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Environmental Science > Ecosystem Part 1 (General Principles in Ecology) > Flashcards

Ecosystem Part 1 (General Principles in Ecology) Flashcards

1
Q

is a community of different living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system.

A

Ecosystem

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2
Q

It is a collection of all
organisms that live in a
particular place together
with their nonliving
environment.

A

Ecosystem

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3
Q
  • Scientific study of the interactions or relationships between organisms and the environment
A

Ecology

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4
Q

is a collection of plants and animals
that have common characteristics for the
environment they exist in.

A

biome

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5
Q

are distinct biological communities that have formed in response to a shared physical climate.

A

Biomes

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6
Q

The term “biome” was first used in
____ by ______ an
American ecologist, to describe the
plants and animals in a given habitat.

A

1916
Frederic E. Clements,

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7
Q

is smaller than a biome
because a biome is distributed
throughout the Earth.

A

ecosystem

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8
Q

are large, geographically defined
regions with similar climate and
vegetation, encompassing multiple
ecosystems

A

Biomes

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9
Q

, are localized communities of living
organisms and their interactions within a
specific area, often found within biomes.

A

Ecosystems

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10
Q

An area’s biome is determined mostly by its __________ (temperature and precipitation)

A

climate

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11
Q

is a major factor in determining types of life that reside in a particular biome

A

Climate

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12
Q

Several factors that influence climate:

A
  1. latitude
  2. geographic features
  3. atmospheric processes disseminating heat and moisture.
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13
Q

LAND (6)

A

RAINFORESTS, DESERTS,
GRASSLANDS, DECIDOUS FORESTS,
BOREAL FORESTS, & TUNDRA

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14
Q

WATER (2)

A

FRESHWATER &
MARINE ECOSYSTEMS

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15
Q
  • Often named for major physical or climatic factors and for vegetation
  • Characterized by distribution, precipitation, temperature, plants, and animals
A

Terrestrial Biomes

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16
Q

There are 2 main types of rain forests:

A
  1. Tropical Rain Forests.
  2. Temperate Rain Forests
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17
Q

having moderate temperatures.

A

Temperate

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18
Q

Are found in eastern North America, northeastern Asia, and central and western Europe.

A

TEMPERATE
RAIN FORESTS

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19
Q

TEMPERATE RAIN FORESTS: Receives more than _________ (10 ft) of rain per year

A

300 CM

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20
Q
  • Found in regions close to the equator
  • Warm and humid all year long.
  • Lots of precipitation.
  • Diverse plant growth.
A

TROPICAL
RAIN FORESTS

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21
Q

A leafy roof formed by the tallest trees.

A

Canopy

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22
Q

A second layer of shorter trees and vines.

A

Understory

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23
Q

plants grow well in the shade formed by
the canopy, but the forest floor is nearly dark and only a few plants live there.

A

Understory

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24
Q

slow plant growth; low species diversity; slow nutrient recycling and lack of water

A

fragile ecosystem

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25
Q

3 Desserts have little vegetation and moisture:

A
  • Tropical Deserts
  • Temperate Deserts
  • Cold Deserts
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26
Q

The ___________ desert in Africa cools rapidly after the sun goes down.

A

scorching Namib

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27
Q

The _________ desert in central Asia is cooler and even experiences freezing temperatures in the winter

A

Gobi

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28
Q

a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem

A

Savanna:

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29
Q

a transitional biome, not really a forest
and not really a desert

Can receive as much as 120 cm of rain
per year.

A

Savanna

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30
Q

a type of woodland characterized by a
combination of dry soil, warm weather, and short, hardy shrubs.

A

Chaparral

31
Q

it is dominated by short woody plants, rather than grasses or tall trees

it is unique to the Pacific coast of North America.

A

Chaparral

32
Q
  • Characterized as having grasses as the
    dominant vegetation.
  • Trees and large shrubs are absent.
A

Temperate grassland

33
Q
  • Precipitation is highly seasonal
  • Have cold winters and warm summers
    with some rain
  • Grasses and adapted to droughts and
    fire
A

Temperate
Grasslands

34
Q

home to many of the largest animals
on Earth.

Examples:
* Grazing by these large herbivores helps to maintain these grasslands

A

Grasslands

35
Q
  • The _____ is a forest of the cold, subarctic region
  • Has been called the world’s largest land biome
  • Coniferous, pines, oak, maple and elm trees.
  • Mooses, lynx, bears, wolverines, foxes,
    squirrels.
A

TAIGA OR BOREAL
FOREST

36
Q
  • the coldest of all the biomes.
  • comes from the Finnish word
    tunturi, meaning treeless plain.
A

TUNDRA

37
Q

live in the water itself and cannot propel
themselves through water (Bacteria, algae).

A

Plankton

38
Q

=live in the water and can propel themselves by swimming or other means (invertebrates, shrimps;
vertebrates, fish)

A

Nekton

39
Q

live on the surface below a body of water
(sponges, clams and sea stars)

A

Benthos

40
Q

biomes found in the salt water of the ocean.

A

aquatic

41
Q

Major marine biomes

A

neritic, oceanic, and benthic biomes.

42
Q
  • occur in ocean water over the
    continental shelf
  • extend from the low-tide water line to
    the edge of the continental shelf.
  • large populations of phytoplankton
  • great biomass and biodiversity.
A

Neritic Biomes

43
Q

=shallow

A

water

44
Q

is a biotic community that
is present in the open ocean

A

Oceanic Biomes

45
Q

is the lowest ecological zone in a
water body, and usually involves
the sediments at the seafloor.

A

Benthic Biomes

46
Q

occur on the bottom of the ocean
where benthos/ benthic organisms live

A

Benthic Biomes

47
Q

Where freshwater of a river meets
saltwater of the ocean.

A

Estuary

48
Q

the tidal mouth of a large river,
where the tide meets the stream.

  • freshwater mixes with salt water
A

Estuary

49
Q

an underwater ecosystem
characterized by reef-building corals

are formed of colonies of coral polyps
held together by calcium carbonate.

A

Coral Reef

50
Q

▪ Close to the shore/bank
▪ High light penetration penetrate
▪ phytoplankton and floating organisms
▪ high productivity and high biodiversity

A

Littoral zone

51
Q

▪ top layer of lake water away from shore.
▪ covers much of the lake’s surface
▪ Photosynthesis occurs in this zone

A

Limnetic zone

52
Q
  • near the bottom of a lake
  • no sunlight penetrates = no producers
  • Consumers, decomposers
  • low biodiversity
A

Profundal zone

53
Q
  • bottom of a lake.
  • Organisms such as crayfish, snails, near
    shore
  • completely dark
  • decomposers.
A

Benthic zone

54
Q
  • Covered by water at least one season
  • Plants are adapted to water-logged soil
  • Also known as swamps or marshes.
  • Provide habitat for thousands of
    species of aquatic and terrestrial
    plants and animals.
A

Wetlands

55
Q

are regions of the world with similar climate (weather, temperature) animals and plants.

A

bIOMES

56
Q

There are terrestrial biomes (land) and aquatic biomes, both __and __.

A

freshwater
marine

57
Q

The world comprises a huge _____of the types of environments which are divided and grouped into different types of biomes

A

diversity

58
Q
  • Nutrient Cycle
  • more or less circular paths of the chemical elements passing back and
    forth between organisms and environment
A

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE

59
Q

2 General Group of
Biogeochemical Cycle

A

Perfect (Gaseous)
Imperfect (Sedimentary)

60
Q
  • Hydrological Cycle
  • describes the way that water is circulated and recycled throughout Earth’s system
  • The ____ is an extremely
    important process because it
    enables the availability of water for
    all living organisms and regulates
    weather patterns on our planet.
A

WATER CYCLE

61
Q

the process that changes liquid water to gaseous water

A

Evaporation

62
Q

s the process of water vapor being released from plants and soil.

A

Transpiration

63
Q

the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water

A

Condensation

64
Q

any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and falls to
the Earth

A

Precipitation

65
Q

(also known as overland flow) is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface

A

Surface runoff

66
Q
  • Describes the process in which carbon
    atoms continually travel from the
    atmosphere to the Ear
A

Carbon Cycle

67
Q

SOURCES of Carbon
*Death of plants and animals
* Animal waste
* Atmospheric C
* Methane from ruminant animals
* Cellular Respiration (Aerobic)
* Volcanic Eruptions

A

Natural

68
Q

SOURCES of Carbon
- Burning of wood
- Motor vehicles
- Burning of fossil fuel

A

Anthropological

69
Q

a biogeochemical process through which nitrogen is converted into many forms, consecutively passing from the atmosphere
to the soil to organism and back into the
atmosphere.

A

Nitrogen Cycle

70
Q

Sources of Nitrogen

A
  1. Inorganic fertilizers
  2. Nitrogen Fixation
  3. Animal Residues
  4. Crop residues
  5. Organic fertilizers
71
Q

Forms of Nitrogen

A
  1. Urea → CO(NH2)2
  2. Ammonia → NH3 (gaseous)
  3. Ammonium → NH4
  4. Nitrate → NO3
  5. Nitrite → NO2
  6. Atmospheric Dinitrogen →N2
  7. Organic N
72
Q
  • the biogeochemical cycle that describes the transformation and translocation of phosphorus in soil, water, and
    living and dead organic material.
  • the slowest biogeochemical cycles.
  • one of the scarcest elements found in nature which makes it one of the limiting agents
A

Phosphorous Cycle

73
Q
A

Environmental Science (8 decks)

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