Week 5: Communities and Ecosytems Flashcards
Communities
the species living in the same area
Species Richness
number of species in area
Species Evenness
Relative abundance of species in a community
Species Diversity
Considers richness and evenness (an index)
Trophic level
distance from abiotic energy source
Primary producers
Captures abiotic energy (ex.algae,plants,)
Primary consumers
eats producers
Why is energy lost
Energy is lost due to glycolysis and cellular respiration with each transfer
Competition:
2 species that have negative impacts on each other
Resource Partitioning
Co-existing competitors may adjust resource use, habitat use or way of life to minimize conflict
Predation
One species hunts, kills and eats the other
Herbivory
Occurs when animals feed on plants
Parasitism
One species/parasites exploits the other species gaining benefits of doing harm
Amensalism
One way negative interaction of two species
Commensalism:
Neutral to one species while it benefits the other
Mutualism
two way positive interaction
Interspecific
Different species
Intraspecific
Between a single species
Ecosystem
A habitat’s community and its abiotic factors
What are the 3 major ecosystem types
Marine, Freshwater, and Terrestrial
Biogeochemical cycles
recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their environment
What are reservoirs of carbon?
Atmosphere (CO2)
Oceans (CO2 and carbonates)
Plants (organic carbon)
Animals (organic carbon)
Rocks (fossil fuels)
What are reservoirs of carbon
places in environment in an ecosystem where element is stored as some compound for a certain time
Fluxes of Carbon
process where elements changes from one place to another
What are fluxes of carbon
Exchange (ocean and atmosphere)
Photosynthesis (atmosphere to plants)
Food webs
Respiration ( organisms to atmosphere)
Lithification (plants and animals to fossil fuels)
Combustion (fossil fuels to atmosphere)
What are reservoirs of the hydrologic cycle
Atmosphere
Oceans
Lakes,Rivers, Glaciers
Groundwater
Living Organisms
What are fluxes of the hydrologic cycle
Evaporation( surface to atmosphere)
Transportation (organisms to atmosphere)
Condensation (cloud formation)
Participation (atmosphere to surface)
Run off and Uptake( movement on surface
Percolation(surface to groundwater)
What are the 3 nitrogen elements in the nitrogen cycle
Atmospheric nitrogen (N2)
Ammonium (NH4)
Nitrate(NO3-)
What are the reservoirs of nitrogen
Atmosphere
Oceans
Organic waste
Food webs
Fertilizers
What are fluxes in the nitrogen
Nitrogen fixation( N2——> NH4)
Nitrification(take ammonium turn into nitrate)
Denitrification(Nitrate to N2)
Uptake
Haber-Bosch process(making fertilizers)
Eutrophication
Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers that runoff into bodies of water can generate algal blooms and disrupt ecosystems.
