Lesson 3 Flashcards
It is the study of the interrelationships between plants and animals that live in a particular physical environment.
Ecology
are communities of organisms that interact with one another and with their physical environment
Ecosystem
are the place where a population of organisms lives.
Habitats
3 Fundamental Characteristics of the Ecosystem
- Components
- Processes
- Changes
2 Components of Ecosystem
- Living (BIOTIC)
- Nonliving (ABIOTIC)
2 Processes of Ecosystem
- Energy Flow
- Nutrient Cycling
2 Changes of the Ecosystem
- Dynamic (not static)
- Succesion
Also means BIOTIC
LIVING
Also means ABIOTIC
NONLIVING
It is the transfer of energy from one component of the ecosystem to the next (1-way flow)
Energy Flow
The nutrients and other matter passed on in a cycle
Nutrient Cycling
It also means NOT STATIC
DYNAMIC
3 Sustaining Life on Earth
- One-way flow of high-quality energy
- The cycling of matter (the earth is a closed system)
- Gravity - causes downward movement of matter
It is a closed system
EARTH
Earth is a __________.
CLOSED SYSTEM
It causes downward movement of matter.
GRAVITY
2 Related Laws of Thermodynamics
- Law of Conservation of Energy
- Law of Entropy
The energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
Law of Conservation of Energy
The energy spontaneously disperses from being localized to becoming spread out if it is not hindered from doing so.
Law of Entropy
It pertains to feeding relationships within the boundaries of ecosystems
Trophic structures
They determine the paths of energy flow and nutrient cycling
Trophic Structures
One of the most important species interactions
who eats whom
They move through the community
Matter and Energy
also refers to the rank in the feeding hierarchy in an ecosystem
Trophic levels
5 Trophic Structures
- Producers
- Primary Consumers
- Secondary Consumers
- Tertiary Consumers
- Detritivores and Decomposers
Also known as ‘self-feeders’
Autotrophs
organisms that capture solar energy for photosynthesis to produce sugars; mostly photosynthetic
Autotrophs (‘self-feeders”)/Producers
Autotrophs (‘self-feeders”) - organisms that capture solar energy for photosynthesis to produce __________; mostly photosynthetic
SUGARS
Autotrophs (‘self-feeders”) = organisms that capture solar energy for photosynthesis to produce sugars; mostly ____________.
photosynthetic
Give examples of Autotrophs
- Green Plants
- Cyanobacteria
- Algae
Green Plants, cyanobacteria, and algae are examples of?
Autotrophs
They use the geothermal energy in hot springs or deep-sea vents to produce their food
Chemosynthetic bacteria
Chemosynthetic bacteria use the ________________ in hot springs or deep-sea vents to produce their food
Geothermal Energy
One of the types of Heterotroph
Primary Consumer (Herbivore)
Herbivores that consume the producers (plants)
Primary Consumers
They consume the producer (plants)
Herbivores
Give examples of Primary Consumers/Herbivores
- Deer
- Grasshoppers
Deers and grasshoppers are examples of?
Herbivores (Primary Consumer)
Are also one of the types of heterotroph
Secondary Consumer (Carnivores)
Are organisms that prey on primary consumers or herbivores
Secondary Consumers (Carnivores)
They consume meat
Carnivores
Give examples of carnivores
- Wolves
- Rodents
Wolves and rodents are examples of?
Carnivores
Are the last type of heterotrophs
Tertiary Consumer (Omnivores)
Consume secondary consumers
Tertiary Consumers
They are also carnivores
Tertiary Consumers
Give examples of tertiary consumers
- Hawks
- Owls
Hawks and owls are examples of?
Tertiary Consumers
The consumers that eat both plants and animals.
Omnivores
Organisms that consume nonliving organic matter
Detritivores and Decomposers
They enrich soils and/or recycle nutrients found in dead organisms
Detritivores and Decomposers
The scavenge waste products or dead bodies
Detritivores
Given an example of detrivores
Millipedes
Millipede is an example of?
Detritivores
They break down leaf litter and other non-living material
Decomposers
Give examples of decomposers
- Fungi
- Bacteria
Fungi and bacteria are examples of?
DECOMPOSERS
They enhance topsoil and recycle nutrients
Decomposers
the relationship of how energy is transferred up the trophíc levels
Food chain
a visual map of feeding relationships and energy flow
FOOD WEB
True or False
There is BIG if no matter waste in natural ecosystems
False ; LITTLE
show how matter and energy move from one organism to another through an ecosystem
Food chains/webs
contains a certain amount of biomass (dry weight of all organic matter)
Tropic Level
Each trophic level contains a certain amount of __________ (dry weight of all organic matter)
BIOMASS
The % of usable energy transferred as biomass from one trophic level to the next (ranges from 5-20% in most ecosystems, use 10% as a rule of thumb)
Ecological Efficiency
2 Pyramids of Energy and Matter
- Pyramid of Energy Flow
- Pyramid of Biomass
6 Basic Elements of which All Organisms are Composed (NP COSH)
- Nitrogen
- Phosphorus
- Carbon
- Oxygen
- Sulfur
- Hydrogen
Can be stored in five (5) major areas
Carbon Cycles
5 Major Areas of Carbon Cycle
- Living and dead organisms
- Atmosphere (carbon dioxide)
- Organic matter in soil
- Lithosphere as fossil fuels and rock deposits
- Oceans as dissolved CO2 and shells
Is shuttled between organisms through photosynthesis and respiration
CARBON
Carbon shuttles between organisms through ______________ and _______________
photosynthesis and respiration
They must acquire their carbon from producers in order to be utilized for cellular respiration
CONSUMERS
Consumers must acquire their carbon from producers in order to be utilized for ____________________
cellular respiration
Amounts in Billions of Metric Tons of Atmosphere?
766
Amounts in Billions of Metric Tons of Soil Organic Matter?
1500-1600
Amounts in Billions of Metric Tons of Ocean?
38,000-40,000
Amounts in Billions of Metric Tons of Marine sediments and sedimentary rocks?
66,000,000 - 100,000,000
Amounts in Billions of Metric Tons of Terrestrial Plants?
540 - 610
Amounts in Billions of Metric Tons of fossil fuel deposits?
4,000
- Reservoirs: Atmosphere (CO2), fossil fuels, organic matters
- Assimilation: Photosynthesis, animal consumption
- Release - Respiration, decomposition, combustion
This is from what cycle?
CARBON CYCLE
It is about 78% nitrogen but not in usable form
Atmosphere
Atmosphere is about __________________ but not in usable form
78% Nitrogen
It is the most important element for all living organisms by the synthesis of Amino acids, proteins, enzyms.
NITROGEN
It is the circulation or cyclic movement of Nitrogen from the atmosphere to soil and back into the atmosphere.
Nitrogen Cycle
It is a vital component of amino acids in proteins and nucleic acids.
NITROGEN
It is the reduction of atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3)
NITROGEN FIXATION
All organisms depend on this process for nitrogen.
NITROGEN FIXATION
Oxidation of ammonia (NH4) to nitrite (NO2) and then to nitrate (NO3).
NITRIFICATION
Example of Nitrite (NO2)
Nitrosomonas
Nitrosomonas is an example of what?
Nitrite (NO2)
An example of Nitrate is
Nitrobacter
Nitrobacter is an example of what?
Nitrate (NO3)
It converts Nitrate (NO3) to atmospheric nitrogen (N2) like Pseudomonas.
DENITRIFICATION
The decomposition of organic nitrogen back into ammonium
AMMONIFICATION
carried out by decomposers like bacteria and fungi
AMMONIFICATION
Recycles large amounts of nitrogen to the soil
AMMONIFICATION
- Reservoirs: Atmosphere, soil
- Assimilation: Plant absorption, animal consumption
- Release: Denitrification, detritivorous bacteria
This is from what cycle?
Nitrogen Cycle
A major component of nucleic acids, phospholipids and ATP
PHOSPHORUS
This occurs only as inorganic phosphate to soil
Phosphorus
this adds phosphate to soil
Weathering of Rocks
- Reservoirs: rocks
- Assimilation: plants from soil, animals eating plants
- Release: decomposition, excretion
This is from what cycle?
PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
5 Human Influences on the Ecosystem/Biodiversity (DOGID)
- Deforestation
- Overharvesting
- Global Warming
- Invasive Species
- Desertification
is the permanent removal of trees to make room for something besides the forest.
Deforestation
is the removal of a forest or stand of
trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use.
Deforestation, clearance, clearcutting, or clearing
This can include clearing the land for agriculture or grazing or using the timber for fuel, construction, or manufacturing.
Deforestation
can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use.
Deforestation
The most concentrated deforestation occurs in __________________.
tropical rainforests
is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid.
Desertification
is the long-term heating of Earth’s climate system observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere.
Global warming
includes both global warming driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns.
Climate change
can be any kind of living organism – an amphibian (like the cane toad), plant, insect, fish, fungus, bacteria, or even an organism’s seeds or eggs–that is not native to an ecosystem and causes harm.
Invasive Species
They can harm the environment, the
economy, or even human health.
Invasive Species
is an introduced organism that negatively alters its new environment. Although their spread can have beneficial aspects, these adversely affect the invaded habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage.
invasive species
also called overexploitation
Overharvesting
refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns.
Overharvesting
____________ use the term overharvesting to describe populations that are harvested at a rate that is unsustainable, given their natural rates of mortality and capacities for reproduction.
Ecologists
The ever-increasing _______________ has intruded into the dynamics of most ecosystems through human activities or technology
human population
Increased agricultural outputs may lead to ___________________________ of certain toxic substances
BIOLOGICAL MAGNIFICATION
4 Effects of Agriculture on Nutrient Cycling
- Intrusions into cycling of nutrients
- Overharvesting of natural populations for human consumption
- Introduction of toxic compounds such as pesticides
- Can lead to Biological Magnification
pertains to the process where toxins are concentrated at each successive trophic level in the food chain
BIOLOGICAL MAGNIFICATION
known nerve poison agent against insect pests
Exemplified by DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)
Makes egg shells of birds very weak and brittle
BIOLOGICAL MAGNIFICATION
Affects the nervous system in humans
BIOLOGICAL MAGNIFICATION
Pollutants in lakes and rivers cause _____________________
CULTURAL EUTROPHICATION
Increase of inorganic nutrient levels in waters such as lakes due to sewage, factory wastes, livestock runoff, and fertilizer leaching
CULTURAL EUTROPHICATION
Results in explosive growth of photosynthetic organisms such as ALGAL BLOOMS
CULTURAL EUTROPHICATION
a type of algal bloom caused by dinoflagellates
RED TIDE
Greater carbon emissions lead to the ________________.
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
___________________________________ have caused atmospheric CO2, concentrations to increase 14% since 1958
Carbon dioxide emissions
It is increased is due to combustion of fossil fuels and burning of wood removed by deforestation
Carbon emission/Greenhouse Effect
Proliferation of CFCs deplete the __________________
OZONE LAYER
a protective layer made up of O3 in the stratosphere that absorbs ultraviolet radiation
OZONE LAYER
is reduced to atmospheric O2 by CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons)
Ozone (O3)
4 ADDITIONAL HUMAN INFLUENCES IN THE ECOSYSTEM (GCOB)
- Greenhouse Effect
- Cultural Eutrophication
- Ozone Layer Depletion
- Biological Magnification
Ecologists use this term to describe populations that are harvested at a rate that is unsustainable, given their natural rates of mortality and capacities for reproduction.
OVERHARVESTING
The term ____________ is frequently used interchangeably with the term climate change,
global warming
It is most commonly measured as the average increase in Earth’s global surface temperature.
global warming
the latter refers to both human- and naturally produced warming and the effects it has on our planet.
GLOBAL WARMING
_____________ that contribute to desertification include the expansion and intrusive use of agricultural lands, poor irrigation practices, deforestation and overgrazing.
Human activities
This is absorbed by plants into molecules
Phosphorus
This is transferred to consumers
Phosphorus
This is added back to soil by excretion and decomposition
Phosphorus
This is also leaches into water table over time
Phosphorus
What are the reservoirs of the carbon cycles?
- Atmosphere (CO2)
- fossil fuels
- organic matters
How is carbon assimilated from carbon cycle?
- Photosynthesis
- Animal consumption
How is carbon released in carbon cycle?
- Respiration
- Decomposition
- Combustion
What are the reservoirs of the nitrogen in nitrogen cycle?
- Atmosphere
- Soil
How is nitrogen assimilated in nitrogen cycle?
- Plant absorption
- Animal consumption
How is nitrogen released in nitrogen cycle?
- Denitrification
- Detritivorous bacteria
What are the reservoirs of the phosphorus in phosphorus cycle?
rocks
How is phosphorus assimilated in phosphorus cycle?
- Plants from soil
- Animals eating plants
How is phosphorus released in the phosphorus cycle?
- Decomposition
- Excretion
