Final exam Flashcards
what is ecology?
scientific study of the interactions of organisms with their environment
what is abiotic?
non-living components of environment
what is biotic?
living components of environment
Organisms must tolerate which type of condition?
abiotic conditions
what are abiotic conditions?
temperature
water and precipitation
salinity
soil/substrate
what do organisms need to obtain from the environment?
oxygen
energy source
water
organic and inorganic nutrients
what can interactions between organisms and environment can lead to what kind of evolution of a popultion?
Adaptation to abiotic components of environments
adaptations to biotic components of environments
- co-evolution of plants and insects
How can organisms influence the environment?
population controls
ecosystem engineers
energy production
nutrient cycling
what are the levels of organization?
organism, population and communities
ecosystem
biosphere
what are Real-world Application?
conservation and environmental managment
what are real-world applications:humans?
air pollution
food production
clean water
disease vectors
vaccines
what is endemic species?
only found in one geographic location
what is an example of endemic species?
florida scrub jays
what is generalist species?
found in large variety of habitats and geographic locations
usually has wide range of tolerances to environmental factors
what is an example of a generalist species?
racoons found throughout north and central america
what is the ultimate source of energy?
the sun is the ultimate source of energy that drives the global climate
what is albedo?
ability of a surface to reflect solar raditation
what do greenhouse gases do?
Absorb and reradiate the infrared radiation emitted by earth
what are the most common greenhouse gases?
Water vapor
carbon dioxide
methane
Nitrous oxide
what is global climate change?
changes in average climate variables
what causes global climate change?
combination of natural processes and rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
what is te IPCC?
Intergovermental panel on climate change
what does IPCC do?
international scientific collaboration to assess global causes and effects of climate change
what are 3 ways we can understand climate change?
Evidence of current and past global climate change.
drivers of global climate change.
Documented results of climate change.
What is the most significant driver of climate change?
concentration of greenhouse gases
what is the greenhouse effect?
the warming of earth due to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere “trapping” heat
what is variation in solar intensity?
amount of solar power or energy the sun emits in a given amount of time varies over time
what is albedo?
ability of a surface to reflect solar radiation
what is the albedo level in ice and snow?
high albedo=reflects solar radiation away
what is the albedo level of rocks and oceans?
Low albedo=absorbs solar radiation
what is phenology?
effect of climate conditions on the timing of periodic life cycle event, such as flowering in plants or migration in birds
what is the biosphere?
latitudinal gradient in biodiversity
what is general trend?
higher biodiversity in tropical ecosystem than temperate or polar ecosystmes
what is the most diverse ecosystem?
tropical rainforest
what is the most diverse group of plants?
angiosperms
what is the most diverse group of animals?
invertebrates
what is terrestrial biomes?
all ecosystems on land.
Major plant community.
primary producers.
support other organism in environment.
regional climate shapes ecosystems around the world.
what are the abiotic factors affecting terrestrial biomes?
wind
storms
fire
soil
How many Biomes are in terrestrial?
8 major terrestrial biomes on earth
Tropical rainforest
Climate: high temp, high rainfall
plants: Dense canopy, shrub and vines.
high level of primary production
low soil nutrients of high decomposition rates.
Savannas
Climate: high temp. seasonal rainfall and frequent fires
plant: grasses and scattered tree
animals are grazers and their predators
Desert
Climate: dries of all ecosystems, daily fluctuation in temp.
plant: succulents, deep rooted shrubs.
animals often nocturnal and live in burrows
low productivity leads to lower animals diversity compared to other terrestrial biomes
chaparral
climate: moderate rainfall warm temp
plant: shrub adapted to periodic fires
animals: mammals, birds, and insects
Temperate grasslands
Climate: mild summer, cold winter, low rainfall frequent fires
Plant: grasses
Temperate forests
Climate: seasonal temps, moderate rainfall year round
Plant: broadleaf, deciduous tree
Boreal forests
climate: long cold winter, short we summer, precipitation is snow
Plant: evergreen coniferous tree
tundra
climate: Cold year round, low rainfall
Permaforst=frozen subsoil
plant: Small shrubs, grasses, mosses, lichens
Polar ice
Climate: cold, low precipitation
Plant: moss, lichens
Aquatic biomes
water-based ecosystem
abiotic conditions: marine and freshwater
what abiotic factors affecting aquatic biomes?
waves
water flow
depth
chemical concentrations
what is the salinity for bodies of water?
0.5 ppt
what is photic zone?
zone where sunlight penetrates and photosynthesis is possible
what is aphotic zone?
some light penetrates, but not enough for photosynthesis, up to 4000m deep
what is Abyssal zone?
Permanently dark; replies on energy produce in euphotic zone
what is intertidal zone?
land submerged at high tide, exposed at low tide
what is the neritic zone?
biogenic habitats create structure
what is the continental shelf?
shallow, near shore portion of submerged part of continnets
what is the photic zone?
coral reefs, kelp forests, seagrass and algae beds; supports high biodiversity
Bigogenic habitat
corals=animal
kelp=macroalgae
what is seagrass beds
subtidal, photic zone
seagrass=ecosystem engineer
what is ecosystem services?
Habitat, stabilizes sediments, primary producers, nutrients cycling
pelagic zone
Photic zone
abundant phyotplankton and zooplankton
what is nekton
swimming organisms
pelagic zone
Aphotic zone
low temp, high pressure
density of organisms is low due to limited food.
Adaptations: large eyes, bioluminescence
lotic systems
flowing
lentic systems
still
what are freshwater biomes?
lakes and ponds
what are at the shoreline zone?
emergent plant
What is at the benthic zone?
submerged platn
what is by the open water?
floating plant and predatory fish
what is considered freshwater ecosystem?
rivers and streasm
what is watershed?
surrounding terrestrial environment draining into rivers link terrestrial, freshwater, and marine biomes
oyster reefs
intertidal subtidal zone of esturaries.
create habitat in other species
Filter feeders
coastal wetlands
low wave energy
range of salinities from freshwater to hypersaline.
plant create habitats for diverse group of organisms
what is population?
group of organisms of same species living in specific geographic location
Ecologist use multiple methods to estimate actual or absolute population of a species.
direct counts or observations quadrats, point, transects.
mark and recapture
how do experts measure populations?
average the quadrats to estimate overall density
- # of individuals/m2
steps for measuring populations
- all animals captured are tagged for identification during second visit
- use same method for capturing as first visit, count number of tagged vs. untagged animals caught
what do experts assume when measuring a population?
No deaths
No births
No movement in or out of population
No trapping/ capturing bias
what is population dispersion?
spatial arrangement of individuals within a geographical location
- uniform
- random
- clumped
what is population demography?
population sizes vary depending on births, deaths and igration
Type 1 survivorship
most individuals live to old age (Humans)
Type 2 survivorship
survival constant over life span (Lizard)
Type 3 survivorship
low survivorship of young ages (plants)
what does a survivorship curve show?
graphical representation of individual surviving to each age in a life span
what is life history traits?
events related to growth, development, reproduction, and survival of an organism over their life time
what is natural selection?
Trait favors resulting in better chance of surviving and reproducing
explain logistic growth model
describes how a population grows more slowly as it near carrying capacity
what is density-independent factors?
limiting factors related to population size
- weather
- disturbance
- anthropogenic impacts
what is Density-dependent factors?
limiting factors based on population size
Competition (-,-)
species 1 and species 2 use same resources
Predation(+,-)
species 1 (predator) eats species 2 (Prey)
Herbivory (+,_)
Species 1 (animal) eats species 2 (plant)
Parasite/ host (+,-)
Parasites: nutrition obtained through the host species
pathogens: Disease-causing organisms
Mutualism (+,+)
Species 1 and species 2 benefit from interaction
Commensalism (+,0)
One species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped
what is coevolution?
reciprocal adaptations in two species
what is species diversity?
community level measure of biodiversity; variety of different species present in geographical location
explain ecosystem engineers?
species create, modify or maintain physical habitat for use by other species
explain keystone species.
species with an effect on the community greater than would be expected based on its biomass or abundance. Interacts with many other species in community
what is succession?
when communities change over time
what is primary succession?
occurs after a disturbance removes all living components or newly formed land is available of colonization (volcano eruption)
what is secondary successsion?
Occurs after a disturbance removes some individuals in a community (fire)
what is an ecosystem?
a community of living organisms and their interactions with their abiotic (nonliving) environment
what are the 3 types of ecosystems?
terrestrial
ocean
feshwater
what is landscape?
geographic location with variety of ecosystem
Trophic level steps.
Tertiary
Secondary
Primary Consumer
Primary Producer
what is food web?
Graphic representation of a holistic, nolinear web or primary producer primary consumer and higher-level consumer
Gross primary production (GPP)
amount of carbon fixed in system by autotrophs
Net primary Production (NPP)
Energy stored as carbon compounds in tissues
what are the 2 autotrophs used by primary production?
photosynthesis: Plants, phytoplankton and algae
Chemosynthesis: Bacteria
Primary production in terrestrial ecosystem
Temperature and moisture affect primary production on a large scale
- NPP increases with precipitation
- Increasing temperature and solar energy increase NPP
Primary Production in aquatic ecosystems
Controls on net primary Production:
1. Nutrients
- nitrogen
- phosphorus
- iron
2. sunlight
- water depth
- photic zone
- aphotic zone
- water clarity
Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE)
amount of energy available decreases with each level
Ecological pyramids
Graphical representation show the relative amount of biomass, number of organisms, or energy across trophic levels.
inverted biomass pyramids common in marine and freshwater systems
what is bioaccumultion?
Concentration of chemicals from the environment in an organisms tissue
what is biological magnification?
concentration of pollutants in organisms as they are passed through the food chain
what is bioaccumulation?
Brought attention to negative effect of DDT and biocides on environment
Biogeochemical process is what?
Cycle nutrients and water in ecosystems
what is biotic?
living organisms store nutrients and water, cycle gases through photosynthesis and respiration
what is abiotic reservoirs
storage of nutrients and water outside of living organisms
what is anthropogenic?
burning of fossil fuels and land use change
What is the process of global nitrogen cycle?
N in atmosphere fixed by bacteria.
Returned to atmosphere by denitrification.
Anthropogenic fluxes now dominate N cycle.
Rate of fixation of atmospheric N2 by humans exceeds natural rates.
what environmental changes happen during global nitrogen cycle?
acid precipitation
increased greenhouse gases
Eutrophication of waterways
Acid rain in US
Normal Ph of rain = 5.6
PH of acid rain < 5.2
what are threats to global biodiversity
habitat loss, non-native species, overharvesting
what is conservation biology?
applied ecological science, the study of phenomena that affect the maintenance, loss and restoration of biodiversity
what are practical needs: ecosystem services…
production of goods, production of oxygen, recycling of nutrients, water filtration/ shoreline protections
Biodiversity: medical applications
Fungi: penicillin
Tree bark: Aspirin
Horseshoe crab blood: LAL test
what can conservation biology focus on?
- protecting endangered populations
- protecting ecosystems and landscapes
- decreasing threats to biodiversity
what is the extinction vortex?
small populations become vulnerable to processes that acts to reduce it even further
what is ecotourism?
tourism associated with visiting natural areas
