exam 4 Flashcards
thermodynamics
the study of heat
thermodynamic: what is the source of energy?
sunlight
thermodynamic: 1st law of thermodynamic
what is a law? a well-tested theory
- energy is neither created/destroyed (only transferred)
- exothermic: heat is released/exited (burning paper)
endothermic: heat is consumed/ entered (photosynthesis-end products contain more energy) - energy flux: energy is randomly and evenly distributed (high sample size-atoms)
thermodynamic: 2nd law of thermodynamics
- no process is possible whose sole result is the transfer of heat from a colder to a warmer body
-cold putty and warm putty–> have close contact to same temp - during energy transfer, some heat is lost (transfers are not 100% efficient)
- entropy: randomness- what happens by chance (order of cells)
primary production
energy move from nonliving–> living
primary production: fixation of sunlight thru photosynthesis
6CO2+12H20—-sunlight—-> C6H12O6+ 6H20 +6O2
(low energy state: inorganic)——> (high energy state: organic)
primary production: Gross vs Net Primary Equation
Gross Primary Production - Cost = Net Prim. Production
-> Energy/carbon captured - C.R= Plant Biomass (amount of mass/matter)
primary production: Examples of Net Primary Productivity
- Tropical Rain Forest (warm/wet) > 2000g/m2/yr (dry matter)- great for growth
- Eastern Deciduous Forest >1750g/m3/yr
- Coniferous Forest, Savannah > 500-1000g/m2/yr
- Desert, Scrub, Tundra (dryest) < 250g/ m2/ yr (worse for growth)
Secondary Production
living to living (eating)
secondary production: 2nd transfer of carbon and energy
heterotrophs (organisms that cannot produce their own food) eating plants
secondary production: production of herbivores
plants making their own food
secondary production: Net Secondary Production
Gross Sec Prod - Cost= Net Sec Prod
-> Total Plant Biomass Consumed ( premade) - CR = Herbivore Biomass
secondary production: energy balance of eastern cottontail rabbit in NJ
1 . Input-plant tissue consumed (get energy from food+ grass)
- output:
*20%: not digested or assimilated - 2nd law: not effective
–> eat own poop-run thru their food twice
*25%: waste products
*45%: heat production
–> endothermic (homeostasis)
*10%: rabbit tissue (biomass)
Trophic levels: 1st level
a. primary producers
b. autotrophic (plants): fix energy & carbon
>energy–> chemical
c. photosynthetic plants & cyanobacteria
>fern: produce spores (r-selected)
>kelp
trophic levels: 2nd level
a. secondary production (moving from plants to things that consume them)
b. primary consumers: herbivores
c. heterotrophic: organic molecules (carbon + energy) that is premade
>buffalo (American bizar)
>song sparrow (eat seeds)
>black butterfly (eat nectar)
trophic levels: 3rd level
a. tertiary producers
b. secondary consumer: heterotrophs
c. primary carnivores
>fox (eat rabbits, voles)
> American Castrol ( eat grasshoppers)
> bull frog (dragonfly)
trophic levels: 4th level
a. quaternary producer
b. tertiary consumer: heterotrophic
c. secondary carnivores
species that operate on multiple levels: omnivores
eat both plants and animals
>raccoon
species that operate on multiple levels: scavengers
eat carrion (intact parts of dead animals)
> spotted hyenas
>voltures
>storens
species that operate on multiple levels: detrivores
eat detritus (organic matter that is processed by another animal or composed matter
>earthworms
species that operate on multiple levels: decomposers
reduce organic materials in simple inorganic compounds
-nitrogen (proteins) –> amino acids
-make nutrients available to plants (completely nutrient cycle
***90% is lost as heat in the atmosphere
>bacteria & fungi
digestion vs decomposition
digestion: occurs in the gut
decomposition: organic>inorganic
trophic pyramid: pyramid numbers
> paragon falcon + bluejay
1 paragon falcon 1
1 bluejay/day 365/yr
15 caterpillars/day 1998,375/yr
30 blades/day 21,882,206,250/yr
pyramid numbers grow EXPONENTIALLY
trophic pyramid: pyramid of energy
10% of energy is lost
-energy from the sun bounces in each transfer->energy is lost->less available
trophic pyramid: pyramid of standing biomass
shows the biomass of organisms at each level
almost always upright
why is less biomass of plants at the bottom?
they already been eaten
=nutrients are recycled
element cycle: carbon cycle
a. 4 macromolecules: carbs, lipids, proteins, nucleic aids
b. reservoir
80%: ocean (dissolved CO2+ carbonates)
15% atmosphere
9% carbon in fossil fuel (coal, petroleum, natural gas)
4.5% biomass
element cycle: nitrogen cycle
a. proteins + nucleic acids
b. reservoir: atmospheric N2
c. fixation (atmospheric -> smth that can be used)
>10% lighting
>90% nitrogen-fixing bacteria: N2->amonia
*who? clover, lotus tree (live in free soil, symbiotic w/ plants)
*where? legumes
d. nitrification:
amnomia-> nitrites
nitrites-> nitrate
what abt animals? has to be in its diet: soluble
e. denitrification: even more bacteria->recycle back into N2
element cycle: oxygen cycle
a. which organic molecule? nucleic acid
b.reservior: atmospheric O2, also dissolved O2 in H2O
c. primary cycle: photosynthesis, respiration (involved in all other nutrient cycles)
element cycle: phosphorous cycle
a. phospholipids, nucleic acids (sides of DNA, RNA-alternating sugar), ATP
b. reservoir: phosphate rocks (comes from soil)
c.cycle: taken up by plants, cycled thru food web, returns to soil
what are biomes?
more than a habitat
-based on vegetation structure-> larger region
why region? to match temperature gradient, moisture gradient
biome: grasslands
a. once covered ~40% of global land surface
what grows there now? corn, wheat, barley, oat, rice=all grasses
grasslands: local names
Eurasia, ukraine, china: steppe
southern africa: veld
s. america: pampas
n. america: pairie
grasslands: abiotic (non-living) characteristics
- 10-30 in/yr of rain
(<10in is hard for plants, >100in in fire disclimax) - periodic severe drought (grass is good at being dormant)
- wind, temp (day: high, night: low), fluctuation, low humidity, high evaporation rate)
- period fire
grasslands: biotic (living) components
- grasses
a. sod farmers: patches of rolled grass
b. rhizome: top of soil (ex. Kentucky bluegrass)
c. bunch grasses
-grow in bunches
-above ground “runners”/ “fillers”
ex. little blue stem - legumes (ex.clover)
- animals:
-grazers (buffalo, giraffe)
- granivorous: eat seeds (squirrels)
-burrowers
grasslands: structure
- roots
a. highest investment in roots = high root/shoot ratio
usually >1 (>50%)
*high biomass below ground
**___ to harsh conditionsb. root structure
most biomass near the surface
tap roots (up to 16ft in snakeroot)
rhizomes - herbaceous layer
-not woody, soft plant body
-cannot warry much weight
a. conspicuous grasses
b. forbs
-many are ephemeral (short-lived)
annual (every yr) vs. perennial (lives underground- has root system-lives thru the yrs)
ex. basil, potato
types of N. America Grasslands: tall grass prairie
a. location: west of eastern deciduous forest
b. rain up to 100 in/yr
c. fire: remove stem, recycle nutrient
d. dominant: Big Blue Stem
types of N. America Grasslands: Mixed Grass Pairie
a. location: west of TGP
b. mid grasses in music area
c. short grasses in xeric area (dry)
types of N. America grasslands: short grasses prairie
a.location: west of MGP
-near desert: 10-15in/yr
c. high wind, low humidity, high evaporation rate, temp (day: high, night: low)
d. dormant: scrongly grasses
e. problem: tend to be overgrazed
types of N. America grassland: entheogenic grassland
man-made
a. tamed grassed:
pastures (cattle, sheep)
hayfields (have fences)-cut grass, save for winter
crops (corns, beans)
b. successional grassland
biomes: shrublands
a. what is a schrub? woody, short
-small (<25ft), woody plant w/ no central trunk
-deep extensive root sys
-root/shoot ratio between grasses and trees
* not a taxonomic group; a growth form
shrublands: abiotic characteristics
- semi-arid
hot dry summer/ cool moist winter
why is this a problem?
*leaching: water-soluble nutrients are plush down-> loss underground=bad for plants (leave soil crust on the surface, makes it hard for the soil to absorb water)
minimum: 1 drought each yr - periodic fire: recycling nutrients
shrublands: biotic components
- dominants: xeric, broadleaf, evergreen (have leaves thru-out) shrub
-waxy cuticle (to retain h20; prevent water loss)
-thorns (protection)
-allelopathy (produce toxins that make other plants stay away)
-shadscale, mesquite, custosat (?), sagebrush - herbaceous plants-mostly animals
- succulents: cacti, aloe, yucca
- granivorous animals (birds, rodents) & predators that eat them (snakes)
shrublands: structure
one below ground, two above ground layers (strata)
- roots
-extensive root sys
(leaching: nutrients are loss; rain is during winter rather than growing season) - above ground: herbaceous-poorly developed
3.low, woody, open canopy (crown of all but has space)
shrublands: types-chaparral
aka the Mediterranean
-location: Cali, Arizona, NM, S. Nevada, TX= southern tier
shrublands: types-sage brush
aka Cold Desert
-location: Great Basin, Ut (Great Salt Lake), Nevada
-colder than chaparral
-dominants: sagebrush, sagscale
shrublands: types-successional shrublands
location: extensive in eastern US
-5-20 yrs after clearcut/ fallow
-much more mesic (moist) than western shrublands
-soil is richer in nutrients
Biome: Desert-location
east of postal range, sierra nevada, rockies
-prevalent wind(w->e:lee ward)= dryer due to adiabatic process (rain shadow)
Dessert: Abiotic
dry: xeric conditions
~<10 in of ppt/yr
1 to 6 sustainable rain per yr (infrequent)
hot: day
cool: night
high wind, low humidity, high evaporation
desert: biotic
- dominants: shrub, brittlebush, woody shrubs (cacti are succulent)
2, forbs: ephemeral (short-lived where they produce seeds then die)
barrel cactus
prickly pears
Desert: root/shoot table
trees moist 100%
shrubs dry medium
grasses very dry high
cacti dryest low (no point in chasing h2o)
desert: animals
granivorous+ predators that eat them (less grazing)
Tundra: location
- Arctic
-circumpolar in N. hemisphere
-not found in S. hemisphere (why? mostly water) - Alpine
-high elevation
-lower latitude (closer to equator) , higher altitude (where the alone rest)
-ecological island (on top of mountains-surrounded by a diff. habitat)
Tundra: Abiotic
one word: cold
- climate: high wind, low humidity, high evaporation
- permafrost : layer under that never thaws out (stays frozen)-> liquid h20 cant penetrate
tundra: abitoic-cryoplanation
a. frost polygon
b. frost hummocks
c. boils: wet puddles expand thru the ground (crack thru)
d. downslope movement:
-creep (out &down)
-soil fluctuation: soil sliding down
tundra: biotic
- vegetative structure: grassland (adapted to cold temp+ permafrost)
- arctic fonna (animals)
a. low density (not a lot of species)
b. ranges often circumpolar
c. ecotypes: ecological equivalent species (occupy the same niche but cover different area)
-cariboo, reindeer
d. ecoline
-allen rule: appendages (mammals from colder climates have shorter appendages
-bergmann rule: size ( mammals at higher altitudes are large in size to conserve heat)
-gloger rule: color (mammals live in cool/ arid climate have light color)
-jordans rule: clutches sizes are higher in cold climates (r-selected)
Biome: forest
the dominant plants are trees (most biomass are trees)
a. general characteristics
1. highest above-ground biomass, low R/S ratio-> a lot of h2o availability
2. most stratified
ground, herbaceous, shrub, subcanopy, canopy, super canopy
3. microclimate @ ground level
-light: 5% in dense forest (most are being absorbed by leaves)
-temp is buffered so little sunlight is heating the ground
-wind is 0 near ground level
-highest humidity of all biomes
forest: types: Northern coniferous forest
boreal forest: taiga
a. location: circumpolar & alpine
b. abiotic: cool temp, cold winter, moderate ppt (25-50ppt/yr)
c. biotic:
dominants: needle-like evergreen (pine, spruces, fern)
-poorly developed understory (why? leaves are acidic+ lack of light)
forest: types: southern coniferous forest
a. location: S.E USA (Florida)
b. abiotic: hot, humid, heavy ppt (> 50in/yr)
c. biotic:
dominant: southern pine (long leaf, lobby, slash)= fire disclimax
dominants: southern pine
forest: types: moist coniferous forest
a.location: pacific coast
b. abiotic: moderate temp, high humidity & high fog, 50-
150 ppt/yr
c.biotic: world’s largest tallest trees (highest biomass)
-southern region (CA, OR): redwood sequoia
*biggest tree: Hyperion 380ft 9.7in
-mid-region (Washington, British Columbia):
Ground Fur, Western hemlock
-northern region: AK (more open canopy)
Sithea Spruce
forest: types: temperate deciduous forest
aka eastern deciduous forest
a. location: here
north: boreal,
west: tall grass grassland
south: southern pine
east: prairie
b. abiotic: 30-60 in ppt/yr
distinct seasonality
c. biotic: strata (4)
herbaceous, shrub, subcanopy, canopy
dominant: decid. trees (in association-old hickory)
forest: types: tropical rainforest
a. location: equatorial belt
-Amazon: s. America (brazil, mexico, central america)- half of the world’s remaining TRF
-Congo Basin: Africa, India, Malaysia, SE Asia
b. abiotic: >100 ppt/yr
temp: high & stable
high humidity
c. biotic:
-flora (plants):
dominants: large broadleaf evergreen (150-250’ tall)
**highest richness (>75 species/ ha)- thousand/mi2
most stratified
epiphytes (plants grow on top of each other):vines
-fonna:
invertebrates:>20,000 insects/ 6 mi2
“herps” amphibians: most of the world’s species
mammals: 20 endemic families (can only be found here only)
biome: everglades ecosystem
a. location: florida
b. abiotic: subtropic climate (not as hot, steady,warm, humid, lost of rain/summer:wet
everglades: biotic
7 main habitats
marl prairie
cypress: trees are short (about human size)
hardwood hammock
pine lands
freshwater slough “slew”
coastal prairie
mangrove estuary: acts as a shield for smaller fishes
what are the 3 most important issues facing the health of everglades sys?
amount of water
quality of water
timing of water
- eutrophication: the excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen
- limiting nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus) is added to the water sys-> a dense growth of surface vegetation-> shades out the water below
why important? water is filler with small photosynthetic plants-> w/ sunlight, they photosynthesize->give o2 (primary source)
oxygen used by vegetation is not replaced-> things below, suffocate=anoxic condition
