definitions test 3

Question 1

the bodies of the living organisms within a given area

Answer 1

standing crop

Question 2

short for Dissolved Organic Matter

Answer 2

DOM

Question 3

the difference between gross primary productivity and autrotrophic respiration

Answer 3

net primary productivity

Question 4

the consistent atomic ratio of nitrogen and phosphorus of 15:1 found in marine phytoplankton

Answer 4

the Redfield ratio

Question 5

the two major components of dead leaves and wood

Answer 5

lignin and cellulose

Question 6

dead organic matter

Answer 6

detritus

Question 7

the percentage of energy ingested by an animal that is absorbed across the gut wall

Answer 7

assimilation efficiency (AE)

Question 8

bacteria and fungi that feed on dead organic matter

Answer 8

decomposers

Question 9

the total fixation of energy by photosynthesis

Answer 9

gross primary productivity

Question 10

flux of materials dissolved in rain and snow

Answer 10

wetfall

Question 11

the rate at which biomass is produced per unit area or volume through photosynthesis

Answer 11

primary productivity

Question 12

the rate of production of biomass by heterotrophs

Answer 12

secondary productivity

Question 13

the settling of atmospheric particles during periods without rain

Answer 13

dryfall

Question 14

a condition in which a mutualistic relationship with other species is essential for a species to survive

Answer 14

obligate mutualism

Question 15

the system that herbivores and carnivores constitute together

Answer 15

live consumer system

Question 16

the precentage of energy (or organic matter) at one trophic level that is transferred to the next

Answer 16

trophic transfer efficiency

Question 17

short for “Net Ecosystem Productivity”

Answer 17

NEP

Question 18

detritivores that feed on coarse particulate organic matter

Answer 18

shredders

Question 19

detritivores that consume the fine particulate organic matter that otherwise would be carried downstream

Answer 19

collector-filterers

Question 20

animals that consume dead organic matter

Answer 20

detritivores

Question 21

situation where both nitrogen ans phosphorus are limiting for plant production

Answer 21

colimitation

Question 22

the condition in which one or both species in a mutualistic association may survive and maintain populations in the absence of the other partner

Answer 22

facultative mutualism

Question 23

the law that states that the growth of a plant is primarily limited by the one nutrient that is in relatively short supply

Answer 23

Liebig’s Law of the minimum

Question 24

this plant nutrient is sometimes limiting in the open oceans

Answer 24

iron

Question 25

the percentage of energy that is actually consumed at the trophic level

Answer 25

consumption efficiency (CE)

Question 26

the percentage of energy assimilated by an organism that becomes incorporated into new biomass

Answer 26

production efficiency (PE)

Question 27

a constantly moving system of deep-ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity

Answer 27

global ocean conveyor belt

Question 28

the Swedish scientist that predicted the critical role of carbon dioxide in human-accelerated global climate change in 1896

Answer 28

Arrhenius

Question 29

the German scientist who invented synthetic nitrogen fertilizer through a process that converts molecular N2 to ammonia gas

Answer 29

Haber

Question 30

natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations

Answer 30

shale gas

Question 31

the threshold that, when exceeded, can lead to large changes in the state of the climate

Answer 31

climate tipping point

Question 32

the production of methane by bacteria in the absence of oxygen

Answer 32

methanogenesis

Question 33

a measure of the influence a given climatic factor has on the amount of downward-directed radiant energy impinging upon Earth’s surface

Answer 33

radiative forcing

Question 34

the set of research technology transfer initiatives occurring between 1950 and the late 1960s, that increased agricultural production worldwide; also called the Third Agricultural Revolution

Answer 34

the Green Revolution

Question 35

the first scientist to confirm that atmospheric CO2 levels were rising, by measuring the CO2 in the air at Mauna Loa, Hawaii

Answer 35

Keeling

Question 36

a process in which the end products of an action cause more of that action to occur in a feedback loop - this amplifies the original action

Answer 36

positive feedback loop

Question 37

a type of biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons; melting of this biome may cause huge methane emissions

Answer 37

tundra

Question 38

this greenhouse gas, emitted by cows, is responsible for about 30% of the warming caused by carbon dioxide

Answer 38

methane

Question 39

a process in which the product of a reaction leads to a decrease in that reaction - this creates stability or homeostasis in the system

Answer 39

negative feedback loop

Question 40

caused or influenced by humans

Answer 40

anthropogenic

Question 41

the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans, caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

Answer 41

ocean acidification

Question 42

a loss of vigor amongst offspring occurring when closely related individuals mate

Answer 42

inbreeding depression

Question 43

the various benefits that humans derive from healthy ecosystems

Answer 43

ecosystem services

Question 44

random changes in gene frequency within a population resulting from sampling effects, rather than natural selection

Answer 44

genetic drift

Question 45

the minimum population size for a rare species to be able to preserve its numbers and survive

Answer 45

minimum viable population size (MVP)

Question 46

an estimate of the size of a population based on the numbers of females and males that successfully breed; generally smaller than the total population

Answer 46

effective population

Question 47

when individuals are removed from a population faster than they can be replenished

Answer 47

overexploitation

Question 48

a form of maintaining species artificially and off-site, like: captive breeding, gene and seed banks, zoos and aquaria

Answer 48

ex situ conservation

Question 49

a switch from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates

Answer 49

demographic transition

Question 50

infections that circulate naturally in nonhuman vertebrate hosts but can be transmitted from these to humans

Answer 50

zoonoses

Question 51

excess input of inorganic nutrients from agricultural runoff and human sewage

Answer 51

cultural eutrophication

Question 52

anoxic parts of the ocean floor

Answer 52

dead zones

Question 53

any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or lessening the damage of any pest

Answer 53

pesticide

Question 54

accumulation and transfer of substances via food webs, resulting in an increase of internal concentration in organisms at succeeding levels in the trophic chain

Answer 54

biomagnification

Question 55

the maximum crop or yield that can be removed repeatedly from a population without driving it towards extinction

Answer 55

maximum sustainable yield (MSY)

Question 56

the farming of domesticated fish, shellfish, and algae and occurs in both coastal marine ecosystems and freshwaters

Answer 56

aquaculture