Unit 1 Flashcards
When available food decreases, competition…
increases
a close and long-term interaction between two species in an ecosystem
Symbiosis
(type of symbiosis)
both species benefit from the relationship
ex: bacteria in your intestines
Mutualism
(type of symbiosis)
one species benefits and the other isn’t helped or harmed
Commensalism
(type of symbiosis)
one species feeds off the host species and the organism that is harmed is called the host
Parasitism
btw: parasite isn’t a predator, because it usually does not kill the host
competition between the same species
Intraspecific competition
competition between two different species
Interspecific competition
The role the species plays in its ecosystem
Niche
organisms occupy different spaces in the same habitat
ex: dif bird species occupy dif heights on the same tree
spatial niche partitioning
organisms separate resources by what they eat
ex:Sapsuckers eat insects in sap, & woodpeckers dig in trunk for insects
dietary niche partitioning
Different species access resources at different heights
niche partitioning by resource height
Smartweed roots reach down 100cm Indian mallow 70cm & foxtail roots 20cm
When species differ in their competitive abilities based on varying environmental conditions
temporal niche partitioning
ex: woodrats are active at night while cottontails are active in the day
animals “preparing” food to be consumed by other animals and progressing their species
Facilitation
preventing a species from growing in population
Interference
a large group of ecosystems that share the same type of climate and communities of plants and animals that result from, and are adapted to, their environment
Biome
biome
-aka boreal forest
-Largest is in Russia
-long, cold winters
-100in of precip
-acidic, low humus
Taiga
biome
-cool,humid
-high rain (esp in winter)
-Moderate temps
-slow decomp
Temperate Rainforest
biome
-US has the largest
-4 seasons
-deep soil layers
-rich in humus
-30-100 in precip
Temperate Seasonal Forest
biome
-Largest in Brazil & Indonesia
-near equator
-steady,humid temp
-low humus
-shallow roots
Tropical Rainforests
biome
-aka shrubland
-slight seasons
-hot/dry summer
-wet winters
-wetter winters=worse fires in summer
Chaparral
biome
-dry, cool winters
-warm summers
-Veggie growth
-4 seasons(winds)
Temperate Grasslands
biome
-aka tropical seasonal forest
-grazing animals
-tall grass, few trees
-dry winters
-wet summers
Savanna
biome
-20-30 latitude
-almost no plants
-dry, little precip
-winds
-little to no topsoil
Desert
biome
-aka arctic
-largest is in Alaska
-Frozen biome
-Dry, Low precip
-lots of humus
Tundra
-Coldest, after Arc
-southern hemisphere
-20% of the Earth
-Monthlong night
Antarctic
More precipitation = More
Biodiversity
include oceans, coral reefs, marshland, and estuaries
Marine biomes
(Streams are not a marine biome)
the primary source of dissolved oxygen on earth (land & sea)
Photosynthesis by microscopic plankton (phytoplankton)
Shallow water, reef-building corals have a symbiotic relationship with _________ which live in their tissues.
photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae
the greatest source of freshwater
Glaciers
animals responsible for building reefs, cover very little of the ocean floor
Coral polyps
ocean’s fish depend on healthy coral reefs because
-they protect coastlines from storms and erosion
-processes fish waste (lowers BOD
-used as food and medicines
(ocean warming causes reefs to die)
BOD
Biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD increase = DO decrease)
DO
Dissolved oxygen
(BOD increase = DO decrease)
Acidity measures:
pH level
Turbidity measures:
amount of solids suspended in water
Hardness measures:
how much Mg2+ & Ca2+ is present
Salinity
salty-ness (amount of NaCl)
fertile land that that has nutrients (slit & clay) replenished by floods
Floodplain
found where rivers meet sea, one of the most productive ecosystems in the world
Estuaries
coastal wetlands flooded and drained by salt water brought in by the tides
Salt marshes
the process of strong winds on the coasts of continents in conjunction with the earth’s rotation, causes surface waters to be pushed offshore where deeper water is then pulled up to take its place, associated with coastal currents
Coastal Upwelling
zone of a body of water
highest diversity, salty & not salty, cold & warm, wet & dry
Intertidal zone
Act that requires minimum safety standards for community water supplies
Safe Drinking Water Act
Act that provides legislation to protect rivers, lakes, streams, and oceans
Clean Water Act
Sources
release more than absorb
Sinks
absorbs more than release
Limiting factors for plant growth:
nitrogen and phosphorus
[phosphorus especially in marine ecosystems as it is an insoluble solid]
Primary recevoir of the carbon cycle
limestone
(Limestone is made of carbon, O2 & calcium)
Main recevoirs of the carbon cycle
sedimentary rocks
-fossilized organic carbon (fossil fuels)
-ocean
-biosphere
Annual fluctuation in atmospheric CO2 is due to…
seasonal cycles in photosynthesis
Sources of Carbon
Combustion of fuel, decomposition, burning of fossil fuels like gas, coal and oil, deforestation and volcanic eruptions
Null
ocean, soil and forests are the world’s largest carbon sink
Burning fossil fuels contributes to the net increase in atmospheric carbon because
sequestered carbon underground is added to carbon cycling between the atmosphere and biosphere
Removal & storage of carbon (usually as CO2) from the atmosphere into carbon sinks through physical/biological processes
Sequestering
Carbon Cycle can be broken into two subcycles
respiration and photosynthesis
Decomposition results in the storage of carbon as
coal and oil
Primary recevoir of the nitrogen cycle
atmosphere
soil is also a recevoir for nitrogen
Nitrogen is in recevoirs for short periods of time
N2 gas fixed by lighting or bacteria
N2 gas –> Organic Nitrogen
Nitrogen Fixation
1st step in the nitrogen cycle
N2 gas (atmospheric nitrogen) converted into a form of the ammonia for uptake by plants so that it can be synthesized into plant tissue
Organic Nitrogen –> Ammonia
Ammonification
2nd Step of nitrogen cycle
the process that converts ammonia to nitrite & then to nitrate, occurs aerobically & is carried out exclusively by prokaryotes
Amonnia –> nitrite & then nitrate
Nitrification
3rd Step in the nitrogen cycle
Plant roots absorb ions of ammonium & nitrate to make molecules like DNA, amino acids, & proteins
Assimilation
4th Step in the Nitrogen cycle
Nitrate ions & nitrite ions are converted into nitrous oxide gas & nitrogen gas (N2)
Denitrification
5th step in the nitrogen cycle
Examples of Inorganic Nitrogen
N2 gas, nitrate, nitrite, & ammonium
Examples of Organic Nitrogen
amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids
Fossil Fuel Examples
Coal, Crude Oil, & Natural Gases
Primary recevoir of the Phosphorus cycle
sediment
why does the phosphorus cycle take the longest?
phosphorus has no gaseous state
-why scarce in aquatic & many terrestrial ecosystems (also cause compounds are often insoluble)
-it is a limiting factor in biological systems
possible source of phosphorus in ecosystems
Guano (bird & bat feces)
Primary Recevoir of the Hydrofluoric Cycle
Ocean
(then ice caps & groundwater)
The Hydrofluoric Cycle is powered by
the sun
trees increase the rate of…
water infiltration
process of water vapor “evaporating” from leaves into the atmosphere
(aka evapotranspiration)
Transpiration
process of water seepage into the earth
Infiltration
the amount of energy generated
Gross Primary Productivity
GPP = NPP + CR
rate of energy storage in by photosynthesis after GPP is subtracted by cellular respiration (affected by: temperature, precipitation, & latitude)
Net Primary Productivity
NPP = GPP - CR
the rate at which solar energy (sunlight) is converted into organic compounds (glucose & O2) via photosynthesis over a unit of time
Primary productivity
(also known as primary production)
the process by which organisms use oxygen to break down food molecules to get chemical energy for cell functions
Cellular respiration
Measured by production in a single meter of land, ____ produces the most biomass
(biome)
tropical rainforests
________ produce the largest share of Earth’s biomass
Open oceans
____ of the energy that the lower level collects is moved up to the next trophic level, the rest (low quality energy) is released as heat
10%
1st law of thermodynamics
energy cannot be created or destroyed - only transformed
2nd law of thermodynamics
energy moves from high to low quality (more disordered) when transformed
a model of an interlocking pattern of food chains that depicts the flow of energy and nutrients in two or more food chains
food web
Matter is recycled by ______
decomposers
Plants absorb only ____ of the sun’s energy
1%
Order of Trophic Levels
4)Top Predators
3)Intermediate Predators
2)First Order Consumers
1)Primary Producers
(also written as)
4)Top Carnivore
3)Primary Carnivore
2)Herbivores
1)Producers
