Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Environmental Science > Chapters 3 & 4 > Flashcards

Chapters 3 & 4 Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Ecosystem

A

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Community

A

An interacting group of various species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Association

A

Relationships or interactions among living things

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Population

A

All individuals of the same species living in the same area

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

How many species are there?

A

About 1.5 million. Estimated 100 million.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

How many bacteria are there?

A

100 thousand.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

How many protistans are there?

A

60-70k.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

How many fungi are there?

A

100 thousand.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

How many plantae are there?

A

300k.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

How many animals are there?

A

6 million.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Trophic levels

A

Producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Natural selection

A

A process through which organisms adapt to their environment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Factors behind species extinction

A

Habitat loss, an introduced species, pollution, and over consumption.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Earth’s mass extinction events (5)

A

Ordovician - Silurian, Devonian, Permian - Triassic, Triassic - Jurassic, Cretaceous - Tertiary.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Ecological organization

A

Population, community, ecosystem, biosphere.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Characteristics that help predict population growth

A

Size, density, age, birth rates, death rates, and sex ratio.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Explain how logistic growth, limiting factors, and carrying capacity affect population ecology

A

In logistic growth, population expansion decreases as resources become scarce. It levels off when the carrying capacity of the environment is reached.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Biosphere

A

Where land, water, and air interact with each other to support life.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Ecotone

A

Transitional region between different ecosystems.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Biotic factors

A

A living organism that shapes its environment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Abiotic factors

A

A nonliving part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Habitat vs. niche

A

A habitat is a place. An animal’s ecological niche is what it eats, where it lives, and it’s predators.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Food chain

A

A hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Food web

A

A system of interlocking food chains.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Autotroph

A

An organism like algae that makes its own food

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Heterotroph

A

An organism like a lion that cannot make its own food.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Producers

A

Photosynthetic green plants.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Primary consumers

A

Herbivores, like rabbits that eat producers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Secondary consumers

A

Carnivores, like bobcats that eat primary consumers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Tertiary consumers

A

An animal like a big cat that eats primary and secondary consumers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Predators

A

An organism that consumes part or whole of another living organism.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Decomposer/Detrivore

A

An organism like a worm, that breaks down waste and dead organisms.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Why isn’t the lion (carnivore) population as big ass the gazelle (grazer) population?

A

Competition from other animals.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

How much energy is lost at each trophic level?

A

10%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

Predator - prey relationships

A

One species is feeding on another species like lions and zebras.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

Biotic factors in an ecosystem and their interactions

A

Biotic factors often change the geology and geography of an area.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

Symbiosis

A

Interactions between individuals of two different species living closely together.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

Mutualism

A

Both species benefit from their interactions like an oxpecker and a giraffe.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

Commensalism

A

One species benefits and the other is unharmed like a remora and a shark.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

Parasitism

A

One species benefits and the other is harmed.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

Interspecific competition

A

Competition between two or more species.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

Intraspecific competition

A

Competition between individuals of the same species.

43
Q

Competition & niche overlap (aka competitive exclusion principal)

A

Two species can’t coexist if they occupy exactly the same niche.

44
Q

Optimal foraging theory

A

Is a behavioral model that helps predict how an animal behaves when searching for food.

45
Q

Resource partitioning

A

The division of limited resources by species to help avoid competition in an ecological niche.

46
Q

Predation

A

The preying of one animal on another

47
Q

Symbiotic relationships

A

Mutualism, commensalism, predation, parasitism, competition.

48
Q

Pedogensis

A

Process of soil formation

49
Q

Biological diversity

A

The variety of life in the world or a particular habitat

50
Q

Invasive species

A

Any living organism that is not native and causes harm

51
Q

Introduced species

A

A species that is not native and has been introduced by humans

52
Q

Pioneer species

A

A species that is first to colonize a barren ecosystem

53
Q

Keystone species

A

A species that an ecosystem largely depends on

54
Q

Restoration ecology

A

Assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been damaged or destroyed

55
Q

5 basic characteristics of living

A

Ability to obtain & utilize energy, reproduce, maintain homeostasis, and the basic unit is the cell.

56
Q

3 domains (Average Ballerinas Exfoliated)

A

Archae, Bacteria, Eukarya

57
Q

6 kingdoms (Plump Armadillos Fanned Pretentious Attractive Exorcists)

A

Plantae, Animalia, Fungi, Protista, Archaebacteria, and Eubacteria.

58
Q

Humans: (7) Elephants Ate Chainsaws Meanwhile Philosophers Hollered Humanely

A

Eukarya, Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Primate, Hominidae, Homo.

59
Q

Biome

A

A large, naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat.

60
Q

Climate

A

A general description of the average temperature and rainfall per year

61
Q

Terrestrial biome

A

A biome that exists on land

62
Q

What is production in an ecosystem?

A

The rate of generation of biomass

63
Q

6 major terrestrial biomes

A

Deserts, grasslands & prairies, tropical rainforests, temperate forests, taiga/coniferous forests, and tundra.

64
Q

Deserts

A

Shrubs, cacti, rodents, snakes. Very dry, less than 10 in. of rain per year. Soil is very thin.

65
Q

Grasslands & prairies

A

Grass species, bushes, bison, coyotes. 10-60 in. of rain per year, rich soil.

66
Q

Tropical rainforests

A

Evergreen trees, dense canopy, exotic insects, birds, tigers. Over 95 in. of rain per year. Soil is very thin.

67
Q

Temperate forests

A

Deciduous trees, ferns, raccoons, black bears. 30-80 in. of rain per year, rich soil.

68
Q

Taiga/Coniferous forests

A

Deciduous and coniferous trees, moose, bears, foxes. Less rain in winter, more in summer. Seasonal, and acidic soil.

69
Q

Tundra

A

Dwarf shrubs, lichens, lynx, caribou. Very little rain, thin soil with permafrost underneath

70
Q

Where is the world’s tallest tree?

A

A Redwood in Northern California

71
Q

Human impacts on rainforests

A

Logging, cash crops, cattle ranching, fuelwood, and mining.

72
Q

Aquatic biome

A

The largest of all biomes, divided into fresh water and marine.

73
Q

Lakes & ponds

A

Plants, phytoplankton, turtles, ducks

74
Q

Streams & Rivers

A

Algae, plants, fish, amphibians

75
Q

Inland Wetlands

A

Grasses, trees, snakes, alligators. High in nutrients.

76
Q

Estuaries

A

Mangrove trees, shrubs, phytoplankton, fish. Rich in nutrients.

77
Q

Coastal Ocean

A

Phytoplankton, algae, shellfish, dolphins. High in nutrients.

78
Q

Open Ocean

A

Phytoplankton, diverse fish, whales. 70% of earth surface. Mostly poor in nutrients.

79
Q

Human impacts on coral reefs

A

Coral get sick and die in higher temperatures, over fishing, explosives & cyanide, pollution, global warming, 10% destroyed.

80
Q

Which aquatic biome has the highest average annual net primary production?

A

Algae beds and coral reefs

81
Q

Which terrestrial biome has the highest average annual net primary production?

A

Tropical rainforest.

82
Q

Which aquatic and terrestrial biomes contribute most to the global net primary productivity?

A

Tropical rainforests, and open oceans.

83
Q

The aquatic biome with a mixture of fresh and saltwater is called the marine system, true or false.

A

False

84
Q

Freshwater ecosystems are characterized by low saltwater content, true or false

A

True

85
Q

A tree that loses its leaves in the fall/winter is called

A

Deciduous

86
Q

As one moves up the trophic energy pyramid the amount of energy available to the next trophic level decreases due to

A

The first law of thermodynamics

87
Q

The 3 types of biodiversity are

A

Genetic, species, and ecosystem.

88
Q

When important habitats are disconnected we refer to it as

A

Fragmentation

89
Q

The current extinction rate is

A

Up to 1000 times higher than the fossil record.

90
Q

An indirect cause of biodiversity is

A

Fires, hunting, ecotourism, climate change

91
Q

True or false, the idea that one should not undertake a new action until the ramifications of that action are well understood is the conservation principle

A

False

92
Q

True or false, a biodiversity hotspot has high biodiversity and is vulnerable to destruction

A

True

93
Q

The survival and recovery of a population depends on a certain minimum population number

A

Critical number

94
Q

One type of instrumental value is

A

All of these apply

95
Q

Allopatric speciation

A

when species form from populations that become physically separated over some geographic distance

96
Q

Endemic species

A

Specific to a particular region. Vulnerable to extinction because of events that might affect their region.

97
Q

How are primary and secondary succession different?

A

Primary succession begins with no soil. Secondary soil begins when soil is already present.

98
Q

How do competitors exist without replacing each other?

A

Each competitor has a niche. This is called niche differentiation.

99
Q

What are the basic organism requirements of an ecosystem?

A

One producer, one decomposer, and water or air.

100
Q

What form of life led to the existence of oxygen in Earth’s atomosphere?

A

Photosynthetic life, or plant life.

101
Q

What is the difference between a positive feedback loop and a negative feedback loop?

A

Negative feedback loop is stabilizing.

Positive is destabilizing.

102
Q

What is carrying capacity?

A

The maximum number of organisms an ecosystem can sustain.

103
Q

3 outcomes once a population exceeds carrying capacity

A

Population stabilizes, export immigrants, or overshoot and crash.

Environmental Science (11 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions