasslands and forests are converted to agricultural fields, root systems that hold water are lost. More water runs off into streams and less percolates into groundwater

-Irrigated agriculture, household use, and industrial applications are removing unprecedented amounts of water from groundwater storage

28
Q

How has the nitrogen cycle been altered by humans

A
  1. the cultivation of crops that harbor nitrogen-fixing bacteria
  2. industrially produced fertilizers
  3. the burning of fossil fuels, which release nitric oxide
29
Q

Why is excessive nitrogen harmful

A

-reduces biodiversity
-increases pollution (potentially causing algae blooms)

30
Q

The global phosphorus cycle

A

main reservoir of phosphorus is in the earth’s crust, where it is slowly mobilized by weather rocks
-mining and fertilizing have increased the amount of phosphorus in global biogeochemical cycles

31
Q

Where is the largest reservoir of carbon

A

the ocean

32
Q

the global carbon cycle

A

-reservoirs of CO2 in atmosphere
-both terrestrial and oceanic organisms exchange CO2 with atmosphere through photosynthesis and cellular respiration
-land -use change (deforestation) and fossil-fuel use contribute to atmospheric CO2

33
Q

Def: global warming

A

the increase in the average temperature of the planet

34
Q

Def: global climate change

A

the sum of all the changes in local temperature and precipitation patterns caused by global warming

35
Q

Def: greenhouse gas

A

an atmospheric gas that absorbs and reflects infrared radiation, so that heat radiated from earth is retained in the atmosphere instead of being lost to space

36
Q

Def: Greenhouse effect

A

selective energy absorption by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which allows short-wavelength light energy to pass through but absorbs longer wavelength infrared energy and reflects heat back to earth

37
Q

What are other greenhouse gases

A

methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide

38
Q

What causes the rapid changing climate

A

increase in human population
increase in per capita fossil fuels
land-use changes

39
Q

Temperature variation

A

-polar regions will increase more than in the tropics
-some ecosystems at the same latitudes will experience different increases than others due to wind patterns, ocean currents, and other factors
-in some seasons it will change more than others
-see greater temperature extremes

40
Q

How does climate change effect the water cycle

A

high temperatures will change when, where and how much water falls as precipitation and evaporates

41
Q

Positive feedback in climate change

A

occurs when changes dye to global warming result in the further acceleration of warming

42
Q

examples of positive feedbacks in climate change

A

-warmer and drier = forest fires = release of CO2 = more warming
-warm tundra summers = decomposition rates increase = release stored carbon = more warming
-higher CO2 levels = release of other greenhouse gases more potent than CO2
-polar ice caps melt = more open water to the sun = less reflection of solar radiation = increased warming

43
Q

biological effects of climate change

A

-geographic range shifts
-phenology shifts (changes in timing of seasonal events)
-Evolutionary adaptations
-extinction

44
Q

What is ocean acidification

A

the process of increased acidity in the ocean due to the absorption of CO2 by the ocean, which then dissolves into carbonic acid

45
Q

How does climate change effect NPP

A

-Causes a net decrease
-additional CO2 provides resources for photosynthesis (Increasing NPP)
-but high amounts of droughts causes a decrease in NPP

46
Q

Water stratifications affect of NPP due to climate change

A

-increased surface temperatures make the water much less dense
-currents are less likely to bring nutrient rich water to surface against steep gradient density