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Eco and Evo > Intro to Ecology > Flashcards

Intro to Ecology Flashcards

1
Q

Ecology

A
  • the study of how organisms interact with each other and their corroding environment
  • strives to understand the distribution and abundance of organisms
  • interdisciplinary
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2
Q

Population

A

a group of individuals of a species in the same general geographic area at the same time

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3
Q

Community

A

all of the populations of different species that interact with each other in a defined

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4
Q

Ecosystem

A

all of the organisms that live in a defined area, plus the abiotic components

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5
Q

Biome

A

large region characterized by distant abiotic characteristics and dominant types of vegetation

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6
Q

What three general types of characteristic determine the distribution and abundance of organisms?

A

Abiotic, biotic, and history

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7
Q

What is the importance of the abiotic environment?

A
  • because of fitness trade-offs, organisms tend to be adapted to a limited set of physical conditions
  • this results in their geographic distribution (range)
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8
Q

Niche

A

the range of resources that a species can use and the range of conditions that it can tolerate

e.g. microbes used to different extreme temperatures; availability of resources

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9
Q

Biotic factors

A
  • interactions among organisms

- can be negative, positive, or neutral

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10
Q

What are examples of negative biotic factors?

A

Competition

Parasitism

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11
Q

What are examples of positive biotic factors?

A

Mutualism

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12
Q

Historic factors

A
  • abiotic and biotic characteristics change over time
  • distributions are dependent on the slice of time being analyzed
  • E.g. the North and South American Species with and without the Pan-American land bridge
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13
Q

What are the 6 different Biomes?

A
  1. Arctic Tundra
  2. Boreal Forest
  3. Temperate Forest
  4. Temperate Grassland
  5. Subtropical Desert
  6. Tropical Wet Forest
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14
Q

What are the variables shaping the climate?

A

Temperature
Moisture (Precipitation)
Sunlight
Wind

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15
Q

What are the two variables that are used best to differentiate climates?

A

Temperature and Moisture (Precipitation)

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16
Q

Net primary productivity (NPP)

A
  • The total amount of biomass generated by the fixation of carbon per year minus the amount that is oxidized during cellular respiration
  • the greater the NPP, the better the biome is able to support larger and increasingly diverse communities
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17
Q

What is biomass?

A

the total mass of organisms

e.g. primary producers in the case of NPP

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18
Q

Whittaker’s Biome Concept

A
  • created by Robert Whittaker
  • plotted precipitation against temperature
  • the zones form a triangle on the graph
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19
Q

What are the three different zones of temperature in the Whittaker Biome Concept?

A

Tropical
Temperate
Boreal/Polar

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20
Q

What are the two different zones of precipitation in the Whittaker Biome Concept?

A

Forest

No Forest

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21
Q

Circulation Cells (Hadley Cells)

A

The circulations formed in areas by the equator because of the direct angle of sunlight involving a lot of moisture around the equator and little moisture outside of that area

  • more solar energy causes more heat
  • the heat rises
  • the more heat causes more evaporation
  • as the water cools as it evaporates, it eventually drops as rain
  • the now dry air is pushed towards the poles
  • the dry air descends, warms, and absorbs moisture
  • wet forest around equator and dry areas outside towards the poles
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22
Q

What is seasonality caused by?

A
  • it is caused by the Earths tilt on its axis by 23.5 degrees
  • whether the hemisphere is tilted away or towards the sun produces the season
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23
Q

Microclimate

A

the climate in a very small area

-e.g. the north face vs the south face

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24
Q

What is a rain shadow?

A

The area that receives dry air on a specific side of a mountain due to a a source of water on the other side of the mountain and a wind current carrying the moist air from the body of water towards the mountain

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25
Q

What are the foundation of terrestrial biomes?

A

Soils

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26
Q

What is soil?

A

A complex mixture of living a non-living material

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27
Q

How are soils classified into different layers and kinds?

A

By compositions, organic matter, minerals, particle size, porosity, and granularity

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28
Q

O layer

A

rich in nutrients and organic material

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29
Q

Permafrost Soils

A
  • ground frozen for extended time periods (usually > 2 yrs)
  • at high latitudes (tundra and parts of boreal forest) and altitudes
  • prevents tree growth
  • low decomposition due to the cold -> accumulation of organic matter
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30
Q

Carbon Sink

A

-occurs by dead animals pulling CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it

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31
Q

Temperate Grasslands Soils

A
  • Deep, basic/neutral pH, and lots of organic matter
  • high nutrient availability
  • great for agriculture
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32
Q

Tropical Rain Forest Soils

A
  • often low in organic matter due to high rates of decomposition and uptake by plants
  • yet, nutrient levels can be high near river and volcanoes
  • slash-and-burn agriculture
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33
Q

Mychorrhizae fungi

A
  • an example of a mutualistic relationship involving plants
  • get around roots of plants
  • plants receive nutrients
  • fungi receive carbohydrates produced by the plant
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34
Q

Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria

A
  • an example of a mutualistic relationship involving plants
  • plants have issues fixing nitrogen in the atmosphere so that it can be used to create biomass
  • plants receive nitrogen
  • bacteria receive a stable environment and carbohydrates
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35
Q

How much of the Earth’s surface is covered by water?

A

71%

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36
Q

What are the four abiotic features that best define aquatic biomes?

A

Salinity
Depth
Flow
Nutrients

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37
Q

Osmoregulation

A

processes that control the water and the solute concentrations in organisms

-stenohaline; euryhaline

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38
Q

Stenohaline

A
  • able to tolerate narrows range of salinity
  • most species
  • determined over time by natural selection
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39
Q

Euryhaline

A
  • able to tolerate large changes in salinity
  • few species
  • better for estuaries
40
Q

Saltwater Fish

A
  • blood is hypotonic
  • lower amount of salts compared to surrounding water
  • expected to lose water by osmosis
  • replaces water by drinking seawater
  • produce a small amount of concentrated urine (small amount of dark yellow pee)
41
Q

Freshwater Fish

A
  • blood is hypertonic
  • greater amount of salts compared to surrounding water
  • expected to gain water by osmosis
  • produce large amounts of dilute urine
  • the do not drink much of the surrounding of water
42
Q

As depth increases…

A

Temperature decreases
Pressure Increases
Light decreases

43
Q

By what depth does 50% of light is absorbed by?

A

10 meters

44
Q

Ocean Net Primary Production

A
  • NPP is typically low

- it is higher by coasts

45
Q

Kelp

A
  • high NPP
  • marine, multicellular brown algae
  • temperate and high latitudes
  • buoyant, but anchored with holdfasts
  • air sacs keep them upright

-holdfasts = like a root system
high productivity

  • diverse communities live in kelp forests
  • kinda like a forest
46
Q

Coral

A
  • High NPP
  • marine invertebrates
  • corals are tiny little polyps in the same family of jellyfish, millions of them make up a colony resulting in one coral
  • host colorful zooxanthellae algae
  • the algae cause vibrant colors and do photosynthesis
  • in tropical areas
47
Q

Coral Bleaching

A
  • the loss of color when coral expel their zooxanthellae

- occurs with warmer water temps

48
Q

Streams

A
  • fast flowing
  • greater potential for erosion
  • maintains colder temperature longer
  • poses challenges for organisms to not be swept away
  • higher oxygen and better aerated
49
Q

Bog

A
  • little or no water flow
  • low oxygen and nutrient poor
  • together with low temps, low decomposition
50
Q

Wetlands

A
  • marshes and swamps
  • higher water flow compared to bogs
  • more oxygen and nutrients compared to bogs
  • more oxygen and nutrients
  • greater productivity
  • more diverse community
51
Q

Nutrient availability

A
  • often in short supply
  • added or removed by currents in streams
  • sink to bottom, away from light
52
Q

Ocean Upwelling

A
  1. Winds blow
  2. Surface water moves and is forced offshore
  3. Upwelling- as the surface water leaves it is replaced by nutrient-laden water welling up from the bottom
53
Q

Thermocline

A

-a steep gradient in environment temperature

54
Q

Winter Stratification

A

Dense 4°C water at the bottom becomes nutrient rich while colder water a near the surface becomes oxygenated

55
Q

Lake turnover

A
  1. Winter Stratification
  2. Spring Turnover- surface water warms to 4°C and sinks carrying O2 down and nutrients up
  3. Summer Stratification- Dense 4°C at the bottom becomes nutrient rich while warmer water near surface becomes oxygenated
  4. Fall turnover- surface water cools to 4°C and sinks carrying O2 down and driving nutrients up
56
Q

El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

A

-changes Pacific sea surface temperature which affects weather around the world

57
Q

What are the three cyclical climate patterns that ENSO can cause?

A

El Niño
La Niña
Neutral

58
Q

How does ENSO affect the western coast of South America?

A
  • warm water and less wind
  • less upwelling of cold nutrient-rich water
  • negative for fish and seabird populations
  • hurts the fisheries and fertilizer industries
  • especially hurts the Anchoveta fish
59
Q

Weather

A

-short term (minutes to months) variation in the atmosphere

60
Q

Climate

A

-descriptor of long-term weather pattern in a specific area

61
Q

What type of correlation is there between temperature and CO2?

A

Positive Correlation

62
Q

What are the five Aquatic Biomes?

A 
Lakes and Ponds
Freshwater Wetlands
Streams
Estuaries
Oceans
63
Q

The Intertidal Zone

A
  • consists of a rocky shoreline, sandy beach, or mud flat

- exposed to the air at low tide but submerged at high tide

64
Q

The Neurotic Zone

A
  • extends from the intertidal zone to depths of about 200 m

- its outermost edge is defined by the end of the continental shelf

65
Q

Continental shelf

A

-the gently sloping, submerged portion go the continental plate

66
Q

The Oceanic Zone

A
  • the open ocean

- the deepwater region beyond the continental shelf

67
Q

The Benthic Zone

A

-the bottom of the ocean at all depths

68
Q

The Photic Zone

A

-the intertidal zone and sunlight regions of the neurotic, oceanic, and benthic zones

69
Q

The Aphotic Zone

A

-the areas that do not receive sunlight

70
Q

Turbidity

A

the cloudiness of water

71
Q

Detritus

A

dead organic matter

72
Q

Estuaries

A

where freshwater creeks and rivers meet the sea

73
Q

The Littoral Zone

A

-consists of the waters along the shore that are shallow enough for plants to take roots

74
Q

The Limnetic Zone

A

-is offshore and comprises water that receives enough light for photosynthesis but that is too deep for plants to take root

75
Q

Biogeography

A

-the study of how organisms are distributed geographically

76
Q

The biosphere

A

-a thin zone surrounding the earth where all life exists

77
Q

Conversation biology

A

-the effort to study, preserve, and restore threatened genetic diversity in populations, specific diversity in communities, and ecosystem function

78
Q

The Coriolis effect

A
  • the tendency for moving air on water to be deflected from a straight path
  • accounts for for the different directions of the prevailing winds and ocean currents at different latitudes
79
Q

An exotic species

A

one that is not native

80
Q

Invasive species

A

-an exotic species that is introduced into a new area, spreads rapidly, and competes successfully with native species

81
Q

Dispersal

A

the movement of individuals from their place of origin to the location where they live and breed as adults

82
Q

The Wallace Line

A

the biogeographical demarcation that separates species with Asian and Australian affinities

83
Q

What are the 5 Lake Zones?

A 
The Littoral Zone
The Limnetic Zone
The Photic Zone
The Aphotic Zone
The Benthic Zone
84
Q

What are the 6 Ocean Zones?

A 
The Intertidal Zone
The Neritic Zone
The Oceanic Zone
The Photic Zone
The Aphotic Zone
The Benthic Zone
85
Q

Water has an extremely ______ specific heat.

A

high

86
Q

Specific heat

A

the capacity for storing heat energy

87
Q

gyres

A

the circles that ocean currents move in

88
Q

aboveground biomass

A
  • the total mass of living plants, excluding roots

- how NPP is often estimated

89
Q

Under what conditions are photosynthesis, plant growth, and NPP maximized on land?

A

Warm temperatures and wet conditions

90
Q

Global Warming

A

refers to the increase in the average temperature of the planet

91
Q

Global climate change

A

refers to the sum of all the changes in local temperature and precipitation patterns that result from global warming

92
Q

Weather

A

the short term highly variable atmospheric conditions such as temperature, moisture, sunlight, and wind in a specific area and time

93
Q

Climate

A

refers to the long term average pattern of regional or global weather

94
Q

Phenology

A

the study of the timing of seasonal events

95
Q

Who is researched CO2 concentration and the up and down pattern each year?

A

Keeling

Eco and Evo (15 decks)

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