Ecology Flashcards
biota
all living organisms
how are biomes grouped
based on the dominant form of vegetation in an environment
what are the main climatic factors that plants respond to
light, water, temperature, co2 conc. , other variables including humidity
what is the impact of climate change on the northern tree line
its moving further northward
what was the vegetation of the Amazon region before it became rainforest
dry grassland
in what way is flower pollination changing
becoming wind-pollinated rather than bee pollinated
what human activities actually benefit plants
increased pollution and fire emissions can increase nitrogen, more CO2 means more photosynthesis
impact of acidification on conifer trees in Ireland
they take up the emissions which wash into the soil and acidify it. This can release aluminium from the bed and poison fish
impact of the Montreal Protocol
cleaner production of coal and reduction of sulphite emissions but also caused farmers to start fertilising their plantations
3 levels of biodiversity
genetic diversity, ecosystem diversity, species diversity
how many species identified
1.75 mil
how many species disappear evey day
over 50
what percentage of all plant species are found over 1.4% land surface
44%
dendroecology
study of tree rings to investigate ecological processes
phenology
study of the annual variations in the timing of key events in the life cycle of plants
what percentage of a plant’s dry weight is carbon
50%
what type of photosynthesis may be more frequent in the future
C4 photosynthesis, works better in warm environments as it can use water and solar radiation more efficiently
what occurs to stomata in dry air
tend to close
what determines the relation between climate and microclimate at the surface of leaves
wind
what proportion of the earths biodiversity is found in the Amazon
1/3
why did the Amazon cease to have a dry climate as it did 4000 yrs ago
southward shift in the intertropical convergence zone due to milankovitch forcing
how much earlier is spring arriving in europe each decade
2.5 days earlier
what are PTFs
Plant Functional Types: group of plants with similar traits which are similar in their association with environmental variabales
what is GPP
gross primary productivity: the rate of photosynthesis on an ecosystem scale
how often do biennials die
after 2 years
what is NEP
net ecosystem production: net flux of CO2 from ecosystem to environment
disturbance flux
additional carbon losses due to human and natural influences
what conditions simulate NPP
warmer conditions and elevated CO2
are terrestrial ecosystems a collective carbon sink or source
sink- will switch if respiration increases a lot
N-effect
excess nitrogen in chemically active form fertilises plants
4 human sources of nitrogen
car emissions, fertilizers, animal rearing, cultivation and disturbance of the land
nitrogen saturation
land surfaces can leak nitrogen into drainage water and give off nitrous oxide
how can forest edges exacerbate fire risk
use of fire and introduction of dry air into the canopy
how does logging increase vulnerability to combustion
it thins the canopy
which regions are important to protect in terms of biodiversity
high levels of endemism and hotspots
species
group of individuals with the potential to interbreed in nature and produce fertile offspring
name the taxonomic groups
domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
give the hierarchy of organisation of “ecosystems”
biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, organism, cell
biodiversity
biological diversity within and between species and ecosystems
2 components of biodiversity
species richness (number of different species) and species evenness (abundance of different species)
3 types of diversity according to Whittaker
alpha (species richness), beta (variation between two sites), gamma (measured across the whole landscape)
trophic interactions
interactions between different species in an ecosystem
4 stages of ecosystem succession
primary, early, mid, late
primary succession
pioneer species on new land
secondary succession
after disturbance like fire or land abandonment
trophic rewilding
reconstructing ecosystems
palynology
pollen analysis
novel ecosystem
system that differs from those that prevailed historically due to human influence
