Environmental Race to save the Planet Flashcards
_________describes the study of the interaction between organisms and their nonliving environment.
Ecology
Ecology examines _________ in the natural world.
interactions
Ecologists focus on the interactions of organisms, ___________, communities, ecosystems and biospheres.
populations
A population relates to an interacting group of the same ________ occupying a particular area at the same time. For example, a group of maple trees in the same forest. Ecologists focus on populations because of their impact on the environment.
species
Populations alter their size, age distribution, density and _______ makeup to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
genetic
Genetic changes over time may be made in response to a shift in environmental conditions to improve the chances of _______________ of a population.
survivability
Organisms are classified into _______, which can be differentiated by the way the way they reproduce
species
The two types of reproduction are asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction. The first usually occurs in _________ with only one cell, which splits up to produce clones to replace the original cell. Sexual reproduction requires sex cells from both parents to produce offspring.
bacteria
A(n) _________ is a natural or artificially created community of varying species interacting with one another and the nonliving environment.
ecosystem
A community describes a place where populations of various ________ live together in the same space and is an intricate network of animals, plants and organisms.
species
The _________ describes all of the planet’s ecosystems.
biosphere
The Earth’s life-giving system is made up of the atmosphere, ___________, stratosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere.
troposphere
The hydrosphere consists of the Earth’s ______ sources, liquid, solid and vapor in the air
water
The stratosphere contains sufficient quantities of _____ to filter out the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays; thereby permitting life on Earth.
ozone
The sun plays an important role in sustaining life on Earth in that it provides warmth, light, stimulates ______________, promotes the cycle of matter and determines the climate and weather systems.
photosynthesis
The sun promotes the cycling of matter. The Earth is essentially closed off to space and hence all matter on Earth must be _________. This matter includes atoms, ions and molecules that are necessary for living organisms to survive on.
recycled
Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor are all examples of __________ gases.
greenhouse
These gases create the natural greenhouse _______ as they assist in the reduction of heat flow back into space. This keeps the Earth warm enough to maintain life.
effect
The natural greenhouse effect was first described by ______________ in 1824.
Joseph Fourier
The role of water vapor and CO2 was identified later by _________________
Claude Pouille
According to the EPA, passenger cars and light trucks account for 17% of all man-made ___ emissions.
CO2
Most carbon dioxide (CO2) results from the generation of ___________ power (34%) followed next by industry, which emits 29% of all manmade CO2.
electrical
The biosphere can be divided up into biomes and _______ life zones.
aquatic
Biomes describes the portion of the biosphere that is covered by _____ and includes the forests, deserts and grasslands that have a particular climate and life forms that have adapted to those conditions.
land
Natural ecosystems do not have specific boundaries and are not genuinely self-sustaining because one ecosystem will tend to join up with a neighboring one in a ____________ area known as an ecoton
transitional
An ecotone describes an area containing a ________ of species between two or more ecosystems. An example of an ecotone is the marsh or wetland found between dry land and water.
mixture
A desert biome is characterized by scattered annual rainfall of less than 25cm or __ inches. and sparse, broadly spaced low vegetation.
10
The plant life in the desert ecosystem have _______ by developing waxy leaves to minimize water loss, deeply growing roots to tap into groundwater and becoming dormant in drier periods.
adapted
Mosses and ________ tend to do this as a conservation and survival technique.
lichens
There are three main types of _________ biomes are the tropical, temperate and tundra.
grassland
The tundra or ______ grasslands are concentrated just south of the arctic polar cap. There is little precipitation (which falls as snow), is very cold and windy.
polar
________ grasslands are typified by a prolonged dry season, low to medium rainfall and high mean temperatures.
Tropical
This is the nature of grasslands and they can be found in a wide belt either side of the ________.
Equator
A popular type of grassland biome is called a savanna, which is characterized by a year round ____ climate, two dry seasons and plentiful rainfall the rest of the year.
warm
The largest savannas are found in Africa, __________ and South-East Asia.
Australia
The _______ tropical savannas are home to large number of grazing and browsing animals who have adapted their eating habits in such a way as not to compete with other animals.
African
Grazers eat grass and herbs and _________ eat leaves and shoots. The different animals eat different foods and hence reduce competition. For example, giraffes eat the top leaves and shoots, elephants eat those in the middle of the tree, wildebeests like short grass and zebras prefer longer grasses.
browsers
Temperate grassland biomes have very cold winters, hot and dry summers with sparse and uneven rainfall that produces _______ soil.
fertile
The grasses above ground die and decompose every year and this creates ___________ for the soil.
fertilizer
The _________ biome has adapted to withstand and regenerate itself following occasional fires.
chaparral
Many plants have adapted to storing food reserves in hardy roots and sprouting ______ only after fire.
seeds
The main types of forest biomes are the tropical rain forest, temperate forest and ______ forest.
boreal
_______ or taiga is one of the types of forest biome and has a sub-arctic climate with a skyline dominated by coniferous evergreen trees. There are not very many species living here as it is too cold.
Boreal
Even though _____________ forests only cover 2% of the Earth’s land space, it is the habitat for an estimated 50% to 80% of all land species.
tropical rain
The multiple layers of specific plants and animal life that can be accommodated in a tropical rain forest are considerable and hence permit extensive ______________.
biodiversity
Mountain biomes are critical ecologically because they make up 20% of the Earth’s land surface and house forests, contain specific species not found anywhere else and play an important role in the __________ cycle.
hydrologic
Mountain biomes also serve as a __________ for animals from low-lying areas who have been forced to higher ground and affect sea levels via the increase or decrease in glacial ice, stored in the mountains of Antarctica.
sanctuary
The biosphere and its ecosystems can be divided into the _______ and biotic components.
abiotic
The abiotic components refer to the __________ aspects of the environment, like water and air. The biotic components refer to the living parts like plants and animals.
nonliving
The abiotic components of an ecosystem consist of the ________ and chemical factors that affect biomes and aquatic life zones.
physica
The existence, number and spread of a species in an ecosystem are determined by the _________ level of that species to one or more physical or chemical factors
tolerance
Every population in an ecosystem has a level to various physical and chemical factors. For example, some plants thrive in sunlight while others like the shade. Some species have a ______ range of tolerance and others a narrower range.
broad
An important ecological principle tied to the law of tolerance is the ________ factor principle.
limiting
This principle states that too much or too little of a particular ________ factor may stunt or stop population growth, even if the other factors are near their optimum levels of tolerance. For example, over-watering a plant can kill it.
abiotic
The living organisms in an ecosystem can be classed as producers or _________.
consumers
Producers are those living organisms that create their own food from the environment’s __________. Examples of producers are green plants (land), algae (water) and phytoplankton (water).
compounds
Consumers can be categorized as herbivores, omnivores, carnivores, scavengers and __________.
detrivores
Detrivores are made up of _________ feeders and decomposers. The former (for example, crabs and earthworms) consume the extracted nutrients from partially rotting organic matter. The latter (for example, types of bacteria and fungi) recycle organic matter in the biosphere).
detritus
Producers, also known as ___________ organisms, are those living members of the ecosystem that manufacture their own food using simple inorganic materials.
autotrophic
Examples of simple __________ materials include water, carbon dioxide and salts.
inorganic
Examples of ___________ organisms include trees, plants and phytoplankton (algae).
autotrophic
Producers are typically ________________ plants and they vary with the type of ecosystem.
photosynthetic
Heterotrophs (_________) are living organisms that ingest other organisms.
consumers
The vast majority of heterotrophic organisms are ________. They feed on the tissues of producers or on that of other consumers.
animals.
An ecosystem will exist and thrive through a mixture of matter recycling and one-way ______ flow.
energy
The main components of an ecosystem (chemicals, energy and organisms) are connected by matter recycling, as well as the one-way ______ energy and heat flow, via organisms and then into the environment as low-quality heat.
solar
The ecosystem provides us with various valuable services like natural water purification, biological control over _____ that destroy crops and the natural greenhouse effect of keeping the Earth warm enough to live on.
pests
The ecosystem has natural means of managing pests. For example, ladybugs eat aphids that would otherwise destroy our crops. This is a “________” service.
natural
____________ can be defined as the range of life forms and life maintaining processes that survive best in the various conditions found on Earth
Biodiversity
This is the definition of biodiversity and includes genetic, species, ecological and ___________ diversity.
functional
The consequences of a loss of biodiversity are the reduction of the availability of _________ services and adaptability of species and ecosystems to altering environmental conditions
ecosystem
The many different species on the planet have genetic codes that have evolved over millions of years as the environmental conditions have changed. Hence, this forms part of the groundwork for adapting to future changes. Loss of biodiversity will reduce this groundwork and hence affect ______________ in the future.
adaptability
It is of fundamental importance to maintain a stable level of biodiversity on the Earth because the loss of species experienced in the last century will take _________ years to replace by speciation.
5 million
Developing and establishing new species takes a very long time, especially in life forms that have longer ______________ cycles, like humans.
reproductive
Ecologists and conservationists argue that the Earth’s biodiversity needs to be protected because the genes, ecosystems, species and ecological processes have an instrumental and _________ value.
intrinsic
Intrinsic value means simply because it exists, regardless of the value provided to humans. The instrumental value relates to the ___________ of biodiversity to humans.
usefulness
The instrumental value of ____________ includes supplying food, fuel, fiber, paper and medicine or lumber.
biodiversity
Humans can appreciate the recreational beauty of nature in a non-___________ way by choosing eco-tourism when going on vacations.
consumptive
Ideally eco-tourism should not cause any harm to the _____________, provide an income to the indigenous population as a motivation to maintain the area’s natural ecosystem and generate funds to run conservation programs.
environment
_________ is one of the most popular hobbies in America.
gardening
Surveys conducted during the past several years have consistently ranked gardening among the top ____ most popular American hobbies.
ten
A food chain is a sequence of _________, where each member uses the next one in line as a source of food
organisms
This is the definition of a food chain and shows how energy and nutrients move from one organism to another in an __________.
ecosystem.
A __________ is made up of a number of trophic levels, with the producers at the first level and consumers at the subsequent levels
food chain
A trophic level is a ________ level and this determines the position of an organism in a food chain. Primary consumers occupy the second level, secondary consumers the third and tertiary consumers the fourth. There are rarely more than four trophic levels in an ecosystem.
feeding
A food ___ describes a series of food chains that are interlinked as a result of organisms participating in more than one food chain.
web
This is the definition of a food web and occurs regularly as most species take part in ________ food chains.
several
In a food web or chain, the chemical energy stored in biomass is transferred from one organism to another and the level of energy that is transferred from one trophic level to the next is called ecological __________.
efficiency
The amount of usable energy that is transferred is called ecological efficiency and is typically 10% (90% loss). Hence, the greater the number of trophic levels, the greater the loss of _______ energy.
usable
The rate at which producers and plants create more plant material (biomass) via ______________ is known as the GPP.
photosynthesis
This is the definition of _______________ product (GPP), which varies around the world. The areas with the highest GPP levels are shallow waters near continents and coral reefs. Those areas with the lowest GPP levels are deserts and open ocean areas.
gross primary
Coral reefs are among the most _______ ecosystems on earth.
diverse
Coral reefs are among Earth’s most biologically diverse ecosystems, harboring hundreds of thousands of ________ worldwide
species
As producers are the ultimate source of all food in an ecosystem, the number of consumers is limited by the Earth’s ___.
NPP.
The _____________ productivity (NPP)is the biomass energy left for use by consumers after the producers expend some of that energy for their own respiration.
net primary
Organic material that derived from plants as a result of ______________ is called biomass.
photosynthesis
Biomass is not fossilized material (oil, coal, gas, etc) but fresh material that can _____ again after being harvested.
grow
Biomass energy is derived from three distinct energy sources: wood, _____ and alcohol fuels.
waste
Among renewable energy sources, only _______________ power provides more energy than biomass.
hydroelectric
Between 60 and 70 percent of wood energy consumption comes from _______ liquor.
pulping
Wood energy accounts for nearly 80 percent of all ________ energy consumption in the US. Pulping liquor (or black liquor) is a byproduct of the pulp, paper and paperboard manufacturing process.
biomass
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and landfill ___ are the main contributors to waste energy.
gas
The second largest source of biomass energy is waste energy. Unsorted household waste, including some plastics, can be combusted as a mixed fuel in large MSW ______________.
incinerators.
Biomass alcohol fuel (ethanol) is derived almost exclusively from ____.
corn
Ethanol is similar to methanol and can be produced from sugar cane, grain crops, wood and agricultural waste. Natural alcohol fuels can be added to gasoline in amounts up to 10 percent without making any _______ modifications.
engine
Biogeochemical cycling refers to the cycling of the necessary ________ atoms, molecules and ions from the abiotic environment to living organisms and back again.
nutrient
This is the definition of biogeochemical cycling and is also known as _________ cycles.
nutrient
The main processes in the water cycle are evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, ___________ and runoff.
percolation
Infiltration concerns the movement of water in the _____ and is a step in the water purification cycle
soil
Photosynthesis by producers and _______ respiration by living organisms cycles carbon in the biosphere.
aerobic
The oxygen rich cells in living organisms break down various organic compounds and convert it back into ________________.
carbon dioxide
Fossil fuels are created over ________ of years when buried dead plant matter and bacteria are compressed between sheets of sediment.
millions
This is the process for the creation of fossil fuels and the ________________ is not released into the air until the fuel is mined and burned or these deposits are naturally exposed to the air by geological processes.
carbon dioxide
The ________ cycle consists of the following stages: nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification and denitrification.
nitrogen
Ammonification occurs when specialized bacteria convert nitrogen-rich organic compounds, wastes and dead organisms into ammonia and water-soluble salts containing ammonia _____.
ions
__________ is cycled via the water, the Earth’s crust and living organisms.
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is usually found in dust particles, rock formations and ocean bottom sediments. It enters the water from runoff, for example, from fertilizer or when it has been added into an ecosystem to promote ___________ growth.
biological
Sulfur dioxide reacts with certain chemicals in the atmosphere and sulfur trioxide reacts with the water droplets in the atmosphere and falls as ____ rain.
acid
These are components of acid deposition and can _____ plant and water life.
harm
The two fundamental principles to achieving ecosystem sustainability are the use of renewable _____ energy and the recycling of chemical nutrients necessary for sustaining the growth, development and reproduction of its organisms.
solar
Solar energy is the Earth’s most critical energy source and it is constant and renewable. We should make full use of it to achieve ________________.
sustainability
Scientists believe that the Earth went through a biological and ________ evolution billions of years ago that led to the development of the very diverse planet that we are today.
chemical
This relates to the evolution from single-celled prokaryotic _________ to single-celled eukaryotic and then multicellular organisms.
bacteria
The theory of _________ states that all species originated from earlier species.
evolution
This is the theory of evolution and explains why life is so ________ today that all species originated from previous, ancestral specie
diverse
According to scientific research evolution alters the genetic makeup of a __________ over time.
population
The __________ changes over time to adapt to changes in the environmental conditions.
gene pool
The term microevolution describes minor genetic changes in a population over time; whereas macroevolution indicates a long-term, major change where new species are formed and others are made _______.
extinct
Over time, species do become extinct for various reasons, for example when they are unable to ______ to new changes in the environment.
adapt
Variations in the genetic ____ are a consequence of mutations which can occur at random and are the only source of totally new genetic raw material.
code
Mutations change the genetic code and result from exposure to _________, for example radioactivity, and are passed on to the next generation where those mutated cells are reproductive cells. Some are harmless and may even benefit a species but some are not.
mutagens
The term natural selection means that certain members in a population possess genetic traits that _______ their odds of survival and reproducing.
improve
Natural selection causes an _______ (a special gene that has more than one molecular form), that has beneficial traits to become increasingly common in future generations. This trait must be heritable and lead to differential reproduction, so that this group can be more successful at reproducing than other groups.
allele
When a population of a species is faced with a change in environmental conditions it can adapt through natural _________, migrate or become extinct.
selection
By migrating to a new _________ with more habitable conditions for that population, they can continue surviving.
location
Artificial selection occurs where humans intervene through selective breeding to change the _______ makeup of a population of a species.
genetic
This is used to create species that possess traits viewed as desirable by humans. For example, this method has been utilized to _____________ wild animals.
domesticate
Interactions between species can result in a microevolution known as ___________ as alterations in the gene pool of one of the interacting populations causes the gene pool of the other population to also change.
coevolution
This is the theory propounded by some biologists. It results in a kind of “arms race” between two populations consisting of adaptation after adaptation to gain the upper hand in the __________.
ecosystem
An ecological _____ refers to all the factors that affect the life and reproduction of a particular species.
niche
An ecological niche can include the species level of tolerance, its role in energy flow and matter recycling and its quantity and consumption of natural __________.
resources
A generalist species has a broad niche in that it can live in many places, eat many different things and tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions; whereas a __________ species has a narrow niche and has to live in certain places, eat particular things and has a low tolerance to environmental conditions.
specialist
Generalist species examples include cockroaches, rats and humans. Examples of ___________ species include pandas, which can only eat bamboo and tiger salamanders that can only breed in fishless ponds.
specialist
Adaptations have evolutionary limitations as it can only occur in genes already present in the species makeup and is restricted by the ____________ capacity of that species.
reproductive
Animals that reproduce speedily can speedily adapt to a change in environmental conditions whereas a slower reproducing species such as elephants or humans cannot adapt so quickly and so the process takes a long time, usually _________ of years.
millions
The process of __________ leads to the development of a new species by natural selection.
speciation
This is the definition of speciation; where two species come from one. The two steps for speciation are ___________ isolation and reproductive isolation.
geographic
Speciation and extinction have been affected by the major movement of the continents, gradual climate change and alterations in the Earth’s orbit around the sun and rapid climate change resulting from ____________ events.
catastrophic
These events, like major volcano eruptions or meteorite crashes, seriously affect the energy flow and _______ and nutrient cycles. Hence, it has a serious impact on speciation and extinction.
matter
Background extinction differs from mass extinction in that the former describes the _______ disappearance of species whereas the latter refers to a widespread elimination of many species.
gradual
Biodiversity increases with speciation and decreases with __________.
extinction
___________ creates new species and hence increases biodiversity whereas extinction reduces the number of species and results in a loss of biodiversity.
Speciation
Ecologists explain the community structure of an ecosystem by its physical appearance, _____ structure, species diversity and quantity.
niche
This is one of the key descriptive factors of an __________ and assists ecologists from differentiating one ecosystem from another.
ecosystem
The factors that determine species diversity are latitude in ___________ communities and depth and pollution in aquatic communities.
terrestrial
The latitudinal species _________ shows that species diversity is greatest in the tropical rain forests and lowest in the polar regions like the arctic tundra.
gradient
Native species refers to those species that normally reside and thrive in a particular _________.
ecosystem
Exotic species describes species that were ____________ or deliberately introduced by humans into an ecosystem or those that had migrated there.
accidentally
For example, where a few specimens of plant material attach itself to a vehicle and is released into another ecosystem. With widespread air travel, the ___________ introduction of new species into new ecosystems will become more prevalent.
accidental
An _________ species describes a species that reacts to changes in the ecosystem speedily and hence acts as an early warning signal for potential damage.
indicator
_____ are a good indicator species because they are abundant, found virtually everywhere and react quickly to environmental changes.
Birds
Some ecologists believe that ________ species play a pivotal role in ecosystems, proportionally greater than other species.
keystone
The keystone species have a greater _____________ with other species and can affect their health and survival. They may also process proportionally more matter than other species relative to their size.
interaction
Pollination, cycling of animal waste, dispersing undigested seeds scattered by certain animals and _________ to keep the numbers of certain species in check are some of the key functions performed by keystone species.
predation
Carnivores eat other animals and this helps to keep their population under control. Top predator keystone species such as the shark, wolf and alligator stabilize ecosystems by ___________ the populations of certain species.
regulating
The great white shark is an example of an ____ predator.
apex
Apex predators are animals which have no ________ predators in their ecosystem.
natural
Loss of keystone species can start a ______ effect on an ecosystem, which could lead to species extinction and population crashes.
ripple
The ripple effect, is also known as cascade or _______ effect. The consequences are not limited as loss of keystone species has a disproportionately negative impact on an ecosystem.
domino
Species within an ecosystem may have to interact with each other and these interactions can be classified as _____________ competition, predation, parasitism, mutualism and commensalism.
intraspecific
Mutualism occurs when two species interact to mutually ________ each other. Examples include pollination, receiving food and protection.
benefit
When members of the ____ species compete for the same resources, intraspecific competition exists.
same
Intraspecific competition can be very fierce. Examples include plants secreting chemicals to restrict the growth of new plants around it and ________________ where some organisms, like lions mark their territory and protect it against other lions and other animals.
territoriality
There two types of competition for resources by species are interference competition, where a species limits the resources that can be accessed by another species and ____________ competition, where the various species have about the same access to the resource but differ in the speed and efficiency in which they can obtain it.
exploitation
An example of exploitation competition occurs when Humans’ use of land and resources outstrips that available for other species and hence _________ these species of the right to life.
deprives
