Dynamics Of Ecosystems

Question 1

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 1

Includes all the living organisms in a particular place, plus the abiotic environment in which they live and interact.

Question 2

What are bio geochemical cycles?

Answer 2

The cycling of chemicals through living and non living systems.

Question 3

Biogeochemical cycles include what 2 things?

Answer 3

1. Chemicals moving through eco systems
2. Biotic and abiotic processes

Question 4

What is carbon fixation?

Answer 4

Metabolic reactions that make nongaseous compounds from gaseous ones.

Question 5

Aerobic cellular respiration releases what?

Answer 5

CO2

Question 6

What are methanogens?

Answer 6

Produce methane (CH4) by anaerobic respiration.

Question 7

What is evaporation?

Answer 7

From surface of oceans, lakes, and rivers.

Question 8

What is transpiration?

Answer 8

Evaporation from leaves and surface of plants.

Question 9

What is condensation?

Answer 9

Water cools and falls to the ground as precipitation.

Question 10

What is nitrogen fixation?

Answer 10

Synthesis of nitrogen-containing compounds from N2

Question 11

What is Nitrification?

Answer 11

Converting NH2 to NO3 (ammonia to nitrate)

Question 12

What is denitrification?

Answer 12

Converting NO3 to N2

Question 13

What is the first law of thermodynamics?

Answer 13

Energy is neither created nor destroyed; it only changes from one form to another.

Question 14

What is the second law of thermodynamics?

Answer 14

Whenever organisms use chemical bonds or light energy, some energy is lost as heat.

Question 15

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 15

Heat accumulating on earth

Question 16

What are trophic levels?

Answer 16

Level at which an organism feeds.

Question 17

What are autotrophs?

Answer 17

“Self feeders” synthesize organic compounds from inorganic precursors.

Question 18

What are photoautotrophs?

Answer 18

They use light as an energy source.

Question 19

What are chemoautotrophs?

Answer 19

Use energy from inorganic oxidation reactions (prokaryotes)

Question 20

What are heterotrophs?

Answer 20

Cannot synthesize organic compounds from inorganic precursors.

Question 21

What are primary producers?

Answer 21

Photo autotrophs

Question 22

What are primary consumers?

Answer 22

Herbivores, eat primary consumers

Question 23

What are secondary consumers?

Answer 23

Carnivores, eat herbivores.

Question 24

What are detritivores

Answer 24

Eat decaying matter, break it into small pieces

Question 25

What are decomposers?

Answer 25

Microbes that break up dead matter.

Question 26

What is productivity?

Answer 26

The rate at which organisms in a trophic level synthesize new organic matter.

Question 27

What is primary productivity?

Answer 27

Productivity of the primary producers.

Question 28

What is gross primary productivity (GPP)?

Answer 28

Raw rate at which primary producers synthesize new organic matter

Question 29

What is net primary productivity (NPP)?

Answer 29

GPP minus the respiration of primary producers

Question 30

What is secondary productivity?

Answer 30

Assimilation of plant material into animal tissues.

Question 31

What is the food chain?

Answer 31

Hierarchical series of organisms of different trophic levels in which each is dependent on the next as a source of food

Question 32

What are too-down effects?

Answer 32

Changes in top-level consumers affect composition of and structure of lower level producers.

Question 33

What are bottom-up effects?

Answer 33

Occur when changes in producers affect consumers.