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Ecosystems Flashcards

1
Q

Ecology

A

Study of how living things interact with their environment

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2
Q

Environment

A

All biotic and abiotic components in a given area of time and space

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3
Q

Habitat

A

An area in time and space where an organism exists

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4
Q

Ecosystem

A

A community of species interacting with each other and the abiotic factors of their environment

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5
Q

Ecosystem Services

A

Supporting, regulating, provisioning, cultural

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6
Q

Water

A

Water makes up 71% of the Earth’s surface, of which 97% is saltwater and only 3% is freshwater

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7
Q

Specific Properties of Water

A

High specific heat // Density-temperature relationship // Cohesion, surface tension, and viscosity // Buoyancy

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8
Q

Abiotic Factors of Aquatic Habitats

A

Solar energy // Chemistry // Water disturbance // Substrate and terrain

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9
Q

Solar Energy

A

Light and Temperature

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10
Q

Light

A

Varies with depth, influences quantity and distribution of primary producers, vital for photosynthesis, indirectly influences vertical profile of temperature

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11
Q

Temperature

A

Function of depth, surface temperatures reflect balance of incoming and outgoing radiation, vertical mixing combines different temperatures in the upper water column

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12
Q

Temperature Zonation

A

Epilimnion // Thermocline // Hypolimnion

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13
Q

Chemistry

A

Solutes and Dissolved Gasses

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14
Q

Solutes

A

Solvent properties of water important in nutrient and waste transport, solvent concentration higher in marine environments, salinity around 35% in sea water

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15
Q

Dissolved Gasses in Lentic and Lotic Systems

A

Oxygen: highest in cold, turbulent waters, lowest in warm, stagnant waters
Influenced by lake seasonality and depth variation

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16
Q

Dissolved Gasses in Marine Systems

A

Oxygen: Highest at surface, decreases until reaching oxygen minimum zone, increases after this point
Carbon dioxide: Increases with depth

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17
Q

Water Movements

A

Waves, Tides, Currents, Upwelling

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18
Q

Waves

A

In open bodies of water, wind and frictional drag, an energy transfer rather than water particles actually moving
In oceans and lakes, fetch which is the distance wind blows

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19
Q

Tides

A

Result of forces exerted by the moon and sun // Long period waves: high tides (when we’re in the moon’s bulge), low tides (when we’re not)
Solar tides usually masked by lunar, exceptions: new/full moon: amplify, quarter/half moon: contradict
Tides are inconsistent a lot of times

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20
Q

Ocean Currents

A

Winds, coriolis effect, gyres within ocean basins

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21
Q

Upwelling

A

Occur where gyres meet, coastally, and in lakes

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22
Q

Ocean Conveyor Belt

A

Slow-moving global current: thermohaline (salt and temperature based) circulation, vital to nutrient and
CO2 cycles and regulation of global climates

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23
Q

Currents

A

Velocity determines stream characteristics, both of the channel and of the bottom characteristics

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24
Q

Substrates and Sediments

A

Differs greatly from place to place, both inorganic and organic material, different substrates support different organisms

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25
Hydrological Cycle
Evapotranspiration, precipitation, and infiltration
26
Global Water Budget
A water accountability budget // Reservoir: bodies of water, Hydrologic flux: movements of water through the global cycle
27
Ecosystem Linkage
Any persistent or recurring process or attribute that connects different ecosystems in some manner Physical: exchange of abiotic material, Chemical: exchange of inorganic nutrients, Biological: exchange of organisms and their byproducts
28
Rivers and Streams
Lotic environments, nested hierarchy of stream order that drain areas of land called watersheds
29
Habitat Diversity within Streams
Riffles, pools, runs, falls; Also stream reach
30
Riffles
Shallow, turbulent areas
31
Runs
Rapid flow over smooth surfaces
32
Falls
Falling water
33
Pools
Deep and slow moving
34
Coral Reefs
Extremely diverse ecosystems, found nutrient-poor tropical waters, based on anthozoan coral and coralline algae
35
Salt Marshes
Ecosystems with distinct zonation due to salinity, tidal flow, and height // Salt-marsh animals are adapted to tidal rhythms // Detrital feeders such as fiddler crabs and their predators are active at low tide; filter-feeding ribbed mussels are active at high tide
36
Biomes
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37
Mangrove Forests
Ecosystems found in tropical regions, similar to salt marshes and cover up to 70 percent of coastlines // Uniquely adapted to a tidal environment, support a unique mix of terrestrial and marine life such as through a nursery for the larvae and young of crabs, shrimp, and fish
38
Freshwater Wetlands
Transitional zone between freshwater and land // Defined by hydrology // Found in every climatic zone
39
Ecological Hierarchy
Organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere
40
Spatial Scales
Micro- and Macro-habitats
41
Temporal Scales
Short to long
42
Habitat Template Concept
Physical environment affects species distribution and abundance; key habitat requirements of a species can be identified based on where a species is most abundant
43
Effects on Species Distribution and Abundance
Environment structure (extreme/simple vs. moderate) and disturbance level
44
Provisioning Services
Food, medicine, raw materials, energy
45
Regulating Services
Carbon storage, climate regulation, water purification, storm protection
46
Cultural Services
Tourism, recreation, intrinsic value
47
Supporting Services
Oxygen production, habitat provision, water cycling
48
Lentic Waters
Lakes, marshes, ponds, reservoirs, swamps
49
Lotic Waters
Streams, rivers, creeks
50
Marine Waters
Coastal, pelagic, and deep sea
51
Oxygen Minimum Zone
In the mesopelagic zone
52
Stream Reach
Any length of a stream, often riffle-pool-riffle-pool
53
Watershed
An area of land that’s drained by a river or stream
54
River Continuum Concept
Since the physical conditions of a stream change, so do biological communities, in response to width, depth, velocity, and temperature
55
River Zones
Based on sediment transfer and elevation
56
Types of Wetlands
Basin, riverine, and fringe
57
Lake/Pond Characterization
Eutrophic [high in nutrients], Oligotrophic [poor in nutrients], Dystrophic [high in organic matter]
58
Lake/Pond Zones
Littoral zone [near shore], Limnetic zone [surface waters of open areas/euphotic/epilimnion], Profundal zone [deeper waters/aphotic/thermocline and hypolimnion], Benthic zone [the substrate]
59
Marine Horizontal Divisions
Littoral [near shore], Pelagic [open waters]: Neritic [above continental shelf] and Oceanic [the rest]
60
Benthic Topography
Continental shelf to continental slope to continental rise to sea mount to abyssal plain to mid-ocean ridge to trench
61
Sea Level
Determines location of shoreline // Global and temporal fluctuations, results from global and regional processes
62
Coastal Zone
Infralittoral zone, where low tide is // Littoral zone, where high tide reaches // Supralittoral, or spray, zone
63
Life in Profundal Waters of Lakes
Mostly anaerobic bacteria
64
Life in Benthic Zone of Littoral Zone of Lakes
Rich in decomposer organisms and detritus feeders
65
Invertebrate Inhabitants of Streams
Shredders, Filtering Collectors, Gathering Collectors, and Grazers
66
Estuary
The place where the one-way flow of freshwater meets the incoming and outgoing tidal water; the nature and distribution of estuarine life is determined by salinity
67
Open Ocean
Characterized by salinity, waves, tides, depth, and vastness
68
Epipelagic Zone
The upper lighted zone that provides energy to the other zones
69
Hadalpelagic Zone
Areas found in the deep-sea trenches and canyons
70
Abyssopelagic Zone
Extends from the sea floor to a depth of about 4000 m
71
Bathypelagic Zone
Void of sunlight and inhabited by darkly pigmented, bioluminescent animals (depend on a rain of detrital material from the upper lighted zone, the epipelagic zone, for their energy)
72
Mesopelagic Zone
Dimly lit, inhabited by characteristic species, such as certain sharks and squid; location of oxygen minimum zone (depend on a rain of detrital material from the upper lighted zone, the epipelagic zone, for their energy)
73
Phytoplankton Distribution
More prevalent in the littoral and neritic zones rather than the open ocean
74
Zooplankton Diversity
The greatest diversity, including larval forms of fish, occurs in the water over coastal shelves and upwellings
75
Benthic Organisms
Those living on the floor of the deep ocean; they vary with depth and substrate and are strictly heterotrophic, depending on organic matter that drifts to the bottom; they include filter feeders, collectors, deposit feeders, and predators
76
Chemosynthetic Bacteria
Use sulfates as an energy source for primary production in hydrothermal vent communities
77
Areas of Highest Ocean Productivity
Coastal regions and areas of upwelling
78
Areas of Lowest Ocean Productivity
The open ocean, specifically in tropical regions where the thermocline prevents nutrient mixing

Life Aquatic (18 decks)

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