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Biosphere at Risk > Chapter 2 > Flashcards

Chapter 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

System

A

exchange of energy, matter, information; has inputs and outputs

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2
Q

Lithosphere

A

planet’s uppermost layer; the rock and sediment beneath our feet

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3
Q

Hydrosphere

A

all water, salt or fresh; liquid, ice, vapor in surface or underground and in the atmosphere

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4
Q

Biosphere

A

all the planet’s organisms and the abiotic portions of the environment with which they interact

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5
Q

System Feedback Loops

A

circular process; system’s output can serve as input for the same system

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6
Q

Negative Feedback Loop

A

exert a stabilizing influence on systems; inputs and outputs neutralize one another’s effects; too much of something so you want to dampen that effect; i.e. body temp sweat glands and shivering; thermostat in room; economic recession; predator/prey relationships; common in nature

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7
Q

Positive Feedback Loop

A

has a destabilizing effect; increased output leads to increased input, leading to further increased output; i.e. exponential growth in a population= more offspring; proliferation of cancer cells; melting of sea ice/glaciers; having a baby (contractions); fairly rare in nature but common in human altered systems

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8
Q

Dynamic Equilibrium

A

processes that move in opposite directions at equivalent rates so their effects balance out, stabilized by negative feedback; no net effect; i.e homeostasis

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9
Q

Homeostasis

A

internal stable conditions

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10
Q

Watershed

A

the land area that funnels water to a bay or lake through rivers

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11
Q

Hypoxia

A

low oxygen; phytoplankton die, settle to the bottom, decomposed by bacteria and oxygen depleted; creates dead zones

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12
Q

Dead zones

A

deprived of oxygen; grasses, oysters & other immobile organisms perish; mobile organisms flee; caused by excessive nutrient pollution from human activites

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13
Q

Airshed

A

the geographic area that produces air pollutants that are likely to end up in the waterway

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14
Q

Eutrophication

A

nutrient overenrichment, blooms of algae, increased production of organic matter and subsequent ecosystem degradation

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15
Q

Law of Conservation of matter

A

matter may be transformed from type of substance to another but it can’t be created or destroyed; can’t wish away toxic materials or nuclear waste

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16
Q

Element

A

chemical substance that cannot be broken down; 98 occur in nature and about 20 are created in the lab

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17
Q

Isotopes

A

atoms with differing numbers of neutrons; 12C or 14C

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18
Q

Atoms

A

smallest unit that maintains the chemical properties of an element

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19
Q

Protons

A

positively charged particles in the atom’s nucleus; element’s atomic number

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20
Q

Neutrons

A

particles with no charge in the nucleus

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21
Q

Electrons

A

negatively charged particles surrounding the nucleus that balance the positively charged particles

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22
Q

Ions

A

electrically charged atoms or combinations of atoms; happens when atoms gain or lose electrons; i.e. Ca2+

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23
Q

Molecules

A

Combinations of 2+ atoms because attractions between electrons

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24
Q

Compounds

A

a molecule composed of atoms of 2+ different elements; i.e. water H2O

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25
Ionic bond
compounds made up of ions of different charges bind together; i.e. table salt NaCl
26
Covalent bond
share electrons; atoms that lack electrical charge so they combine
27
Hydrogen bond
weak chemical bond in which a hydrogen bond (proton) is attracted to an electronegative atom especially nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine
28
Solutions
liquid homogeneous mixture of 2+ substances; solute uniformly distributed in solvent; elements, molecules, and compounds can come together w/o chemically bonding
29
pH scale
measures how acidic or basic; log scale; difference of base 10; neutral=7
30
Acids
solutions where the H+ concentrations is greater
31
Basic
alkaline; solutions where the OH- concentration is greater
32
Organic Compounds
consist of carbon atoms and usually hydrogen atoms joined by covalent bonds
33
Inorganic Compounds
lack carbon-carbon bonds
34
Hydrocarbon
consists only of carbon and hydrogen atoms bonded; i.e fossil fuels
35
Macromolecules
very large molecule (lots of atoms) such as proteins, lipids, etc
36
Carbohydrates
made up of chemically bonded simple sugars; i.e starch, glucose
37
Proteins
made up of long chains of organic molecules called amino acids; enzymes catalyze reactions; proteins in skin, hair, muscles and tendons
38
Nucleic Acids
DNA and RNA; composed of a series of nucleotides that have a sugar molecule, phosphate group and a nitrogenous base; directs the production of proteins and encodes genetic information
39
Lipids
fats, oils, phospholipids, waxes, steroids; do not dissolve in water (hydrophobic)
40
Energy
intangible phenomenon that can change position, physical composition or temp of matter; measure indirectly
41
Potential energy
the energy of position; i.e. dam preventing water from moving downstream builds potential energy
42
Kinetic enegy
the energy of motion; i.e. dam gates open and potential energy is converted to kinetic; energy is released when it is converted
43
First law of Thermodynamics
energy can change from one form to another but it cannot be created or destroyed; total energy in the universe is constant and conserved
44
Second law of Thermodynamics
the nature of energy tends to change from a more ordered state to a less ordered state and entropy increases (increasing disorder)
45
Light
form of energy that makes it possible to see things; light reactions water is converted to oxygen in the presence of sunlight creating ATP
46
Photosynthesis
autotrophs produce their own food this way; powered by sunlight chemical reactions convert CO2 and water into sugar (glucose); 6CO2+6H2O-->C6H12O6+6O2
47
Autotrophs
primary producers; only organisms that photosynthesize; use sun's radiation to produce their own food; includes green plants, algae, cyanobacteria
48
Cellular Respiration
almost every organism does this to produce ATP (including plants); only animals respirate; cell uses chemical reactivity of oxygen to split glucose into water and CO2 and releases chemical energy that can be used to form chemical bonds or do other tasks; C6H12O6+6O2-->6CO2+6H2O+energy
49
Heterotrophs
consumers; organisms that gain their energy by feeding on the tissues of other organisms; includes most animals
50
Ecosystems
all organisms and nonliving entities occur and interact in a particular area at the same time
51
Energy flow
flows in one direction in a system, from the sun; released as heat
52
Matter cycling
matter is recycled between living and nonliving parts of the environment; nutrients move among trophic levels and detritus
53
Primary Productivity
autotrophs convert solar energy to the energy of chemical bonds in sugars during photosynthesis; energy conversion to biomass
54
Gross Primary Productivity
the total amount of chemical energy produced by autotrophs
55
Net Primary Production
NPP always limits the number of consumers; the energy or biomass that remains in an ecosystem after autotrophs have metabolized enough for their own maintenance thru cellular respiration; NPP is the energy or biomass available for consumption; NPP=GPP-cellular respiration
56
Productivity
the rate at which autotrophs convert energy to biomass
57
High Productivity Ecosystems
freshwater wetlands, tropical forests, coral reefs and algal beds; higher temp/ sun exposure = more productive
58
Low Productivity Ecosystems
deserts, tundra, open ocean (very dry); water is a limiting factor
59
Determinates of NPP
- Terrestrial= precip and temp | - Aquatic= nutrients, light and temp
60
Landscape Ecology
scientists study how landscape structure affects the abundance, distribution and interaction of organisms; level above ecosystems; very broad
61
Patches
spatial area within a landscape; may consist of habitat for a particular organism. or communities or ecosystems
62
Mosaic
an array of patches
63
Ecotone
a transitional zone where ecosystems meet; creates unique dynamics/ diversity of species
64
Remote Sensing
scanning of the Earth by satellite or high-flying aircraft; satellite imaging; MODIS
65
GIS
computer software that takes multiple types of data (geology, human development, vegetation, hydrology) and overlays it on a common set of geographic coordinates
66
Ecological Modeling
always simplifications of reality; can be wrong b/c no model can capture complexity of the real world; aim to explain and predict how ecological systems function; i.e. used to understand flow of nutrients into Chesapeake bay and predicting responses of oysters
67
Ecosystem Services
essential service an ecosystem provides that supports life and makes economic activity possible; - provisioning: drinking water, timber, natural gas; - regulating: decomposition, erosion and flood control, climate regulation - cultural: recreation, spiritual - supporting: nutrient cycling, photosynthesis, water cycle
68
Biogeochemical cycles
circulate elements (nutrients) or molecules thru the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere; main components are reservoirs and fluxes
69
Flux
the rate at which materials move between reservoirs; can change over time
70
Reservoir
Pool
71
Sink
when a reservoir accepts more materials than it releases; storage
72
Source
when a reservoir releases more materials than it accepts
73
Hydrological Cycle
water cycle - Reservoirs: oceans, ice caps/ glaciers/snowfields, groundwater, atmosphere - Fluxes: evaporation (esp from ocean) and precipitation - Human impacts: humans don't really effect water cycle but pollution and climate change increased temp
74
Evaporation
the conversion of a liquid to gaseous form
75
Transpiration
release of water vapor by plants through their leaves; water movement through plants
76
Precipitation
water vapor condenses and falls as rain or snow; used by plants and animals, flows as runoff into lakes, etc
77
Aquifer
underground reservoir
78
Water table
the uppermost level of groundwater held in an aquifer
79
Carbon Cycle
- Reservoirs: sedimentary rock (biggest but not key); important ones are fossil fuels, ocean and atmosphere - Fluxes: fossil fuel combustion, ocean-atmosphere exchange; more flux into atm than sink/ warmer ocean releases more gases - Human impacts: burning fossil fuels and cutting down trees
80
Nitrogen Cycle
- Reservoirs: atmosphere, oceans (inorganic N used by phytoplankton), soil organic matter - Fluxes: lightning, natural biological fixation, fixation by crops and fertilizer production - Human impacts: eutrophication creates hypoxia driven by excess nitrogen in soils and runoff, fertilizer
81
Phosphorous cycle
- Reservoirs: sediment and sedimentary rock and oceans - Fluxes: mining and runoff - Human Impacts: mining, plant fertilizers/runoff and detergents - big biological component of phophorous=ATP and phospholipids

Biosphere at Risk (4 decks)

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