Unit 1 Flashcards
What is interpolation?
estimation of a value within known values
What is extrapolation?
estimation beyond the known values
What is a sustainable ecosystem?
an ecosystem that is capable of withstanding pressure and giving support to a variety of organisms
What happened to Easter Island?
Its ecosystem became unsustainable after the trees got removed
What is an ecosystem?
all the interacting parts of a biological community and its environment
What does biotic mean?
the living parts of an ecosystem
What does abiotic mean?
the non-living parts of an ecosystem
What is the lithosphere?
the hard part of the Earth’s surface
What is the atmosphere?
the layer of gases above the Earth’s surface
What is the hydrosphere?
all the water found on Earth
What is the biosphere?
the regions of Earth where living organisms exist
What is a terrestrial ecosystem?
an ecosystem that is land based
What is a aquatic ecosystem?
an ecosystem that is water based
What is eutrophication?
a process in which nutrient levels in aquatic ecosystems increase, leading to an increase in the populations of primary producers
What causes eutrophication?
addition of artificial or natural substances like phosphate
What are some effects of eutrophication?
overgrowth of algae, oxygen levels dropping
What is photosynthesis?
a process that changes solar energy into chemical energy
What does photosynthesis do?
changes solar energy into chemical energy stored in glucose
What is the word equation for photosynthesis?
carbon dioxide + water ➜[light energy]➜ glucose + oxygen
What do carbohydrates made from?
carbon, oxygen, hydrogen
What is a stomata?
tiny pores in plants’ leaves
What comes in and out of a stomata?
carbon dioxide goes in and water and oxygen go out
What is chlorophyll?
the pigment that gives leaves their green colour
What is a trophic level?
a category of organisms that is defined by how the organisms gain their energy
What is the order of trophic levels?
primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers
What is trophic efficiency?
a measure of how much of the energy in organisms at one trophic level is transferred to the next higher one
What percentage are most trophic efficiencies?
10 percent, 90 percent is lost to the environment
What is bioaccumulation?
a process in which materials, especially toxins, are ingested by an organism at a rate greater than they are eliminated
What is bioamplification/biomagnification?
the increase of a toxin as it moves from one trophic level to the next
What are the effects of DDT?
it was absorbed by algae in the water, microscopic animals ate the algae, small fish, ate the microscopic animal, it affected the reproduction in fish-eating birds
What are the effects of PCB?
it biomagnified and affected reproduction of peregrine falcons
What is cellular respiration?
a process that releases energy from organic molecules, especially carbohydrates, in the presence of oxygen
What is the word equation for cellular respiration?
glucose (carbs) + oxygen ➜ carbon dioxide + water + energy
What is fermentation?
a process that releases energy from organic molecules, especially carbohydrates, in the absence of oxygen
What are greenhouse gases?
atmospheric gases that prevent heat from leaving the atmosphere, thus increasing the temperature of the atmosphere
What is the greenhouse effect?
the warming of Earth as a result of greenhouse gases, which trap some of the energy that would otherwise leave earth
What happens during the greenhouse effect?
infrared energy is trapped within the Earth’s atmosphere
What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
since the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of carbon dioxide has increased
What was the Kyoto Protocol?
an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
What could countries do to meet the terms of the Kyoto Protocol?
reduce emissions, plant trees to remove carbon dioxide
What can be processed in landfills?
methane, when bacteria break down waste using fermentation, it is the transported to a power generating plant the produce electricity
What is acid precipitation?
rain, snow, or fog that is unnaturally acidic due to gases in the atmosphere that react with water to form acids
How is pH measured?
below 7: acidic
7: neutral
above 7: basic
What are some effects of acid precipitation?
- kill trees by increasing the amount of aluminum in soil
- lower the pH in aquatic ecosystems, killing some organisms
What is produced when nitrogen oxide and water are combined?
nitric acid
What is produced when sulfur dioxide and water are combined?
sulfuric acid
What is a population?
all the individuals of a species that occupy a particular geographic area at a certain time
What is exponential growth?
accelerating growth that produces a J-shaped curve when the population is graphed against time
When does exponential growth occur?
when a population has no limitations
What is a limiting factor?
a factor that limits the growth, distribution, or amount of a population in an ecosystem
What’s a carrying capacity?
the size of a population that can be supported indefinitely by the available resources and services of an ecosystem
When does a population reach its carrying capacity?
when births and immigration equal to deaths and emigration
What is equilibrium?
the balance between opposing forces
What is intensification?
a policy that requires that a large percentage of new development must occur within the boundary of the city
What is an ecological niche?
the way that an organism occupies a position in an ecosystem, including all the necessary biotic and abiotic factors
What is a bog?
a type of wetland in which the water is acidic and low in nutrients
What do bog plants do?
they are carnivorous and consume insects for nutrients
What happens in bottom-up regulation?
when a population of a species declines, there will be less food for its predators, and so on, so the population declines
What happens in top-down regulation?
when a population of prey increases, the population of predators will also increase, the predators will consume the prey, leading to a decrease in the prey population
What is mutualism?
a symbiotic relationship between two species in which both species benefit from the relationship
What is a parasite?
an organism whose niche is dependent on a close association with a larger host organism
What do humans have that has allowed us to move out of the narrow niche of our ancestors?
a brain
What has the the ecological niche of humans been brodened by?
the ecological niche of humans has been broadened by our intellectual abilities and the development of technology
What is an ecological footprint?
a measure of the impact of an individual or a population on the environment in terms of energy consumption, land use, and waste production
What is sustainability?
use of Earth’s resources, including land and water, at levels that can continue together
What are ecosystem services?
the benefits experienced by organisms, including humans, that are provided by sustainable ecosystems
What are examples of ecosystem services?
provision of food and clean water
cycling of nutrients
pollination of crops and natural vegetation
What is desertification?
the change of non-desert land to a desert
What may desertification result from?
climate change, unsustainable farming or water use
What is a watershed?
an area of land over which the run-off drains into a body of water
What is decomposition?
the breakdown of organic wastes and dead organisms
What is biodiversity?
the number and variety of life forms, including species, found within a specific region as well as all the number and variety of ecosystems within and beyond that region
What is canopy fogging?
when insects are killed and collected in funnels to be counted
What is transect sampling?
counting along a line through an area
What is quadrant sampling?
gridding an area of ground to count bugs
What is netting?
using a fine net to catch organisms as the travel by
What is a keystone species?
a species that can greatly affect population numbers and the health of an ecosystem
What is succession?
the series of changes in an ecosystem that occurs over time, following a disturbance
What is deforestation?
the practice of clearing forests for logging or other human uses, and never replanting them
What is an alien species?
a species introduced to an ecosystem
non-native
What is an invasive species?
an alien species that upsets the ecosystem
What have zebra mussels done to the Great Lakes?
- out-compete native mussels and other native organisms
- declined the population of a small shrimp-like crustacean that share the same food
- fish that eat this crustacean have also declined
What is stewardship?
The active assumption of responsibility for the warfare of the environment
