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Environmental Biology and Ecology > Biogeochemical Cycles > Flashcards

Biogeochemical Cycles Flashcards

1
Q

n the ecosystem help explain how the planet conserves matter and uses energy

A

biogeochemical cycles

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2
Q

store elements and recycle them

A

biogeochemical cycles

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3
Q

is important for understanding how natural ecosystems resist human-induced stresses, and also for anticipating and modeling the sustainable functioning of human-impacted ecosystems.

A

biogeochemical cycles

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4
Q

is a pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both biotic (“bio-“) and abiotic (“geo-“) compartments of an ecosystem.

A

biogeochemical cycle

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5
Q

places where the element is accumulated or held for a long period of time.

A

reservoirs

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6
Q

gaseous cycles include

A

carbon and nitrogen

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7
Q

sedimentary cycles include

A

phosphorus, sulfur

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8
Q

hydrologic cycle include

A

water

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9
Q

accumulated excrement and remains of birds, bats, and seals, valued as fertilizer

A

guano

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10
Q

is condensed water vapor that falls to the Earth’s surface.

A

precipitation

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11
Q

most precipitation occurs as what

A

rain

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12
Q

other form of precipitation

A

snow, hail, fog drip, graupel, sleet

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13
Q

is the transformation of water from liquid to gas phases as it moves from the ground or bodies of water into the overlying atmosphere

A

evaporation

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14
Q

evaporation in lpants

A

transpiration

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15
Q

evaporation and transpiration from plants makes up

A

evapotranspiration

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16
Q

water evaporation into the atmosphere from the soil surface, evaporation from the capillary fringe of the groundwater table, and evaporation from water bodies on land

A

evapotranspiration

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17
Q

is the transformation of water vapour to liquid water droplets in the air, producing clouds and fog.

A

condensation

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18
Q

the storehouses for the vast majority of all water on Earth are the

A

oceans

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19
Q

percent that oceans supply evaporated water that goes into the water cycle

A

90

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20
Q

energy that water cycle is powered from

A

solar energy

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21
Q

process where global evaporation occurring in oceans

A

evaporative cooling

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22
Q

Without the cooling effect of evaporation the greenhouse effect would lead to a much higher/lower surface temperature

A

higher

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23
Q

is stored in the planet in the following major sinks: (a) as organic molecules in living and dead organisms found in the biosphere; (b) as the gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; (c) as organic matter in soils; (d) in the lithosphere as fossil fuels and sedimentary rock deposits such as limestone, dolomite and chalk; and (e) in the oceans as dissolved atmospheric carbon dioxide and as calcium carbonate shells in marine organisms.

A

carbon

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24
Q

how is carbon stored in the biosphere

A

as organic molecules in living and dead organisms

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25
Q

how is carbon stored in the atmosphere

A

as CO2

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26
Q

how is carbon stsored in the lithosphere

A

fossil fuels and sedimentary rock deposits such as limestone, dolomite, and chalk

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27
Q

how is carbon stored in the ocean

A

dissolved CO2 and CaCO3 shells in marine organisms

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28
Q

study the water cycle in ppt

A

+1

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29
Q

study the carbon cyclce

A

+1

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30
Q

process that chemically convert the carbon dioxide to carbon-based sugar molecules. These molecules can then be chemically modified by these organisms through the metabolic addition of other elements to produce more complex compounds like proteins, cellulose, and amino acids.

A

photosynthesis

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31
Q

Carbon is released from ecosystems as carbon dioxide gas by the process of

A

respiration

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32
Q

takes place in both plants and animals and involves the breakdown of carbon-based organic molecules into carbon dioxide gas and some other compound byproducts

A

respiration

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33
Q

contains a number of organisms whose primary ecological role is the decomposition of organic matter into its abiotic components

A

detritus food chain

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34
Q

Carbon dioxide enters the waters of the ocean by what process

A

simple diffusion

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35
Q

Carbon dioxide can be converted to once dissolved in sewater

A

carbonate, bicarbonate

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36
Q

acid formed when CO2 enters the ocean

A

carbonic acid

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37
Q

Another reaction important in controlling oceanic pH levels is the release of

A

hydrogen ions and bicarbonate

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38
Q

certain forms of sea life biologically fix what with calcium to form calcium carbonate

A

bicarbonate

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39
Q

This substance is used to produce shells and other body parts by organisms such as coral, clams, oysters, some protozoa, and some algae.

A

calcium carbonate

40
Q

After long periods of time, these deposits are physically and chemically altered into sedimentary rocks

A

carbonate deposits in the ocean floor

41
Q

is stored in the lithosphere in both inorganic and organic forms.

A

carbon

42
Q

include fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, oil shale, and carbonate-based sedimentary deposits like limestone.

what kind of carbon deposit

A

inorganic

43
Q

forms of carbon in the lithosphere include litter, organic matter, and humic substances found in soils.

A

organic

44
Q

is released from the interior of the lithosphere by volcanoes.

A

carbon dioxide

45
Q

s essential for many biological processes; and is crucial for any life here on Earth. It is in all amino acids, is incorporated into proteins, and is present in the bases that make up nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA.

A

nitrogen

46
Q

In plants, much of the nitrogen is used in ____

A

chlorophyll

47
Q

study the nitrogen cycle

A

+1

48
Q

conversion of ___ rom the atmosphere into a form readily available to plants and hence to animals and humans is an important step in the nitrogen cycle,

A

dinitrogen

49
Q

ways to convert N2 (atmospheric nitrogen gas) to more chemically reactive forms

A

biological fixation (nitrogen-fixing bacteria)
combustion of fossil fuels
lighting fixation

50
Q

An example of mutualistic nitrogen fixing bacteria are the, which live in legume root nodules

A

Rhizobium bacteria

51
Q

bacteria and archaea that fix gaseous nitrogen in the atmosphere into a more usable form such as ammonia

A

diazotrophs

52
Q

example of free living bacteria

A

azotobacter

53
Q

automobile engines and thermal power plants, which release NOx.

A

combustion of fossil fuels

54
Q

The high temperatures and pressures associated with lightning lead to the chemical bonding of

A

atmospheric nitrogen
oxygen

55
Q

colourless toxic gas that is formed by the oxidation of nitrogen

A

nitric oxide

56
Q

can absorb nitrate or ammonium ions from the soil via their root hairs.

A

plants

57
Q

If nitrate is absorbed, it is first reduced to ____ ions and then ____ ions for incorporation into amino acids, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll

A

nitrite
ammonium

58
Q

the absorption and digestion of food or nutrients by the body or any biological system.

A

assimilation

59
Q

In plants which have a mutualistic relationship with rhizobia, some nitrogen is assimilated in the form of ammonium ions directly from the

A

nodules

60
Q

Animals, fungi, and other heterotrophic organisms absorb nitrogen as what macromolecule

A

amino acids and nucleotides

61
Q

When a plant or animal dies, or an animal excretes, the initial form of nitrogen is organic. Bacteria, or in some cases, fungi, convert the organic nitrogen within the remains back into ammonia

A

ammonification

62
Q

The conversion of ammonia to nitrates

A

nitrification

63
Q

nitrification is performed primarily by what bacteria

A

soil-living and other nitrifying bacteria

64
Q

The primary stage of nitrification is what

A

oxidation of ammonia

65
Q

performs the oxidation of ammonia

A

nitrosomonas species

66
Q

converts ammonia to nitrites

A

nitrosomonas species

67
Q

bacterial species responsible for the oxidation of nitrites into nitrates

A

nitrobacter

68
Q

the process of water being absorbed into the ground.

A

infiltration

69
Q

the movement of water through the soil itself.

A

percolation

70
Q

is the reduction of nitrites back into the largely inert nitrogen gas (N2), completing the nitrogen cycle

A

denitrification

71
Q

performed by bacterial species such as the Pseudomonas and Clostridium in anaerobic conditions

A

denitrification

72
Q

use the nitrate as an electron acceptor in the place of oxygen during respiration. These facultatively anaerobic bacteria can also live in aerobic conditions.

A

pseudomonas
clostridium

73
Q

is a component of nucleotide, which serve as energy storage within cells (ATP) when linked together

A

phosphorus

74
Q

is also found in bones, whose strength is derived from calcium phosphate, and in phospholipids (found in all biological membranes)

A

phosphorus

75
Q

study the phosphorus cycle

A

+1

76
Q

where phosphorus cycle begin

A

rocks

77
Q

When it rains, phosphates are removed from the rocks (vi

A

weathering

78
Q

the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on Earths surface

A

weathering

79
Q

take up the phosphate ions from the soi

A

plants

80
Q

moves from plants to animals when herbivores eat plants and carnivores eat plants or herbivores

A

phosphates

81
Q

The phosphates absorbed by animal tissue through consumption eventually returns to the soil through the

A

excretion of urine and feces

82
Q

is not highly soluble, binding tightly to molecules in soil, therefore it mostly reaches waters by traveling with runoff soil particles.

A

phosphorus

83
Q

also enter waterways through fertilizer runoff, sewage seepage, natural mineral deposits, and wastes from other industrial processes. T

A

phosphates

84
Q

comprises many vitamins, proteins, and hormones that play critical roles in both climate and in the health of various ecosystems.

A

sulfur

85
Q

The majority of the Earth’s ___ is stored underground in rocks and minerals, including as sulfate salts buried deep within ocean sediments.

A

sulfur

86
Q

ontains both atmospheric and terrestrial processes. Within the terrestrial portion, the cycle begins with the weathering of rocks, releasing the stored

A

sulfur cycle

87
Q

The sulfur then comes into contact with air where it is converted into

A

sulfate

88
Q

is taken up by plants and microorganisms and is converted into organic forms; animals then consume these organic forms through foods they eat, thereby moving the sulfur through the food chain.

A

sulfate

89
Q

There are also a variety of natural sources that emit sulfur directly into the atmosphere (3)

A

volcanic eruptions
breakdown of organic matter in swamps and tidal flats
evaporation of water

90
Q

Sulfur eventually settles back into the Earth or comes down within ____

A

rainfall

91
Q

. A portion of this sulfur is emitted back into the atmosphere from

A

sea spray

92
Q

The remaining sulfur is lost to the ocean depths, combining with iron to form ____ which is responsible for the black color of most marine sediments.

A

ferrous sulfide

93
Q

gradual increase in the concentration of phosphorous, nitrogen, and other plant nutrients in an aging aquatic ecosystem

A

eutrophication

94
Q

waters are often murky and may support fewer large animals, than non-eutrophic waters

A

eutrophic waters

95
Q

any form of precipitaiton with acidic components, such as sulfuric or nitric/carbonic acid that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in wet or dy forms (rain, snow, fog, hail, or even acidic dust)

A

acid rain

96
Q

has detrimental effects on trees, freshwaters and soils, destroys insects and aquatic life-forms, causes paint to peel, corrosion of steel structures such as bridges, and weathering of stone buildings and sculptures, as well as impacts on human health

A

acid rain

Environmental Biology and Ecology (15 decks)

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