Chapter 3: Ecosystems

Question 1

Open System

Answer 1

Receives inputs AND produces outputs of BOTH energy and matter

Question 2

Closed System

Answer 2

Receives inputs and produces outputs of energy but NOT matter

Question 3

Biomagnification

Answer 3

the concentration of toxins in an organism as a result of ingesting other plants or animals(animals higher up in the food chain will have higher concentrations of toxins)

Question 4

Bioaccumulation

Answer 4

the accumulation of a toxic chemical in the tissue of a particular organism
combine easily with fats and build up over time
(DIFFERENT FROM BIOMAGNIFICATION, has nothing to do with consuming other species)

Question 5

Hypoxia

Answer 5

Lack of dissolved oxygen (affects the st lawrence belugas)

Question 6

Eutrophication

Answer 6

Nutrient over-enrichment in a body of water(can result from both natural and man-made influences)

Question 7

Feedback Loop

Answer 7

When a systems output also serves as input to that system (input-output loop)

Question 8

What is the difference between a NEGATIVE feedback loop and a POSITIVE feedback loop?

Answer 8

a NEGATIVE feedback loop moves a system towards another direction to stabilize the system (eg. when the body is hot, it sweats to keep cool)
a POSITIVE feedback loop drives a system towards a further extreme(does not stabilize).

Question 9

Dynamic Equilibrium

Answer 9

When system processes move in opposing directions at equivalent rates, eventually achieving equilibrium(NOT STATIC)

Question 10

Homeostasis

Answer 10

The tendency of a system to maintain constant/stable internal conditions

Question 11

Resistance

Answer 11

the strength of a systems tendency to remain constant

Question 12

Resilience

Answer 12

How quickly a system will return to its original state after being disturbed

Question 13

Emergent properties

Answer 13

Characteristics of a system that are not easily apparent by looking at its individual components alone

Question 14

Autotrophs

Answer 14

Organisms that produce their own food energy(green plants, algae)

Question 15

Gross Primary Production

Answer 15

conversion of solar energy to the energy of chemical bonds in sugar by autotrophs. Autotrophs use a portion
of this production to power their own metabolism by respiration(intake of oxygen/release of CO2)

Question 16

Net primary production

Answer 16

The energy remaining after respiration by autotrophs(NPP=GPP-respiration)

Question 17

Biomass

Answer 17

Total mass of organic material of which living organisms are formed

Question 18

Secondary Production

Answer 18

The biomass generated by heterotrophs due to the consumption of autotrophs

Question 19

Nutrients

Answer 19

Elements & compounds needed for survival

Question 20

MACRONutrients

Answer 20

required in relatively LARGE amounts(eg. nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon)

Question 21

MICRONutrients

Answer 21

required in SMALL amounts (eg. zinc)

Question 22

High net primary productivity

Answer 22

ecosystems whose plants rapidly convert solar energy to biomass

Question 23

Ecotones

Answer 23

transitional zones between 2 systems in which elements of different ecosystems mix

Question 24

Rate from largest to smallest: biome, landscape, ecosystem

Answer 24

Landscape, Ecosystem, Biome

Question 25

Define Remote Sensing & GIS

Answer 25

Remote sensing: satellites, technologies that collect info about an object from a distance GIS: Geographic information system, computer software used in landscape ecology research

Question 26

Nutrient cycles

Answer 26

the movement of nutrients through ecosystems

Question 27

Pools(reservoirs)

Answer 27

Where nutrients reside for varying amounts of time(residence time)

Question 28

Flux

Answer 28

The movement of nutrients among pools

Question 29

What is the difference between a POOL and a SINK?

Answer 29

a pool releases more nutrients than they accept, while a sink accepts more nutrients than they release

Question 30

Turnover time

Answer 30

the amount of time it would take for all the atoms/particles of a material to be flushed through a reservoir

Question 31

Aquifer

Answer 31

Underground reservoirs of rock and soil that hold groundwater

Question 32

Transpiration

Answer 32

Release of water vapor by plants

Question 33

Water table

Answer 33

The upper limit of groundwater in an aquifer

Question 34

About how much fresh water is easily accessible?

Answer 34

1%

Question 35

What are potential sources that can contaminate groundwater?

Answer 35

Landfills, dumps, septic tanks

Question 36

What is the largest reservoir of carbon? The second largest?

Answer 36

1st, Sedimentary rock. | 2nd, The ocean

Question 37

How do humans affect the carbon cycle?

Answer 37

- burning fossil fuels moves carbon from the ground into the air - cutting forests and burning fields moves carbon from organisms into the air; moves carbon into the ocean causing ocean acidification

Question 38

How is nitrogen fixation accomplished?

Answer 38

- by the intense energy of lightning strikes | - by the action of specialized nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Question 39

nitrification

Answer 39

when ammonium ions are first converted into nitrite ions and then nitrate ions, by other specialized bacteria

Question 40

How do animals obtain nitrogen?

Answer 40

By eating plants or other animals

Question 41

Denitrification

Answer 41

converts nitrates from soil or water back into nitrogen gas(completes the carbon cycle)

Question 42

How much of the earth's atmosphere is made up of Nitrogen

Answer 42

78%

Question 43

What is the Haber Bosch Process?

Answer 43

the synthetic production of fertilizers by combining nitrogen and hydrogen to synthesize ammonia

Question 44

How does the Haber Bosch Process affect earth?

Answer 44

- enabled people to overcome limits on agricultural productivity - increased emissions of nitrogen-containing greenhouse gases - acidified water and soils - reduced biodiversity of plants

Question 45

How is the phosphorus cycle different from the carbon and nitrogen cycles?

Answer 45

Has no atmospheric component

Question 46

Eutrophication

Answer 46

The process of nutrient-over enrichment, blooms of algae, increased production of organic matter, and ecosystem degradation