Ecosystem Ecology

Question 1

system

Answer 1

a network of relationships among parts, elements, or components

• interact with one another
• exchange energy, matter, or information

Question 2

Feedback Loop

Answer 2

a circular process in which a system’s output serves as input to that same system

Question 3

Negative Feedback loop

Answer 3

the system moving in one direction acts as an input that causes the system to move in the opposite direction

• stabilizes, neutralizes the system
• Ex: body temperature

Question 4

Positive Feedback loop

Answer 4

system output causes the system to change in the same way and drives it further toward one extreme or another

Question 5

Dynamic equilibrium

Answer 5

when system processes move in opposing directions; balancing their effects

Question 6

Homeostasis

Answer 6

when a system maintains constant (stable) internal conditions

Question 7

Emergent Properties

Answer 7

system characteristics that are not evident in the components along

• the whole is more than the sum of the parts

Question 8

runoff

Answer 8

precipitation that flows over land and enters waterways

Question 9

watershed

Answer 9

an area of land that drains rainfall and snowmelt into streams and rivers

Question 10

Air shed

Answer 10

the geographical area that produces air pollutants that are likely to end up in a waterway

Question 11

Explain Eutrophication

Answer 11

is caused by an increase in nutrients from agricultural runoff (fertilizers → (nitrogen, phosphorous)) and pollution(urban and industrial wastewater, burning fossil fuels). get into waterways which increases algae growth → algae blocks sunlight for the bottom, so producers cannot photosynthesize and die. → decomposers use all the dissolved oxygen.→ dead zone, aquatic organisms cannot survive because there is no oxygen. (low diversity ecosystem)

Question 12

Layers of the earth (L,A,H,B)

Answer 12

• lithosphere - rock and sediment
• atmosphere - the air surrounding the planet
• hydrosphere - liquid, solid, or vapor water
• biosphere - the planet’s living organisms and the abiotic (nonliving) portions of the environment
• boundaries overlap, systems interact

Question 14

Primary production

Answer 14

conversion of solar energy to chemical energy in sugars by autotrophs

Question 15

gross primary production

Answer 15

total amount of chemical energy produced by autotrophs

Question 16

net primary production

Answer 16

energy remaining after respiration - used to generate biomass (NPP = GPP - respiration)

Question 17

Secondary production

Answer 17

biomass generated by heterotrophs from consuming autotrophs

Question 18

Productivity

Answer 18

the rate at which ecosystems generate biomass

Question 19

high net primary productivity

Answer 19

ecosystems whose plants rapidly convert solar energy to biomass

Question 20

Nutrients

Answer 20

elements and compounds required for survival that are consumed by organisms

Question 21

Micronutrients

Answer 21

nutrients needed in smaller amounts (zinc, copper, iron)

Nutrients stimulate plant production

Question 21

Macronutrients

Answer 21

nutrients required in larger amounts

• nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus

Question 22

Nutrient (biogeochemical) cycles

Answer 22

the movement of nutrients through ecosystems

Question 23

Pools (reservoirs)

Answer 23

where nutrients reside for varying amounts of life (the residence time)

Question 24

Flux

Answer 24

the rate at which materials move between pools

• can change over time
• influenced by human activities

Question 25

Source

Answer 25

a pool that releases more nutrients than it accepts

Question 26

sink

Answer 26

a pool that accepts more nutrients than it releases

Question 27

The water/hydrological cycle

Answer 27

summarize how water flows as a solid, liquid, and gas, through our environment

• evaporation and transpiration
• precipitation, runoff, surface water
• groundwater (aquifers, water table)

impacting the water cycle:

• damming rivers
• removing vegetation (decrease infiltration)
• withdrawal of groundwater
• air pollution

Question 28

The Carbon cycle

Answer 28

found in photosynthesis, respiration, food webs, sediments, oceans

We are shifting carbon from the lithosphere into the atmosphere

• combustion of fossil fuels (a carbon sink)
• decrease surface vegetation

Question 29

The Phosphorus cycle

Answer 29

found in rocks, sediments, oceans

the run-off of phosphorus increase its concentration in surface water

• wastewater rich in dishwater and clothes detergents is also a contributo