Science 10 (Unit 3) - Biodiversity Flashcards
(109 cards)
1
Q
What is biodiversity?
A
Biodiversity is the number of species in an ecosystem and the variety within those species.
The word can be understood in two parts: ‘bio’ meaning ‘life’ and ‘diversity’ meaning ‘variety’.
2
Q
How do scientists measure biodiversity?
A
Scientists usually measure biodiversity by genetic, species, or ecosystem levels.
3
Q
How does biodiversity vary?
A
Biodiversity varies greatly with location and habitat.
4
Q
Where is biodiversity generally highest?
A
In general, biodiversity is highest at the equator and decreases as you get further from the equator.
5
Q
Where would you find habitats with the lowest biodiversity?
A
At the north or south pole.
6
Q
What is the current global extinction event called?
A
The Holocene extinction.
7
Q
List two human-related reasons for the decrease in biodiversity.
A
Global climate warming and over harvesting.
8
Q
Give one example of how a decrease in biodiversity could impact us.
A
Loss of food crops.
9
Q
Give one way that we can increase biodiversity.
A
Growing more than one crop.
10
Q
What is a trophic cascade?
A
An ecological process which starts at the top of the food chain and tumbles all the way down to the bottom.
11
Q
What is Abiotic?
A
Non-living factors or influence on organisms, such as the amount of sunlight, temperatures, and strength and direction of winds.
12
Q
What is a Biome?
A
A collection of ecosystems that are similar or related to each other in that the dominant form of plant life.
13
Q
What is Biotic?
A
Factors caused by the presence and roles of other living things.
14
Q
What is a Community?
A
The collection of all the populations of all the species in an ecosystem or habitat.
15
Q
What is Ecology?
A
The study of how organisms interact with each other.
16
Q
What is an Ecosystem?
A
In an area defined by an ecologist, the set of relationships between populations of species and between those populations and the abiotic factors in their environment.
17
Q
What is an Ecotone?
A
A grey area between ecosystems where organisms from both ecosystems interact with each other, often containing greater biodiversity.
18
Q
What is a Population?
A
All of the members of the same species, living in the same ecosystem or habitat.
19
Q
What is a Species?
A
A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
20
Q
Arrange the following in order of largest to smallest: Ecosystem, Population, Community, Species.
A
- Ecosystem
- Community
- Population
- Species
21
Q
What is a Food Chain?
A
A step-by-step sequence linking organisms that feed on each other, starting with a food source.
22
Q
What is a Habitat?
A
The conditions required for the survival of a species.
23
Q
What are Autotrophs?
A
Organisms that use energy and raw materials to make their own food, whether from photosynthesis or chemical synthesis.
24
Q
What is a Heterotroph?
A
An organism that is incapable of making its own food and must feed on other organisms to gain energy.
25
What is a Food Web?
A pictorial representation of the feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem.
26
What is a Herbivore?
Animals that eat mainly plants.
27
What is an Omnivore?
Animals that eat both plants and animals.
28
What is a Carnivore?
Animals that eat mainly animals.
29
What is a Trophic Level
A way of categorizing biotic things based on how they gain their energy
30
What is a Primary Consumer
An organism that relies on autotrophs/producers for energy; second in a trophic level
31
What is a Secondary Consumer
An organisms that relies on primary consumers for energy; third on the trophic level
32
What is a Tertiary Consumer
An organism that relies on heterotrophs for energy; fourth in a trophic level
33
What is a producer
A autotroph that uses photosynthesis to make food from sunlight
34
What is a consumer
A heterotroph that eats other species for food
35
What is a decomposed
An organism that feeds on waste matter to produce nutrients for other species
36
What is mortality?
Death rate
37
What is natality?
Birth rate
38
What is immigration?
Movement of new individuals into the population
39
What is emigration?
Movement of current individuals outside the population
40
What is an Open Population?
An Open Population is where animals can move in and out freely.
41
What is the formula for Population growth rate in an Open Population?
Population growth rate = (natality + immigration) - (mortality + emigration)
42
What is a Closed Population?
A Closed Population is where species remain within the area and cannot leave.
43
What is the formula for Population growth rate in a Closed Population?
Population growth rate = (natality) - (mortality)
44
What is biotic potential?
Biotic potential is the maximum number of species that could survive in the area given optimal conditions.
45
What factors determine biotic potential?
Factors that determine biotic potential include birth potential, survival capacity, procreation, and length of reproductive age.
46
What is birth potential?
Birth potential is the number of young per birth.
47
Give an example of birth potential.
Whooping crane females will lay two eggs per year, and only one survives.
## Footnote
Example of birth potential.
48
What is survival capacity?
Survival capacity is the percent of young that survive to reproduce.
49
Give an example of survival capacity.
Sea turtle females lay 110 eggs, but only 1% reach adulthood.
## Footnote
Example of survival capacity.
50
What is procreation?
Procreation is the number of births per year.
51
Give an example of procreation.
Elk mate once a year while farm animals breed more than once a year.
## Footnote
Example of procreation.
52
What is the length of reproductive age?
Length of reproductive age is the number of years an organism can reproduce.
53
Give an example of length of reproductive age.
African elephants reproduce between the ages of 15 to 90 years.
## Footnote
Example of length of reproductive age.
54
What is an detrivores
an animal which feeds on dead organic material, such as vultures, worms, maggots, and crabs
55
What is the Law of Tolerance
The law of tolerance states that the success of a species is determined by the degree of deviation of a limiting factor from the rang of optimum for the species,
simple term; an organism's survival depends on environmental factors being within its tolerance ranges.
56
What is the Carrying Capacity
The carrying capacity is the greatest number of individuals that a space can support indefinitely without degrading the environment.
57
What is a invasive species
A non-native species that have colonized a new area to appoint of damaging the surrounding environment
58
What is a pest
An organism that people considered harmful or inconvenient in a particular situation.
59
What is a pesticide
A chemical designed to kill pest
60
What is bioamplification?
Starts at the bottom and builds to the top, Biodiversity in the lower part of the chain is limited the most
61
What is the ideal pesticide
Selective pesticide; Don't impact biodiversity and don't kill necessary species.
Doesn't get into the food chain or have negative side affects (no bio amplifications)
The pesticide should not be able to create a resistance pest
Should be cheap to produce and easy to use since more effective in large numbers
62
What is extinct
A species that is no longer found anywhere on earth
63
What is endangered
A species that is close to extinction in all parts of Canada or in significant large locations
64
What is extirpated
Any species that is no longer exists in one part of Canada, but can be found in other parts.
65
What is threatened
Any species that is likely to become endangered if factors that make it vulnerable are not revered
66
What is vulernable
Any species that is at risk because of law or declining numbers at the fringe of it's range or in some restricted area.
67
What is a system
A network of relationships among components that interact or influence one another through energy, matter or information
68
what is energy
Energy include solar, geothermal, or life processes and nutrients include the cycling of elements or compounds through an area
69
What is an open system, give a ex
An Open system allows both (energy and matter) to enter and leave freely Ex) Saskatchewan - matter and energy can enter and leave our province freely
70
What is a closed system, give a example
A closed systems do not allow matter but does allow energy to enter and leave freely Ex) Earth - matter cannot enter and leave from outside sources (usually), but light energy from the sun can enter/leave
71
What is a Isolated system, give a example
A isolated system usually only exist in the lab. They do not allow energy or matter to enter. Ex) Thermos - in a closed thermos, energy and matter cannot enter or leave
72
What is a Equilibrium
An Equilibrium refers to a stable ecosystems with a balanced amount of resources taken and given. This would be a lake with enough water to support its fish but not flood the area.
73
What is a dynamic equilibrium
If an input or output pushes away from stability, such as over low food supply or extreme weather, the system will shift in opposing directions at equal rates to balance the change back out, such as in Earth's climate system. This is called a dynamic equilibrium
74
What is a positive feedback loop
It amplifices a particular effect or change
75
What is a negative feedback loop
A negative feedback diminishes or counteracts change in ecosystem
76
What are the laws of conservation of matter
- matter cannot be created or destroyed but transformed from one type to another
- the total amount of matter in the environment will always stay the same unlike energy (food webs/chains, nutrients cycle through the environment infinitely
- nutrients are matter that organism need for life processes cycle through Earth's spheres and organisms..
77
What is the nitrogen cycle
The movement of nitrogen through the ecosystem, soil, and atmosphere is called nitrogen cycle
78
What is the nitrogen fixtation
The process of which atmospheric nitrogen is processed into nitrates, through lighting and bacteria capable of turning ammonia into nitrites, and then nitrates.
79
What is denitrification
denitrifying bacteria that break down nitrates into nitrites, and nitrites into atmospheric nitrogen gas. This process is called Denitrification, and are carried by bacteria that don't require oxygen.
80
What are the steps in the nitrogen gas
Step 1: Atmospheric nitrogen cannot be used directly by plants and animals
Step 2: Nitrogen needs to be converted by nitrogenous compounds. This process is called Nitrogen fixation
Step 3: Bacteria that live in root nodules of legumes convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia
Step 4: Nitrifying bacteria change ammonia intro nitrites and then nitrates
Step 5: Plants then take nitrates from the soil and use them to make protein
Step 6: Animals eat plants to get protein
Step 7:Dead plants and animals decay and ammonia is released. Which can get turned back into nitrates to be used by plants again
Step 8: Denitrifying bacteria convert nitrates back to atmospheric nitrogen.
81
What contribution do denitrifying bacteria make to the cycle
they ensure the balance amongst soil nitrates, nitrites, and atmospheric nitrogen, and complete the nitrogen cycle.
82
Why is it a good idea to rotate a legume crop in
Legumes have nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in the root nodules of the crop. Which creates excess nitrates more than the plant and bacteria needs, which spreads and provides a source of nitrates for other plants.
83
Why is a good practice to aerate lawns
It's good to aerate lawns because they expose denitrifying-bacteria, which reduces
84
What happens if humans add to much fertilizer
It might cause the soil to experience fertilizer burn, which results in crops dying as there is to much nitrogen. As well as water pollution.
85
What happens when humans add nitrous oxides to the atmosphere
The production of nitrous oxide of humans results in acid rains.
86
Why is nitrogen important to organisms
They are required so that cells can make protein and nitrogen is also needed for the synthesis of DNA
87
How man of the world total amount of Freshwater is in Canada
Canada has 10 percent of the worlds total amount
88
How much of the worlds water is salt water and fresh
97.5% is stored in salt water and only 2.5% is fresh water
89
Of the freshwater, how much is available
87.3 percent is frozen in ice caps and glaciers and 12.3 percent is stored underground, which means only 0.4 percent is available as atmospheric/surface water
90
What is evaporation
The process of a liquid turning into a gas or vapor
91
What is Condensation
Condensation is when gas turns to a liquid
92
What is runoff
Water that flows over the Earth's surface instead of soaking into the ground
93
What is the carbon cycle
The carbon cycle describes the paths carbon atoms take through the environment. Living organisms need carbon, for example, it takes up 18 percent of the human body
94
What happens each year in the carbon cycle
Each year 50-70 billion tonnes of carbon from inorganic carbon dioxide (carbon in the atmosphere CO2) are recycled into more complex organic substances (ex. methane, ethane, fats, proteins, through photosynthesis.
95
What is photosynthesis
This is done by plants during the day, producers pull carbon dioxide (inorganic) from the air and create stored (usable) energy in the presence of sunlight. This produces oxygen and carbohydrates which act as food for plants
96
What is the equations for Photosynthesis
6CO2 (carbon dioxide) + 6H20 (water) + light = C6H12O6 (sugar/glucose) + 6O2 (oxygen)
97
What is respiratoin
This is done by plants (at night) and animals. This chemical reverse of photosynthesis and organisms use oxygen to release chemical energy of sugars.
98
What is the equations for Respiration
C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6O2 (oxygen) = 6H2O (water) + 6CO2 (carbon dioxide) + ATP (energy created by humans)
99
Why is the relationship between these two cycles called the carbon cycle
Since photosynthesis and cellular respiration are complementary processes and because the carbon they use are repeated cycled.
100
What happens to the carbon form living organisms
It's returned to the water or atmosphere as carbon dioxide from body wastes and decay, however under conditions, decay is delayed and organic matter is converted into fossil fuels, such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas.
101
How can carbon stored in fossil fuels be released?
Carbon in they type of storage can only be released by a process called weathering and uplifting, or combustion.
102
What are carbon skins
Reservoirs (storage areas) for carbon that takes in more than it releases.
103
What are three reservoirs for carbon not in organic form
Atmosphere, ocean, and earth's crust
104
what form is inorganic carbon held in the ocean?
it's held as dissolved CO2 = HCO3-2
105
When carbon become sediments in the oceans, what type of rock is created?
limestone and sandstone
106
How are sediments broken down
Volcanic activity can break down carbonate-containing rock releasing carbon dioxide
107
What are organic carbon reservoirs
They are found in the bodies of living things
108
How have humans modified the cycle
By mining, burning fossil fuel, burning forest, and clearing vegetation, we have sped up the speed for releasing carbon from organic reservoirs
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