chapter 55 Flashcards

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1
Q

what is an ecosystem?

A

all organisms and a/biotic factors in an environment; can be big or small

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2
Q

what are the 2 important factors of an ecosystem?

A

energy flow and chemical cycling

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3
Q

what is energy flow?

A

energy coming in and out

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4
Q

what is chemical cycling?

A

chemicals are coming in and out

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5
Q

what is trophic efficiency?

A

percent energy that gets passed from one trophic level to another; avg 10%

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6
Q

why do consumers only get 10% of energy from their prey?

A

the organism uses 90% for energy, reproduction, and metabolism so they only have 10% left for predators

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7
Q

what are the atmospheric gases?

A

carbon, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen

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8
Q

what are the terrestrial and aquatic gases?

A

phosphorus potassium and carbon

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9
Q

what is a flux?

A

rate of substance goes through environment

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10
Q

what is a pool?

A

in a certain environment for a while

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11
Q

what is a sink?

A

element taken out of environment

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12
Q

what 4 factors do ecologists focus on when studying nutrient cycling?

A

chemical’s biological importance
the forms of the chemicals available or used by organisms
major reservoirs for each chemical
key processes of driving movement of chemical

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13
Q

why is the water cycle unique?

A

water is found naturally in 3 forms

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14
Q

which phase of water is used the most in the water cycle?

A

liquid

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15
Q

what is residence time?

A

how long 1 molecule stays in its place

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16
Q

how do human alter the water cycle in a bad way?

A

we change residence time with dams irrigation. asphalt and cement dont allow water into aquifers

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17
Q

why is carbon important to living organisms?

A

every macromolecule has it

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18
Q

what role do autotrophs play?

A

they turn inorganic->organic and do photosynthesis

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19
Q

where does CO2 in the atmosphere come from?

A

humans, burning fossil fuels, respiration, volcanoes

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20
Q

what are some long term carbon reservoirs?

A

fossil fuels and sedimentary rock

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21
Q

what are some short term carbon reservoirs?

A

biomass, soil, sediment, atmosphere, solutes in ocean

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22
Q

what are fossil fuels?

A

buried under sediment without oxygen->fossils

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23
Q

what are greenhouse gases?

A

gases that trap heat but the heat cant get out

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24
Q

is the drought over?

A

precipitation drought is over but not temperature drought, the water will just evaporate

25
Q

when CO2 levels increase, mean annual temp will ____

A

increase

26
Q

when CO2 levels increase, drought will ____

A

increase

27
Q

when CO2 levels increase, precipitation will ____

A

increase

28
Q

when CO2 levels increase, ice caps an glaciers will _____

A

decrease

29
Q

when CO2 levels increase, sea level will ____

A

increase

30
Q

when CO2 levels increase, tropical storms will ____

A

increase

31
Q

when CO2 levels increase, disease outbreaks will _______

A

increase

32
Q

organisms use nitrogen for _____

A

amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids

33
Q

what is the main reservoir for nitrogen?

A

atmoshpere

34
Q

who fixes N2?

A

bacteria, cyanobacteria lightning, industrial process, dizatrophs

35
Q

why is nitrogen in short supply?

A

all living organisms need it and we can’t produce it

theres less nitrogen fixers

36
Q

why is phosphorus important to living organisms?

A

DNA RNA ATP

37
Q

what is the most important form of phosphorus?

A

phosphate

38
Q

where is the largest reservoir of phosphorus?

A

in sedimentary rocks of marine origin, oceans and organisms

39
Q

is the phosphorus cycle short?

A

no it takes a long ass time!! millions of years

40
Q

where are some natural sources of sulfur?

A

volcanoes and steam vents

41
Q

what is an unnatural source of sulfur?

A

burning fossil fuels

42
Q

what are the negative effects of the sulfur cycle?

A

acid rain

43
Q

where does acid rain affect people the most?

A

east coast United States

44
Q

what are the 2 key strategies to restore ecosystems?

A

bioremediation and augmentation

45
Q

what is bioremediation?

A

use organisms to take tooxins out of environment

46
Q

which organisms are used most often for bioremediation?

A

prokaryotes and fungi

47
Q

how do prokaryotes and fungi help the environment during bioremediation?

A

they can take up and sometimes metabolize toxic molecules

48
Q

what is biological augmentation?

A

uses organisms to add essential materials to a degraded ecosystem

49
Q

what is the goal of biological augmentation?

A

to get environments back to their original state

50
Q

how was the kissimmee river restored?

A

it was plugged up with cement to change the diversion of water and allowed for natural flow

51
Q

how was the truckee river restored?

A

damming and water diversions didnt allow enough water to the riverside forests but then ecologists monitored water release and lead to more plants yay

52
Q

how was the tropical dry forest restored?

A

the forest was cleared for agriculture and by introducing domestic livestock to disperse seeds it get better yay

53
Q

how was the rhine river restored?

A

dredging and channeling disconnected the water flow from wetlands but now theyre trying to reconnect it to side channels

54
Q

how was the succulent karoo restored?

A

overgrazing damaged the area, government and private landowners are trying to fix it

55
Q

how was coastal japan restored?

A

theres not a lot of seaweed and seagrass beds bc they were reduced by development and fish and shellfish need them. theyre trying to transplant naturals beds and hand seed to fix it

56
Q

how was maungatautari restored?

A

introduced species pose a serious threat to native species so theyre trying to get rid of them with traps and poison

57
Q

what the problem with greek yogurt?

A

bc of its thicker than regular yogurt, more waste water is squeezed out

58
Q

whats a possible cause of warmer oceans?

A

climate change? reason unknown

59
Q

why have storms been intensifying in asia?

A

result of faster intensification linked to warmer ocean waters in coastal areas