PEE 1.2 The Earth’s Ecosystem Flashcards
1
Q
Everything that takes up space and has mass.
A
Matter
2
Q
Matter’s 3 Physical states
A
solid, liquid, and gas
3
Q
Matter’s 2 Chemical forms
A
elements and compounds
4
Q
A type of matter that has a unique set of
properties and that cannot be broken down into
simpler substances by chemical means
A
Element
5
Q
A combination of two or more different
elements held together in fixed proportions
A
Compound
6
Q
The basic building block of matter; the smallest unit of matter into which an element can be divided and still have its distinctive
chemical properties
A
Atom
7
Q
A combination of two or more atoms of the same or different elements held together
by forces known as chemical bonds; the basic building block of many compounds
A
Molecule
8
Q
An atom or a group of atoms with one or more net positive or negative electrical charges
as a result of losing or gaining one or more electrons
A
Ion
9
Q
Positively charged ion
A
Cation
10
Q
Negatively charged ion
A
Anion
11
Q
Most of the chemicals in our body, the material of which biomolecules, and therefore living organisms, are made. They generally contain at least two carbon atoms combined with atoms of one or more other elements.
A
Organic Compounds
12
Q
Larger and more complex organic compounds
A
Polymers
13
Q
Basic structural or molecular units, linked by chemical bonds, somewhat like rail
cars linked in a freight train.
A
Monomers
14
Q
Consist of two or more monomers of simple sugars (such as glucose)
linked together
A
Complex carbohydrates
15
Q
large polymer molecules formed by linking together long chains of monomers called
amino acids.
A
Proteins
16
Q
Large polymer molecules made by linking hundreds to thousands of four types
of monomers
A
Nucleic acids
17
Q
A chemically diverse group of large organic compounds that do not dissolve in water.
Examples are fats and oils for storing energy, waxes for structure, and steroids for producing
hormones
A
Lipids
18
Q
There is no change in its chemical composition.
A
Physical change
19
Q
There is a change in the chemical composition of the substances involved.
A
Chemical change
20
Q
There is a change in the nuclei of its atoms.
A
Nuclear change
21
Q
The nuclei of unstable isotopes spontaneously emit fast-moving chunks
of matter, high-energy radiation, or both at a fixed rate
A
Radioactive decay
22
Q
The nuclei of certain isotopes with large mass numbers (such as uranium-235) are split apart into lighter nuclei and release energy when struck by a neutron
A
Nuclear fission
23
Q
Occurs when two nuclei of lighter atoms, such as hydrogen, are forced together at extremely high temperatures until they fuse to form a heavier nucleus and release a tremendous amount of energy
A
Nuclear fusion
24
Q
Under ordinary circumstances, matter is neither created nor destroyed but rather is recycled
over and over again. Whenever matter undergoes a physical or chemical change, no atoms are
created or destroyed.
A
The Law of Conservation of Matter
25
The capacity or ability to do work.
Energy
26
Moving energy
Kinetic energy
27
Stored energy
Potential energy
28
Concentrated energy that has a high capacity to do useful work.
High-quality energy
29
Energy that is so dispersed that it has little capacity to do useful work.
Low-quality energy
30
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, although it can change from one form to another.
First Law of Thermodynamics (The Law of Conservation of Energy)
31
When energy is converted from one form to another, some of it is degraded into heat, a less
usable form that disperses into the environment.
Second Law of Thermodynamics
32
A network of interdependent components and processes, with materials and energy
flowing from one component of the system to another.
System
33
Do not change their size or how they perform in response to changes in
environmental conditions (e.g., car, TV).
Nonliving systems
34
Can change their size and components and how they behave in response to
changing environmental conditions (e.g., our bodies)
Living systems
35
Key components of Living Systems
❑ inputs
❑ flows or throughputs
❑ outputs
36
Any process that increases (positive) or
decreases (negative) a change to a system
Feedback
37
Occurs when an output of matter,
energy, or information is fed back into the system as an input and leads to changes in that system
Feedback loop
38
Causes a system to change further in the same direction.
Positive feedback lop
39
Causes a system to change in the opposite direction from which it is moving.
Negative or corrective feedback loop
40
Point beyond which the system can be drastically changed, experiencing severe degradation or collapse
Ecological tipping point
41
-In a stable balance
Equilibrium
42
A relatively stable overall trend
Dynamic equilibrium
43
Earth’s Life Support System
Four Components
1. Atmosphere
2. Hydrosphere
3. Geosphere
4. Biosphere
44
A thin spherical envelope of gases
surrounding the earth’s surface
Atmosphere
45
Made up of all of the water on or
near the earth’s surface
Hydrosphere
46
Consists of the earth’s intensely hot
core, a thick mantle composed mostly of rock, and a thin
outer crust
Geosphere
47
Consists of the parts of the atmosphere,
hydrosphere, and geosphere where life is found
Biosphere
48
Three Factors that Sustain Life
1. The one-way flow of high-quality energy from the sun
2. The cycling of nutrients
3. The gravity
49
The study of the interactions among organisms
and between organisms and their abiotic
environment
ECOLOGY
50
Levels of Ecological Organization
Biosphere
Biome
Landscape
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Individual
51
Parts of the earth's air, water, and soil where life is found
Biosphere
52
A community of different species interacting with one another with their nonliving environment of matter and energy
Ecosystem
53
Populations of different species living in a particular places, and potentially interacting with each other
Community
54
A group of individuals of the same species living in a particular space
Population
55
An individual living being
Organism
56
They make the nutrients they need
Producers (autotrophs or “self-feeders”)
57
Plants capture solar energy
that falls on their leaves and use it in combination with carbon dioxide and water to form organic
molecules, including energy-rich carbohydrates (such as glucose, C6H12O6
), which store the
chemical energy that plants need
Photosynthesis
58
They cannot produce the nutrients they need through photosynthesis or other processes. They
get their nutrients by feeding on other organisms (producers or other consumers) or their wastes
and remains.
Consumers (heterotrophs or “other-feeders”)
59
Primary consumers
herbivores (plant eaters)
60
Secondary & tertiary consumers – (meat eaters); (plant & meat eaters)
carnivores & omnivores
61
Consumers that release nutrients from the wastes or remains of plants and
animals and return those nutrients to the soil, water, and air for reuse by producers
Decomposers
62
Feed on the wastes or dead bodies (detritus) of other
organisms
Detritus feeders, or detritivores
63
The passage of energy in a one-way direction through an ecosystem
Energy flow
64
A sequence of organisms,
each of which serves as a
source of nutrients or energy
for the next
Food chain
65
A complex network of
interconnected food chains.
Food web
66
The longer the food chain, the less energy is available for organisms at the higher trophic levels.
(Only around 10% of the energy is passed on to the next trophic level.)
Pyramid of Energy Flow
67
The rate at which an ecosystem’s
producers convert solar energy
into chemical energy stored in
compounds found in their tissues.
Primary Productivity
68
The rate at which producers use photosynthesis to produce and store chemical energy minus the rate at which they use some of this stored chemical energy. Measures how fast producers can
make the chemical energy that is stored in their tissues and that is potentially available to other organisms (consumers) in an ecosystem.
Net primary productivity (NPP)
69
The processes by which matter cycles from the living world to the nonliving, physical
environment and back again.
The Biogeochemical Cycles
70
The hydrologic cycle continuously renews the
supply of water and involves an exchange of
water among the land, the atmosphere, and
organisms.
The Water Cycle
71
Carbon enters the living world through
photosynthesis and returns to the abiotic
environment when organisms respire.
The Carbon Cycle
72
Composed of five steps: nitrogen fixation, nitrification, ammonification, assimilation, and denitrification.
The Nitrogen Cycle
73
Has no biologically important gaseous
compounds; phosphorus erodes from
rock and is absorbed by plant roots.
The phosphorus cycle
74
Whose natural sources are the ocean and rock are incorporated by organisms into proteins and move between organisms, the atmosphere, the ocean, and land
The Sulfur Cycle
75
The variety of the earth’s species, the genes they
contain, the ecosystems in which they live, and the
ecosystem processes such as energy flow and
nutrient cycling that sustain all life.
Biological Diversity (or Biodiversity)
76
The biological and chemical processes such as
energy flow and matter recycling needed for the
survival of species, communities, and ecosystems.
Functional Diversity
77
The variety of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
found in an area or on the earth.
Ecological Diversity
78
The variety of genetic material within a species or a population.
Genetic Diversity
78
The variety of genetic material within a species or a population.
Genetic Diversity
79
The number and abundance of species
present in different communities.
Species Diversity
80
A species’ way of life in a community and includes everything that affects its survival and reproduction,
such as how much water and sunlight it needs, how much space it requires, what it feeds on, what feeds on it, and the temperatures and other conditions it can tolerate
Ecological Niche (or Niche)
81
Very, very good at living within
a narrower set of
environmental circumstances
so that one can outcompete
other organisms that would
live in that same environment.
SPECIALIST
82
Reasonably good at exploiting
different environments and
being capable of sustaining
oneself in them.
GENERALIST
83
Species that normally live and thrive in a
particular ecosystem.
Native Species
84
Species that migrate into or are deliberately or
accidentally introduced into an ecosystem.
Nonnative Species
85
Species that provide early warnings of
environmental change in a community or an
ecosystem
Indicator Species
86
Species whose roles have a large effect on the
types and abundance of other species in an
ecosystem.
Keystone Species
87
The process whereby the earth’s life changes over time through changes in the genes of
populations of organisms in succeeding generations.
Biological Evolution (or Evolution)
88
Biological Evolution (or Evolution) Process
1. Development of genetic variability through mutations
2. The natural selection, or the process where individuals with certain genetic traits are more
likely to survive and reproduce
3. The resulting populations s are better adapted to survive
89
Any heritable trait that improves the ability of an individual organism to
survive and to reproduce at a higher rate than other individuals in a population are able to
do under prevailing environmental conditions
Adaptive trait
90
Two types of adaptation
1. Acclimation
2. Evolution
91
Changes in an individual organism due to non-permanent physiological
modifications
Acclimation
92
Gradual changes in a species due to changes in genetic material and
competition
Evolution
93
Limitations of adaptation through natural selection:
1. A change in environmental conditions can lead to such an adaptation only for genetic traits
already present in a population’s gene pool or for traits resulting from mutations, which occur
randomly.
2. Even if a beneficial heritable trait is present in a population, the population’s ability to adapt
may be limited by its reproductive capacity
94
Common Myths about Evolution by Natural Selection
1. Survival of the fittest means survival of the strongest
2. Evolution explains the origin of life.
3. Humans evolved from apes or monkeys.
4. Evolution by natural selection involves a grand plan of nature in which species are to
become more perfectly adapted.
95
The process where one species splits into two or more different species.
Speciation
96
When different groups of the same population of a species become
physically isolated from one another for a long period of time
Geographic isolation
97
Mutation and change by natural selection operate independently in the
gene pools of geographically isolated populations
Reproductive isolation
98
Factors Affecting Biodiversity
Artificial selection
Genetic engineering
99
The process in which an entire species ceases to exist.
Extinction (or biological extinction)
100
When environmental conditions change dramatically or rapidly, a population of a species faces three possible futures:
1. adapt
2. migrate
3. become extinct
101
Species that are found in only one area, are especially vulnerable to
extinction.
Endemic species
102
The rate by which species have disappeared before the human
population began growing exponentially.
Background extinction rate –
103
Significant rise in extinction rates above the background extinction rate
Mass extinction
104
5 basic types of interactions
1. Competition
2. Predation
3. Parasitism
4. Mutualism
5. Commensalism
105
Occurs when members of one or more species interact to use the same
limited resources such as food, water, light, and space.
Competition
106
Occurs when a member of one species (the predator, or hunter) feeds directly
on all or part of a living organism (the prey, or hunted) as part of a food web.
Predation
107
Occurs when one species (the parasite) feeds on another organism (the host),
usually by living on or inside the host.
Parasitism
108
Occurs when two species behave in ways that benefit both by providing each
with food, shelter, or some other resource.
Mutualism
109
Occurs when an interaction benefits one species but has little, if any, beneficial or harmful effect on the other
Commensalism
110
Competition within a species
Intraspecific Competition
111
Competition among different
species
Interspecific Competition
112
No two species will occupy the same
niche and compete for the same
resources in the same habitat for
very long.
Law of Competitive Exclusion
113
The process when other species
develop a new niche, exploiting
resources differently.
Resource Partitioning
114
Animals eating other animals
Herbivore-Carnivore Interactions
115
Animals eating plants
(or in some cases, vice versa)
Producer-Herbivore Interactions
116
In this relationship, the parasite benefits, and the
host is often harmed. A parasite usually is much
smaller than its host and rarely kills it.
Parasitism
117
The normally gradual change in species composition in a given area.
Ecological Succession
118
The gradual establishment of communities of different species in lifeless areas where there is no
soil in a terrestrial ecosystem or no bottom sediment in an aquatic ecosystem.
This occurs when a community begins to develop on a site previously unoccupied by living
organisms.
Primary Ecological Succession
119
A series of communities or ecosystems with different species develop in places containing soil
or bottom sediment.
This occurs when an existing community is disrupted and a new one subsequently develops at
the site
Secondary Ecological Succession
120
The capacity to withstand external stress and disturbance;
maintained only by constant change in response to changing
environmental conditions.
Stability
121
The ability of an ecosystem to survive moderate disturbances.
Inertia or Persistence
122
The ability of an ecosystem to be restored through secondary
ecological succession after a more severe disturbance
Resilience
123
A group of interbreeding individuals of the same species.
Population
124
Four variables of Population
births, deaths, immigration, and emigration
125
Rate of change of population size Formula
Rate of change of population size
= (Births + Immigration) − (Deaths + Emigration)
126
Its distribution of individuals among various age groups—can have
a strong effect on how rapidly it grows or declines.
Population’s age structure
127
Age groups are usually described in terms of organisms
❑ not mature enough to reproduce (the prereproductive stage)
❑ capable of reproduction (the reproductive stage)
❑ too old to reproduce (the postreproductive stage)
128
Physical or chemical factors that regulate population growth
Limiting Factors
129
The single environmental factor in shortest supply relative to demand
is the critical determinant in species distribution.
Law of the Minimum
130
The number of individuals in a population found within a defined area or
volume
Population Density
131
The maximum population of a given species that a particular habitat can sustain indefinitely.
Carrying Capacity
