ecology

Question 1

what is ecology?

Answer 1

ecology is the study of organisms and how they interact with their environment

Question 2

what is an ecosystem?

Answer 2

an ecosystem is all living and non-living things in a defined area and how they interact

Question 3

what does abiotic mean?

Answer 3

abiotic refers to the non-living things in an ecosystem like rocks, air or water

Question 4

what does biotic mean?

Answer 4

biotic refers to the living things in an ecosystem like birds, worms or trees.

Question 5

what is the biosphere?

Answer 5

the biosphere is where life can exist within the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.

Question 6

what is the lithosphere?

Answer 6

the lithosphere is the rocky, outershell of the earth composed of minerals and rocks which make up Earth’s mountains, ocean floor and landscape. it ranges from 50km - 150km in thickness.

Question 7

what is the hydropshere?

Answer 7

the hydrosphere is composed of all water on, above and below Earth’s surface. It includes oceans, lakes, ice, groundwater, and clouds.

Question 8

what is the atmosphere?

Answer 8

the atmosphere is the layer of gases extending upward for hundreds of kilometres. It is made up of about 78 % nitrogen gas and 21 % oxygen gas. The remaining <1 % of the atmosphere includes argon, water vapour, carbon dioxide, and a variety of other gases

Question 9

what are the 4 things living things do?

Answer 9

they exchange gases (O2 + CO2), consume food/energy, reproduce and excrete waste.

Question 10

what is a sustainable ecosystem?

Answer 10

a sustainable ecosystem is one that can maintain itself without need for human intervention.

Question 11

what is the carbon cycle?

Answer 11

the carbon cycle is a representation of how carbon moves throughout an ecosystem.

Question 12

what are the two things that regulate carbon in an ecosystem?

Answer 12

Photosynthesis (carbon dioxide + water + energy –> oxygen + carbohydrates/glucose/sugar) and cellular respiration (carbohydrates/glucose/sugar + oxygen –> carbon dioxide, water, energy). These two processes are opposites of each other.

Question 13

What process removes carbon from the atmosphere?

Answer 13

photosynthesis

Question 14

what 3 processes return carbon to the atmosphere?

Answer 14

cellular respiration, combustion (fires, fossil fuels, etc) and decomposition.

Question 15

what is the nitrogen cycle?

Answer 15

the nitrogen cycle is a representation of how nitrogen moves through an ecosystem.

Question 16

why is nitrogen important?

Answer 16

it’s important becuase its a key element in making amino acids, which are the building blocks for life.

Question 17

whats the population in an ecosystem?

Answer 17

the population in an ecosystem is how many organisms of a species there are.

Question 18

what are the 5 limiting factors in an ecosystem that limit populations?

Answer 18

predation, food/starvation, shelter/habitat, climate (temperature, precipitation) and disease.

Question 19

whats a tolerance range?

Answer 19

the tolerance range is the optimal amount of a factor for a species, like temperature for example.

Question 20

whats carrying capacity?

Answer 20

carrying capacity is the certain number of organisms that can be supported in an ecosystem before resources run out

Question 21

is species variation good?

Answer 21

species variation is good because there are lots of ecological niches, so that if an organism suddenly disappears, another species can take over their niche.

Question 22

what is biodiversity?

Answer 22

biodiversity is a measure of variety in an ecosystem.

Question 23

In general, why do invasive species reduce biodiversity?

Answer 23

invasive species reduce biodiversity because they compete for resources with native species and they have no natural predators.

Question 24

what can invasive species lead to for the native species?

Answer 24

extinction, extirpation, endangered species

Question 25

what is succession?

Answer 25

succession is when ecosystems grow and mature overtime

Question 26

what are the two types of succession?

Answer 26

primary succession and secondary succession

Question 27

what is primary succession?

Answer 27

primary succession is the growth of an ecosystem from bare rock.

Question 28

what are the 5 stages of primary succession?

Answer 28

the 5 stages of succession are 1) Bare rock with no living things, 2) First living things appear and can grow on bare rock (moss and lichen). 3) Moss and Lichen attract other life. These livings things die, decompose and produce the first soil. 4) First soil allows plants to grow which attracts larger organisms. the plants and animals die, producing more soil. 5) Eventually, an ecosystem reaches its highest level of productivity and biodiversity, called a climax community. this is sustainable.

Question 29

what is secondary succession?

Answer 29

secondary succession is much more common. it occurs after an ecosystem is damaged by something like a forest fire. once the damage occurs, the process of succession begins from step 3 or 4 of primary succession.

Question 30

How do we measure the value of an ecosystem?

Answer 30

We measure the value of an ecosystem in cultural value, product value, services value and total monetary value (money)

Question 31

What are 6 characteristics of a coniferous forest?

Answer 31

1) long, cold winter season, 2) low biodiversity , 3) warm summer, 4) dominated by black spruce forests and bogs, 5) moderate rainfall, 6) dominated by black bears, red squirrels and moose.

Question 32

what are 3 examples of values of the coniferous forest?

Answer 32

1) Services: the forest absorbs CO2 and produces Oxygen. 2) Product: Coniferous forests produce lots of lumber which can be chopped and sold for lots of money. 3) Cultural: People like to go hiking and hunting in forests like these

Question 33

two types of ecological pyramids?

Answer 33

pyramid of numbers and pyramid of biomass

Question 34

how does the nitrogen cycle work?

Answer 34

1) bacteria in soil converts N2 into NH3 (ammonia) which is unusable, which removes N2 from the atmosphere. (nitrogen fixation) 2)then more bacteria converts it into NO3 using nitrification. this makes it usable for the soil. 3) The Detrification of dead matter adds N2 to the atmosphere by converting NO3 back to N2.