Ecosystems

Question 1

What are ecosystems?

Answer 1

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms and their interactions with their abiotic environment

Question 2

What are some available resources?

Answer 2

water, oxygen, energy

Question 3

What is apart of the physical environment?

Answer 3

climate, weather, temperature, soil

Question 4

What is apart of geographical environment?

Answer 4

latitude, altitude, fopography

Question 5

What are the 3 broad categories of ecosystems

Answer 5

fresh water, ocean water, terrestrial

Question 6

what are types of ecosystems within the fresh water category

Answer 6

lakes, rivers, and springs

Question 7

what are the types of ecosystems in ocean water

Answer 7

shallow ocean, deep ocean surface, deep ocean

Question 8

what is equilibrium

Answer 8

a steady state where all organisms are in balance with environment and each other

Question 9

what is resistance

Answer 9

ability to remain at equilibrium despite disturbance

Question 10

what is resilience

Answer 10

speed at which ecosystem recovers equilibrium

Question 11

what major factor limits the length of the food chain?

Answer 11

amount of energy in the system

Question 12

trophic levels from bottom to top. 5

Answer 12

producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and apex predators

Question 13

what are examples of producers

Answer 13

plants

Question 14

what are examples of primary consumers

Answer 14

rabbits, deers, and insects

Question 15

what are examples of secondary consumers

Answer 15

snakes, foxes, some birds

Question 16

what are examples of tertiary consumers

Answer 16

hawks, owls, wolves

Question 17

what are some examples of apex predators

Answer 17

lion, sharks, eagles

Question 18

why is biomass different at each trophic level

Answer 18

as you go up in levels you lose energy which makes it so less can be supported

Question 19

what is the 2nd law of thermodynamics and how does it apply to food chains

Answer 19

energy transfer is never 100% efficient, energy escapes as heat between trophic levels.

Question 20

what are ecosystem dynamics

Answer 20

changes in the ecosystem caused by changes in environmment or internal forces

Question 21

what is a mesocosm

Answer 21

a controlled experimental system that simulates a natural ecosystem, done in the field.

Question 22

what is a microcosm

Answer 22

small, self-contained environment designed to simulate larger ecosystems, done in labs

Question 23

What are three types of models we use for ecosystem dynamics

Answer 23

conceptual models: graphs that can show relationships between different organisms in a community and their environment, like energy and nutrient transfers

analytical model: mathematical, predicts and describes the interactions within an ecosystem.

simulation model: a combination of conceptual and analytical

Question 24

what are two types of energy producers

Answer 24

photoautotrophs, chemoautotrophs

Question 25

how do chemoautotrophs produce energy

Answer 25

chemical reactions from the hudrogen sulfide bond

Question 26

what is biomass

Answer 26

total mass of living and once living things in a trophic level

Question 27

what is net primary productivity

Answer 27

energy that remains in organisms after metabolic processes

Question 28

what is net production efficiency (NPE)

Answer 28

descirbes how effectively an organism, converts the energy it obtains from food into new biomass (growth and reproduction)

Question 29

what is thec equation for NPE

Answer 29

net consumer productivity/ assimilation *100

Question 30

what is assimilation

Answer 30

biomass at the present trophic level after accounting for metabolic processes

Question 31

why are ectotherms more energy efficient

Answer 31

they get their heat from the sun so they dont waste energy to produce heat

Question 32

why are endotherms less energy efficient

Answer 32

they produce their own heat which uses energy

Question 33

what is always on the bottom of ecological pyramids

Answer 33

producers

Question 34

can small numbers of producers support large consumers?

Answer 34

yes

Question 35

what is biomagnification

Answer 35

process where a concentration of a chemical increases as it moves up the food chains

Question 36

what is the biogeochemical cycle

Answer 36

recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their environment

Question 37

what are the 6 most common elements

Answer 37

carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur (CHONSP)

Question 38

what is residence time in relation to the water cycle

Answer 38

average time an individual molecule stays in a particular reservoir

Question 39

what is the hydrosphere

Answer 39

area of earth where water is moved or stored

Question 40

what is subduction

Answer 40

movement of one tectonic plate beneath another that causes sediment layers to be taken deep into earth and turned into CO2

Question 41

how does bicarbonate contribute to the formation of limestone and why is this process significant

Answer 41

bicarbonate in seawater forms calcium carbonate, which marine organisms use to build shells; over time these shells accumlate and form limestone which is a nonrenewable resources

Question 42

what is a nonrenewable resources

Answer 42

natural resource that cannot be replenished at a rate that matches its consumption

Question 43

what are some environmental effects of human runoff

Answer 43

human runoff can cause acid rain (from sulfur), nuclear fallout, chemical weathering of rocks (releasing sulfur), and eutrophication which leads to dead zones due to nutrient overload, algal blooms, and oxygen depletion

Question 44

What is the gross primary productivity

Answer 44

the rate at which biomass is produced by primary producers