chapter 55

Question 1

what is an ecosystem?

Answer 1

all organisms and a/biotic factors in an environment; can be big or small

Question 2

what are the 2 important factors of an ecosystem?

Answer 2

energy flow and chemical cycling

Question 3

what is energy flow?

Answer 3

energy coming in and out

Question 4

what is chemical cycling?

Answer 4

chemicals are coming in and out

Question 5

what is trophic efficiency?

Answer 5

percent energy that gets passed from one trophic level to another; avg 10%

Question 6

why do consumers only get 10% of energy from their prey?

Answer 6

the organism uses 90% for energy, reproduction, and metabolism so they only have 10% left for predators

Question 7

what are the atmospheric gases?

Answer 7

carbon, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen

Question 8

what are the terrestrial and aquatic gases?

Answer 8

phosphorus potassium and carbon

Question 9

what is a flux?

Answer 9

rate of substance goes through environment

Question 10

what is a pool?

Answer 10

in a certain environment for a while

Question 11

what is a sink?

Answer 11

element taken out of environment

Question 12

what 4 factors do ecologists focus on when studying nutrient cycling?

Answer 12

chemical’s biological importance
the forms of the chemicals available or used by organisms
major reservoirs for each chemical
key processes of driving movement of chemical

Question 13

why is the water cycle unique?

Answer 13

water is found naturally in 3 forms

Question 14

which phase of water is used the most in the water cycle?

Answer 14

liquid

Question 15

what is residence time?

Answer 15

how long 1 molecule stays in its place

Question 16

how do human alter the water cycle in a bad way?

Answer 16

we change residence time with dams irrigation. asphalt and cement dont allow water into aquifers

Question 17

why is carbon important to living organisms?

Answer 17

every macromolecule has it

Question 18

what role do autotrophs play?

Answer 18

they turn inorganic->organic and do photosynthesis

Question 19

where does CO2 in the atmosphere come from?

Answer 19

humans, burning fossil fuels, respiration, volcanoes

Question 20

what are some long term carbon reservoirs?

Answer 20

fossil fuels and sedimentary rock

Question 21

what are some short term carbon reservoirs?

Answer 21

biomass, soil, sediment, atmosphere, solutes in ocean

Question 22

what are fossil fuels?

Answer 22

buried under sediment without oxygen->fossils

Question 23

what are greenhouse gases?

Answer 23

gases that trap heat but the heat cant get out

Question 24

is the drought over?

Answer 24

precipitation drought is over but not temperature drought, the water will just evaporate

Question 25

when CO2 levels increase, mean annual temp will ____

Answer 25

increase

Question 26

when CO2 levels increase, drought will ____

Answer 26

increase

Question 27

when CO2 levels increase, precipitation will ____

Answer 27

increase

Question 28

when CO2 levels increase, ice caps an glaciers will _____

Answer 28

decrease

Question 29

when CO2 levels increase, sea level will ____

Answer 29

increase

Question 30

when CO2 levels increase, tropical storms will ____

Answer 30

increase

Question 31

when CO2 levels increase, disease outbreaks will _______

Answer 31

increase

Question 32

organisms use nitrogen for _____

Answer 32

amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids

Question 33

what is the main reservoir for nitrogen?

Answer 33

atmoshpere

Question 34

who fixes N2?

Answer 34

bacteria, cyanobacteria lightning, industrial process, dizatrophs

Question 35

why is nitrogen in short supply?

Answer 35

all living organisms need it and we can't produce it | theres less nitrogen fixers

Question 36

why is phosphorus important to living organisms?

Answer 36

DNA RNA ATP

Question 37

what is the most important form of phosphorus?

Answer 37

phosphate

Question 38

where is the largest reservoir of phosphorus?

Answer 38

in sedimentary rocks of marine origin, oceans and organisms

Question 39

is the phosphorus cycle short?

Answer 39

no it takes a long ass time!! millions of years

Question 40

where are some natural sources of sulfur?

Answer 40

volcanoes and steam vents

Question 41

what is an unnatural source of sulfur?

Answer 41

burning fossil fuels

Question 42

what are the negative effects of the sulfur cycle?

Answer 42

acid rain

Question 43

where does acid rain affect people the most?

Answer 43

east coast United States

Question 44

what are the 2 key strategies to restore ecosystems?

Answer 44

bioremediation and augmentation

Question 45

what is bioremediation?

Answer 45

use organisms to take tooxins out of environment

Question 46

which organisms are used most often for bioremediation?

Answer 46

prokaryotes and fungi

Question 47

how do prokaryotes and fungi help the environment during bioremediation?

Answer 47

they can take up and sometimes metabolize toxic molecules

Question 48

what is biological augmentation?

Answer 48

uses organisms to add essential materials to a degraded ecosystem

Question 49

what is the goal of biological augmentation?

Answer 49

to get environments back to their original state

Question 50

how was the kissimmee river restored?

Answer 50

it was plugged up with cement to change the diversion of water and allowed for natural flow

Question 51

how was the truckee river restored?

Answer 51

damming and water diversions didnt allow enough water to the riverside forests but then ecologists monitored water release and lead to more plants yay

Question 52

how was the tropical dry forest restored?

Answer 52

the forest was cleared for agriculture and by introducing domestic livestock to disperse seeds it get better yay

Question 53

how was the rhine river restored?

Answer 53

dredging and channeling disconnected the water flow from wetlands but now theyre trying to reconnect it to side channels

Question 54

how was the succulent karoo restored?

Answer 54

overgrazing damaged the area, government and private landowners are trying to fix it

Question 55

how was coastal japan restored?

Answer 55

theres not a lot of seaweed and seagrass beds bc they were reduced by development and fish and shellfish need them. theyre trying to transplant naturals beds and hand seed to fix it

Question 56

how was maungatautari restored?

Answer 56

introduced species pose a serious threat to native species so theyre trying to get rid of them with traps and poison

Question 57

what the problem with greek yogurt?

Answer 57

bc of its thicker than regular yogurt, more waste water is squeezed out

Question 58

whats a possible cause of warmer oceans?

Answer 58

climate change? reason unknown

Question 59

why have storms been intensifying in asia?

Answer 59

result of faster intensification linked to warmer ocean waters in coastal areas