Lecture 2 Flashcards
Organisms and environmental factors (laws of limiting factors)
Any factor outside of optimal range will cause stress and limit growth, reproduction, and survival of a population
Ecology
The study of all processes influencing
- distribution and abundance of organisms
- interactions between living things and the environment
species:
A group of individuals that share certain characteristics
Population
All members of a particular species occupying a given area
A biotic community (biota)
The grouping of populations in an area
- all vegetation, animals, microscopic organisms
Determined by abiotic organisms (light, T, ph, salinity, water, light, etc.)
Ecosystem
An interactive complex of the biotic community and the abiotic environment
I.e. forest, grassland, wetland, coral reef
HUMANS ARE PARTOF THE ECOSYSTEM
Ecotone
Transitional region between ecosystems
Landscape
A cluster of interacting ecosystems
Biome
A grouping of all the ecosystems with the same climate and similar vegetation
Biosphere
The overal system of all living things
Condition (factor)
Any factor that varies in space and time but is not used up
Resource (factor)
Any factor consumed by organisms
Explain the survival curve
Every species has an optimum range, cones of stress, and limits of tolerance for every abiotic factor
Synergistic effects (synergisms)
Factors that interact to cause an even greater effect than expected
Matter
Anything that occupies space and has mass
Law of conservation of matter
Atoms do not change and are not created or destroyed
The exception to the law of conservation of matter
Nuclear reactions split atoms. It’s very rare and not a chemical reaction
Organic molecules
Contains both carbon and hydrogen
Inorganic molecules
Do not contain both carbon and hydrogen
An organism is composed of large compounds - contain 6 key elements: (hint N CHOPS)
Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, and nitrogen
Four spheres of the earth
Bio, hydro, atmo, and litho
Atmosphere
The thin layer of gas separating earth from outer space
Hydrosphere
Source of hydrogen
H bonding: a weak attraction that bonds two H atoms to an O atom
Lithosphere
Site of all elements (found as rock and soil minerals)
Minerals
Dense clusters of atoms
Where do the spheres interact
The atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere interact in the biosphere
Energy
The ability to do work
Calorie
The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1°C
1st law of thermodynamics
Law of conservation of energy
Second law of thermodynamics
Usable energy is lost in any energy conversion
Which causes a gain in energy and which releases energy
Production vs. breakdown of organic material
Production causes a gain and breakdown releases energy
Photosynthesis (compounds -> compounds)
6CO2 + 6H2O -> C6H12O6 + 6O2
6 Carbon dioxide + 6 water -> glucose + 6 oxygen
Cellular respiration (define and compounds to compounds)
Organic molecules are broken down inside each cell
C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O
Glucose + 6 oxygen -> 6 Carbon dioxide + 6 water
haber-bosch process (hint: nitrogen)
N2 + 3H2 -> 2NH3
Nitrogen fixation
N2 -> NH4
Denitrification
NO3- ->N2 (anaerobic process)
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen gas in atmosphere enters biological system
Nitrogen gas to ammonium to used by plants
Why can two predators coexist
They rely on different resources and have different niches
First step of the nitrogen cycle
- Uptake of NH4 or NO3 by organisms
Second step of the nitrogen cycle
- Release NH4 by decomposition
Third, fourth step of nitrogen cycle
3, 4. Microbial oxidation of NH4 (yields energy in aerobic conditions)
Fifth step of nitrogen cycle
- Denitrification (NO3 respiration) by microbes in anaerobic conditions (NO3 is used instead of O2 as the terminal electron acceptor during decomposition of organic matter)
Sixth step of nitrogen cycle
- Nitrogen fixation
Seventh step of the nitrogen cycle
- Nitrate leaching from soil
Methane (CH4)
A greenhouse gas produced in the stomachs of ruminant animals and is increasing in concentrations in the troposphere
