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Ecology > Chapter 3 > Flashcards

Chapter 3 Flashcards

0
Q

What is the difference between a lotic and a lentic ecosystem.

A

Lentic and lotic ecosystems are both fresh water but a lotic ecosystem is one in which the water is moving and in a lentic ecosystem water is still

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1
Q

What is the definition of an estuary

A

An area where salt and fresh water meet

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2
Q

What percentage of water found on earth is salt water

A

97%

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3
Q

Where is the majority of fresh water on earth found

A

Glaciers

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4
Q

How is temperature regulated in terrestrial versus aqueous environments

A

Temperature in water is more regulated than in a terrestrial environment with temperature regulation increasing with depth

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5
Q

What is an example of an estuarine ecosystem near Richmond VA

A

The James river

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6
Q

What is the technical definition for fresh water

A

Water which contains less than .5 parts per thousand salt

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7
Q

What are examples of fresh water ecosystems

A

Lakes rivers or streams

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8
Q

What are the three types of estuarine waters

A

Oligohaline, mesohaline, and polyhaline

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9
Q

What is the salinity level in waters that are classified as mesohaline

A

Salinity ranges from 5-18 parts per thousand salt

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10
Q

What is the salinity level of water that is classified as oligohaline?

A

The salinity ranges from .5-5 parts per thousand salt

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11
Q

What is the salinity level of water that is classified as polyhaline

A

The salinity level ranges from 18-30 parts per thousand salt

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12
Q

What is the salinity level of marine waters

A

The salinity levels are higher than 30 parts per thousand salt, but the average is about to 35 parts per thousand

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13
Q

What is the area between the low and high tide zones called?

A

The costal intertidal zone

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14
Q

Fresh water and estuarine ecosystems as well as the costal intertidal zone sometimes fall into the category of wetlands. What does this mean

A

Wetland ecosystems have their own unique set of characteristics which differ from any of the above ecosystems.

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15
Q

What are the three marine ecosystems

A

Costal intertidal zone, near shore zone, offshore

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16
Q

what happens in estuaries when the salinity increases?

A

as you increase salinity the number of species that are seen decreases

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17
Q

what is the name for dead or decaying organic matter and how doe estuaries relate to this term

A

detritus, estuaries are important because they supply detritus to open ocean fish. 95 percent of ocean fish rely on this as a food source

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18
Q

how much of the water on earth is fresh water

A

.75%

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19
Q

where is the best urban white water in the US

A

James River downtown richmond

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20
Q

the ocean has a very large

A

surface area to volume ratio

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21
Q

from the water’s surface down to the first 200 m is known as the

A

epipelagic zone this is where the majority of photosynthesis takes place

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22
Q

the top 100 m of the ocean is known as the

A

photic zone this is the area of the ocean which photosynthesis exceeds respiration

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23
Q

from 100 m to 600 m deep in the ocean is known as the

A

disphotic zone here respiration exceeds photosynthesis

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24
Q

below 600 m deep in the ocean is known as the

A

aphotic zone this is the point that there is not enough light for photosynthesis to occur.

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25
Q

the decrease in light levels deeper in the oceans also causes decreases in

A

temperature and oxygen levels

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26
Q

from the intertidal zone out to a dept of 200 meters is known as the

A

neritic zone

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27
Q

from a depth of 200 m down to 1000 m in the ocean is known as the

A

mesophologic zone

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28
Q

from 1000-4000 meters in ocean depth is known as the

A

bathypelagic zone

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29
Q

from 4000-6000 meters in ocean depth is known as the

A

abyssal zone

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30
Q

any ocean depth greater than 6000 meters i depth is known as the

A

hadal zone

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31
Q

what is the difference between benthic and pelagic organisms

A

pelagic organisms are able to swim in some form or fashion whereas benthic organisms live on or near the sea floor

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32
Q

what is marine snow

A

marine snow is bio-matter that rains down from the surface of the ocean to the sea bed below and makes up a significant amount of the organic matter found on the sea floor

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33
Q

false bottom sonar readings occurred often at night when sonar was in its youth explain what caused false bottom readings and what they are

A

false bottom readings were when the ocean floor appeared to be closer to the surface than it actually was. this was caused at night when may different marine organisms all swam to the surface at the same time to feed (this layer of organisms is called the deep scattering layer)

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34
Q

how much plastic is there in the ocean relative to fish

A

today plastics outnumber fish i the oceans 6 to 1

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35
Q

what is a nurdle?

A

a nurdle is a bb sized piece of plastic that is found mixed i with sand on the beach

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36
Q

what is the thermocline

A

the thermocline is the depth over which the temperature of water begins to rapidly decline. this happens at a rate of about 1 degree Celsius per meter of depth

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37
Q

what is the pycnocline

A

the pycnocline is the depth over which the pressure of water begins to increase rapidly.

38
Q

what is a counterclockwise or clockwise current know as?

A

a gyre

39
Q

what is the area in the middle of a gyre called?

A

a duldrum

40
Q

What are the four limbs of the Atlantic gyre

A

The Gulf Stream which is the fastest moving current in the global ocean and travels up the eastern coast of the United States
The North Atlantic current moves across the northern Atlantic and then up the western coast of Europe
The canary current moves southward long the west coast of Europe
The northern equatorial current moves across the Atlantic towards the lower part of the United States

41
Q

What is the theory of primum mobile

A

The theory states that all bodies move from east to west, this is wrong but it was the reason Europeans often sailed into the gulf steam to get to America

42
Q

What is upwelling

A

Upwelling is when cold nutrient rich water is pushed to the surface this usually occurs when wind pushes warm water and cold water rises as a consequence or when deep ocean currents push cold water to the surface

43
Q

where are kelp forests most likely found?

A

kelp forests are found growing from hard bottomed substrate in the subtropical and temperate zones, at temperatures between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius.

44
Q

why is coral important?

A

coral is important because it provides a home for up to 25% of earth’s species but it has a narrow temperature (18-26 C) and acidity range at which it is able to survive

45
Q

how many zones are there within the intertidal zone?

A

5

46
Q

what is the supratidal zone?

A

the supratidal zone is the highest zone in the intertidal zone and almost never is exposed to and ocean atmosphere

47
Q

what is the subtidal zone?

A

the subtidal zone is the lowest zone in the intertidal zone and almost always remains underwater

48
Q

what are the other three zones in the intertidal zone

A

upper intertidal zone- receives more exposure to the open atmosphere
middle intertidal zone- receives equal ocean and atmosphere exposure
lower intertidal zone- receives more exposure to ocean conditions

49
Q

What is the average salinity of saline environments

A

35 ppt salt

50
Q

why is the intertidal zone difficult for organisms to inhabit

A

the intertidal zone has extreme variation in temperature salinity and wave strength making it a difficult environment for organisms to survive in

51
Q

what does it mean for an area to have a semidiurnal tide versus a diurnal tides

A

a diurnal tide is when there is only a single high and low tide for an area, versus a semidiurnal tide which is when there are two high and two low tides per day

52
Q

what causes the high and low tides?

A

the sun and the moon both affect the movement of the earth’s tides. but the moon has more pull

53
Q

explain what the difference between spring and neap tides is.

A

a spring tide is when the sun and moon are aligned this causes the highest high tides and the lowest low tides. a neap tide is when the sun and moon are at a 45 degree angle from one another causing less severe high and low tides

54
Q

what is the only organism able to survive being flooded with sea water twice daily, native to the USA?

A

salt marsh cord grass (spartina alterniflora)

55
Q

estuaries can have currents of varying strength but almost all of them have

A

very high oxygen and very high light levels. estuaries are also usually high in nutrients, but sometimes high in toxins as well.

56
Q

how are organisms distributed in estuaries?

A

there are many micro-organisms but there are very few plant species, estuaries are also considered to be very diverse regions

57
Q

what is the only organism able to survive being flooded with sea water twice daily?

A

salt marsh cord grass (spartina alterniflora)

58
Q

what is the scientific name for the red mangrove

A

rhizophora- thrives in deep salt water

59
Q

what is the scientific name for the black mangrove?

A

Avicennia- lives in middle region of estuary’s intertidal zone

60
Q

what is the scientific name for the white mangrove

A

Laguncularia- lives in upper regions of estuary’s intertidal zone

61
Q

explain in therms of rainfall what a receiving body and a drainage basin are.

A

a receiving body is the first body of water that rainwater drains into a drainage basin is simply where all of the receiving bodies in an area let out into a single body of water.
drainage basin is often used interchangeably with water shed

62
Q

explain what head water streams are and how stream order progresses.

A

head water streams are first order streams when two first order streams join it creates a second order stream and where two 2nd order streams meet a third order stream forms. stream order is not determined simply by adding two streams two streams both with an order of n-1 must be added in order to get a n order stream

63
Q

streams are bodies of water which move in four dimensions explain these four dimensions

A

water flows directionally down stream
water flows outward to flood the sides of the stream
water flows downward into the sediment on the stream bed
the flow of water takes place over time

64
Q

what is the area of a stream which is always under water referred to as

A

the wetted channel

65
Q

what is the area of the stream called which is always under water referred to as

A

the active channel

66
Q

what is the area located upward from the active channel known as

A

the riparian zone or the zone of transition which transitions between the stream and the terrestrial environment bordering

67
Q

what is the bottom of the stream known as

A

the benthic zone this is where stream water and ground water mix
hypoporeic zone is where the groundwater comes up into the steam water

68
Q

what is the zone where ground water is contained

A

the phreatic zone

69
Q

what is the name for plants who’s roots draw water from the phreatic region

A

phreatophytes

70
Q

what is the main food source in many streams before the stream becomes large enough for photosynthetic organisms

A

allochthonous inputs which are deposit of organic matter from outside the stream

71
Q

what is the term for when for organic matter is produced inside the stream by phosynthetic organisms

A

autochthonous inputs

72
Q

explain the river continuum concept

A

coarse organic matter deposited in a river upstream is ground up into fine organic matter which goes on to allow autochthonous communities to develop AKA ecosystems of a river differ based what point they are found along a river

73
Q

another theory is that ecosystem similarities in a river can be predicted by

A

looking at other points in the river with similar characteristics

74
Q

lakes are often looked at as

A

miniature oceans

75
Q

how much of all fresh water on earth is contained in he great lakes

A

20%

76
Q

how much of the fresh water on earth is contained in the baikal

A

20%

77
Q

what is a littoral zone

A

the area of a body of water that is near the shore line

78
Q

the surface layer of a lake or body of water

A

the neustov

79
Q

what is the deepest area of a lake where water temperature and dissolved oxygen is low

A

hypolimnion

80
Q

what is the upper layer of the lake which is warmed by the sun called?

A

the epilimmion

81
Q

what is the layer of the lake where water temperature rapidly changes

A

the metalimnion

82
Q

what is the deepest area of a lake where water temperature and dissolved oxygen is low

A

nypolimnion

83
Q

what is lake turnover?

A

lake turnover is when the hypolimnion and the epilimnion switch places usually this happens when a lake freezes

84
Q

what is a lake which never experiences turnovers called

A

avictic lakes

85
Q

what is a lake which displays characteristics of both oliographic and eutrophic soils called

A

mesotrophic lakes

86
Q

what is a shallow lake with high productivity but low oxygen concentration

A

eutrophic lake

87
Q

what is a deeper lake with high oxygen concentration but a low productivity level

A

oliographic lake

88
Q

what is a lake which displays characteristics of both oliographic and eutrophic soils called

A

mesotrophic lakes

89
Q

what are the characteristics of a wetland

A

water is at or near the surface of the soil meaning that the top 30 cm is made up of hydric soils
vegetation is evolved to live in wet areas
the site must be wet for a significant portion of the grow season and half the plants must be wetland plants

90
Q

what does it mean that there is redoxymorphic soil in wetlands?

A

redoxymorphic refers to the reduction of iron found in the environment

91
Q

what is the area around a root which has a high concentration of oxidized iron called?

A

oxidized rhisosphere

92
Q

what is the name for enlarged lyticiles for increases oxygen absorption by plants called

A

hypertrophylyticils

Ecology (4 decks)

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