Ecosystems Flashcards

1
Q

Ecology

A

Study of how living things interact with their environment

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2
Q

Environment

A

All biotic and abiotic components in a given area of time and space

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3
Q

Habitat

A

An area in time and space where an organism exists

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4
Q

Ecosystem

A

A community of species interacting with each other and the abiotic factors of their environment

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5
Q

Ecosystem Services

A

Supporting, regulating, provisioning, cultural

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6
Q

Water

A

Water makes up 71% of the Earth’s surface, of which 97% is saltwater and only 3% is freshwater

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7
Q

Specific Properties of Water

A

High specific heat // Density-temperature relationship // Cohesion, surface tension, and viscosity // Buoyancy

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8
Q

Abiotic Factors of Aquatic Habitats

A

Solar energy // Chemistry // Water disturbance // Substrate and terrain

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9
Q

Solar Energy

A

Light and Temperature

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10
Q

Light

A

Varies with depth, influences quantity and distribution of primary producers, vital for photosynthesis, indirectly influences vertical profile of temperature

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11
Q

Temperature

A

Function of depth, surface temperatures reflect balance of incoming and outgoing radiation, vertical mixing combines different temperatures in the upper water column

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12
Q

Temperature Zonation

A

Epilimnion // Thermocline // Hypolimnion

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13
Q

Chemistry

A

Solutes and Dissolved Gasses

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14
Q

Solutes

A

Solvent properties of water important in nutrient and waste transport, solvent concentration higher in marine environments, salinity around 35% in sea water

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15
Q

Dissolved Gasses in Lentic and Lotic Systems

A

Oxygen: highest in cold, turbulent waters, lowest in warm, stagnant waters
Influenced by lake seasonality and depth variation

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16
Q

Dissolved Gasses in Marine Systems

A

Oxygen: Highest at surface, decreases until reaching oxygen minimum zone, increases after this point
Carbon dioxide: Increases with depth

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17
Q

Water Movements

A

Waves, Tides, Currents, Upwelling

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18
Q

Waves

A

In open bodies of water, wind and frictional drag, an energy transfer rather than water particles actually moving
In oceans and lakes, fetch which is the distance wind blows

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19
Q

Tides

A

Result of forces exerted by the moon and sun // Long period waves: high tides (when we’re in the moon’s bulge), low tides (when we’re not)
Solar tides usually masked by lunar, exceptions: new/full moon: amplify, quarter/half moon: contradict
Tides are inconsistent a lot of times

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20
Q

Ocean Currents

A

Winds, coriolis effect, gyres within ocean basins

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21
Q

Upwelling

A

Occur where gyres meet, coastally, and in lakes

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22
Q

Ocean Conveyor Belt

A

Slow-moving global current: thermohaline (salt and temperature based) circulation, vital to nutrient and
CO2 cycles and regulation of global climates

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23
Q

Currents

A

Velocity determines stream characteristics, both of the channel and of the bottom characteristics

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24
Q

Substrates and Sediments

A

Differs greatly from place to place, both inorganic and organic material, different substrates support different organisms

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25
Q

Hydrological Cycle

A

Evapotranspiration, precipitation, and infiltration

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26
Q

Global Water Budget

A

A water accountability budget // Reservoir: bodies of water, Hydrologic flux: movements of water through the global cycle

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27
Q

Ecosystem Linkage

A

Any persistent or recurring process or attribute that connects different ecosystems in some manner
Physical: exchange of abiotic material, Chemical: exchange of inorganic nutrients, Biological: exchange of organisms and their byproducts

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28
Q

Rivers and Streams

A

Lotic environments, nested hierarchy of stream order that drain areas of land called watersheds

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29
Q

Habitat Diversity within Streams

A

Riffles, pools, runs, falls; Also stream reach

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30
Q

Riffles

A

Shallow, turbulent areas

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31
Q

Runs

A

Rapid flow over smooth surfaces

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32
Q

Falls

A

Falling water

33
Q

Pools

A

Deep and slow moving

34
Q

Coral Reefs

A

Extremely diverse ecosystems, found nutrient-poor tropical waters, based on anthozoan coral and coralline algae

35
Q

Salt Marshes

A

Ecosystems with distinct zonation due to salinity, tidal flow, and height // Salt-marsh animals are adapted to tidal rhythms // Detrital feeders such as fiddler crabs and their predators are active at low tide; filter-feeding ribbed mussels are active at high tide

36
Q

Biomes

A

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37
Q

Mangrove Forests

A

Ecosystems found in tropical regions, similar to salt marshes and cover up to 70 percent of coastlines // Uniquely adapted to a tidal environment, support a unique mix of terrestrial and marine life such as through a nursery for the larvae and young of crabs, shrimp, and fish

38
Q

Freshwater Wetlands

A

Transitional zone between freshwater
and land // Defined by hydrology // Found in every climatic zone

39
Q

Ecological Hierarchy

A

Organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere

40
Q

Spatial Scales

A

Micro- and Macro-habitats

41
Q

Temporal Scales

A

Short to long

42
Q

Habitat Template Concept

A

Physical environment affects species distribution and abundance; key habitat requirements of a species can be identified based on where a species is most abundant

43
Q

Effects on Species Distribution and Abundance

A

Environment structure (extreme/simple vs. moderate) and disturbance level

44
Q

Provisioning Services

A

Food, medicine, raw materials, energy

45
Q

Regulating Services

A

Carbon storage, climate regulation, water purification, storm protection

46
Q

Cultural Services

A

Tourism, recreation, intrinsic value

47
Q

Supporting Services

A

Oxygen production, habitat provision, water cycling

48
Q

Lentic Waters

A

Lakes, marshes, ponds, reservoirs, swamps

49
Q

Lotic Waters

A

Streams, rivers, creeks

50
Q

Marine Waters

A

Coastal, pelagic, and deep sea

51
Q

Oxygen Minimum Zone

A

In the mesopelagic zone

52
Q

Stream Reach

A

Any length of a stream, often riffle-pool-riffle-pool

53
Q

Watershed

A

An area of land that’s drained by a river or stream

54
Q

River Continuum Concept

A

Since the physical conditions of a stream change, so do biological communities, in response to width, depth, velocity, and temperature

55
Q

River Zones

A

Based on sediment transfer and elevation

56
Q

Types of Wetlands

A

Basin, riverine, and fringe

57
Q

Lake/Pond Characterization

A

Eutrophic [high in nutrients], Oligotrophic [poor in nutrients], Dystrophic [high in organic matter]

58
Q

Lake/Pond Zones

A

Littoral zone [near shore], Limnetic zone [surface waters of open areas/euphotic/epilimnion], Profundal zone [deeper waters/aphotic/thermocline and hypolimnion], Benthic zone [the substrate]

59
Q

Marine Horizontal Divisions

A

Littoral [near shore], Pelagic [open waters]: Neritic [above continental shelf] and Oceanic [the rest]

60
Q

Benthic Topography

A

Continental shelf to continental slope to continental rise to sea mount to abyssal plain to mid-ocean ridge to trench

61
Q

Sea Level

A

Determines location of shoreline // Global and temporal fluctuations, results from global and regional processes

62
Q

Coastal Zone

A

Infralittoral zone, where low tide is // Littoral zone, where high tide reaches // Supralittoral, or spray, zone

63
Q

Life in Profundal Waters of Lakes

A

Mostly anaerobic bacteria

64
Q

Life in Benthic Zone of Littoral Zone of Lakes

A

Rich in decomposer organisms and detritus feeders

65
Q

Invertebrate Inhabitants of Streams

A

Shredders, Filtering Collectors, Gathering Collectors, and Grazers

66
Q

Estuary

A

The place where the one-way flow of freshwater meets the incoming and outgoing tidal water; the nature and distribution of estuarine life is determined by salinity

67
Q

Open Ocean

A

Characterized by salinity, waves, tides, depth, and vastness

68
Q

Epipelagic Zone

A

The upper lighted zone that provides energy to the other zones

69
Q

Hadalpelagic Zone

A

Areas found in the deep-sea trenches and canyons

70
Q

Abyssopelagic Zone

A

Extends from the sea floor to a depth of about 4000 m

71
Q

Bathypelagic Zone

A

Void of sunlight and inhabited by darkly pigmented, bioluminescent animals (depend on a rain of detrital material from the upper lighted zone, the epipelagic zone, for their energy)

72
Q

Mesopelagic Zone

A

Dimly lit, inhabited by characteristic species, such as certain sharks and squid; location of oxygen minimum zone (depend on a rain of detrital material from the upper lighted zone, the epipelagic zone, for their energy)

73
Q

Phytoplankton Distribution

A

More prevalent in the littoral and neritic zones rather than the open ocean

74
Q

Zooplankton Diversity

A

The greatest diversity, including larval forms of fish, occurs in the water over coastal shelves and upwellings

75
Q

Benthic Organisms

A

Those living on the floor of the deep ocean; they vary with depth and substrate and are strictly heterotrophic, depending on organic matter that drifts to the bottom; they include filter feeders, collectors, deposit feeders, and predators

76
Q

Chemosynthetic Bacteria

A

Use sulfates as an energy source for primary production in hydrothermal vent communities

77
Q

Areas of Highest Ocean Productivity

A

Coastal regions and areas of upwelling

78
Q

Areas of Lowest Ocean Productivity

A

The open ocean, specifically in tropical regions where the thermocline prevents nutrient mixing