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Science > Ecosystems > Flashcards

Ecosystems Flashcards

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1
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

A community of organisms (species) interacting in a given environment. This includes abiotic and biotic factors of the habitat.

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2
Q

Give examples of micro-habitats

A

(small)
- tree stump
- aquarium

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3
Q

Give examples of macro-habitats

A

(large)
- caribbean oceans
- african planes

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4
Q

Name the characteristics of living things

A
  • They are made out of cells
  • They acquire and use energy (nutrients)
  • They grow and develop (mitosis)
  • They reproduce
  • They respond and adopt to their environment (within reason)
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5
Q

What are trophic relationships often represented by?

A

A food chain

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6
Q

How many trophic levels are there?

A

3

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7
Q

What are the trophic levels?

A

Producers
Consumers
Decomposers

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8
Q

Food chains are the representation of what?

A

The trophic relationships between different living things

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9
Q

What are food webs?

A

A group of interrelated food chains

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10
Q

In food webs/chains, arrows point to what

A

The direction of energy flow (things point to what they get eaten by)

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11
Q

What is transformed/transferred in a food chain? What is this called?

A

Matter and energy

Energy flow

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12
Q

All of the organic matter in an ecosystem is known as what?

A

Biomass

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13
Q

What is biomass?

A

All of the organic matter in an ecosystem

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14
Q

Flow of matter and energy can be represented by what?

A

Ecological pyramids, food webs and food chains

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15
Q

Describe how ecological pyramids represent the flow of matter and energy

A

Each trophic level is represented by a rectangle whose size is proportional to the amount of biomass it has

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16
Q

Biomass represents what? Unit?

A

The total number of mass living in an ecosystem at any given time (kg)

17
Q

What happens to the amount of energy and biomass as it goes up a trophic level?

A

Both energy and biomass usually decrease by a factor of 10 with each trophic level since organisms give off energy to breathe, eat, reproduce, move, etc.

18
Q

Trophic levels affect what? Why?

A

Relative abundance and population size for the whole ecosystem to remain in balance

19
Q

How much energy is transferred when going up a trophic level in a pyramid? How much is wasted?

A

10%transferred

90%wasted

20
Q

Is a rainforest or tundra more productive? Why?

A

Rainforest

Its biome supports more abundance and diversity

21
Q

Describe producers.

A
  • They are autotrophs, so they produce their own food
  • They convert inorganic material (H20, CO2) into organic material (protein, sugar)
  • A principal mechanism includes the production of sugar by photosyntesis
    6CO2 + 6H2O + energy -> C6H1206 + 6O2
22
Q

Give examples of producers

A
  • Algae
  • Plants
  • Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae): They were the first unicellular organism to produce O2 in Earth’s history
23
Q

What is primary productivity?

A

The total quantity of new organic material made by the producers in an ecosystem over a certain period

24
Q

Primary productivity depends on what factors (examples)

A
  • Sun light
  • Carbon dioxide concentration
  • Availability of nutrients
  • Water
  • Temperature
25
Q

Plants and algae produce the most O2 at what temperature?

A

20 - 25C

26
Q

Primary productivity is highest in what areas? Why?

A

Costa Rica/Borneo

Because they are warm and humid

27
Q

Describe consumers

A
  • They are heterotrophs because they get their food from a variety of other living things
    1. Primary consumers (herbivores): feed on leaves and fruit or their seeds
    2. Secondary and tertiary consumers (carnivores): feed on animals on the level below them (tertiary is highest, then secondary, then primary)
    Omnivores: consumers of multiple orders (levels) at once
28
Q

Describe decomposers

A
  • They feed on dead and/or remains of producers and consumers
  • This connects them to all the trophic levels
29
Q

Describe chemical recycling

A
  • Occurs when decomposers make inorganic matter available in an ecosystem by breaking down organic matter
  • At each tropic level in a food chain a certain amount of material is recycled by decomposers back into nutrients that producers can use
30
Q

Ecosystem dynamics respect what?

A

The law of conservation of energy

nothing can be created or destroyed, matter can only be transformed

31
Q

Who invented the law of conservation of mass?

A

Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier

32
Q

What is an ecological disturbance?

A

An event that destroys/harms an ecosystem. It can lead to the elimination of organisms (extinction) and change the availability of resources

33
Q

Name and describe the types of disturbances

A
  • Natural disturbances: occur due to environmental phenomena such as mudslides/floods
  • Human disturbances: the main form of ecological disturbance on Earth
34
Q

What is ecological succession?

A

The series of changes that occur over time in an ecosystem after a disturbance and that continue until the balance of the ecosystem is restored

35
Q

How long does it take for a forest to regrow after a fire which destroys it?

A

150+ years

36
Q

What are ecological footprints?

A

The estimate of how much available resources we consume and how much waste we generate

37
Q

How is ecological footprint calculated?

A

Ecological footprint = Land + water occupied
+ land and water used to produce goods & services for a population
+ land and water used to dispose of our waste

38
Q

What does HPI stand for?

A

Happy Planet Index

39
Q

How is HPI calculated?

A

HPI= Experienced well-being x life expectancy
________________________________
Ecological footprint

Science (8 decks)

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