Grade 9 Eco Flashcards
Ecosystem Definition
A community of plants and animals within a particular environment
Aquatic Ecosystem Examples
Lake, Pond, Ocean
Terrestrial Ecosystem Examples
Coniferous, Deciduous, Prarie
Abiotic vs Biotic
Abiotic - non living factors (amount of precipitation, soil type, sunlight)
Biotic - living factors (plants, animals)
Limiting factor Definition & Examples
Environmental conditions that limit the growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism or a population of organisms in an ecosystem. Examples include predation, temperature, food, water
Density Dependant vs Density Independent
Density dependant factors regulate the population, taking into account the population to area ratio. Density independent factors don’t take into account the ratio. Density independant: Temperature, sunlight, natural disasters. Density dependant: food, predation, disease
Carrying Capacity Definition
The maximum population the ecosystem can sustain independently
Determining the carrying capacity on a graph
When the population growth is steady overtime, then there is a horizontal line, that is the carrying capacity.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variety of different types of species in a community. It includes variation in the types of species, genetics within a species, and the interactions between the species in an ecosystem.
Disturbed vs undisturbed ecosystem
a disturbance is a temporary change in environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem. Disturbances often act quickly and with great effect, to alter the physical structure or arrangement of biotic and abiotic elements. Human disturbances include overfishing, chemical pollution and urbanization.
Biosphere Definition
The Biosphere is the area of the Earth in which living organisms are found. This region extends from the deepest ocean to just a few kilometers into the atmosphere
Hydrosphere Definition
The Hydrosphere includes all solid (ice on the Earth is often referred to as the Cryosphere), liquid, and gaseous water on the Earth. Earth’s surface is composed of 71% water.
Lithosphere Definition
The Lithosphere (Geosphere) includes the entire solid surface of the land, 29% of Earth’s surface, as well as the various layers of Earth’s interior
Atmosphere Definition
The Atmosphere is a gaseous layer surrounding the Earth and it is composed of a mixture of gases including mostly nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), carbon dioxide, and water vapour (1%). The greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapour) are important as they help to trap the Sun’s radiation; without this radiation, the Earth would be too cold for life to exist.
How are the four spheres connected
These spheres are closely connected in many ways. For example, many birds (biosphere) fly through the air (atmosphere), while water (hydrosphere) often flows through the soil (lithosphere). In fact, the spheres are so closely connected that a change in one sphere often results in a change in one or more of the other spheres.
