Unit 1 Flashcards by Grace Urich

When available food decreases, competition…

increases

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a close and long-term interaction between two species in an ecosystem

Symbiosis

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(type of symbiosis)

both species benefit from the relationship

ex: bacteria in your intestines

Mutualism

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(type of symbiosis)

one species benefits and the other isn’t helped or harmed

Commensalism

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(type of symbiosis)

one species feeds off the host species and the organism that is harmed is called the host

Parasitism

btw: parasite isn’t a predator, because it usually does not kill the host

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competition between the same species

Intraspecific competition

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competition between two different species

Interspecific competition

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The role the species plays in its ecosystem

Niche

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organisms occupy different spaces in the same habitat

ex: dif bird species occupy dif heights on the same tree

spatial niche partitioning

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organisms separate resources by what they eat

ex:Sapsuckers eat insects in sap, & woodpeckers dig in trunk for insects

dietary niche partitioning

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Different species access resources at different heights

niche partitioning by resource height

Smartweed roots reach down 100cm Indian mallow 70cm & foxtail roots 20cm

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When species differ in their competitive abilities based on varying environmental conditions

temporal niche partitioning

ex: woodrats are active at night while cottontails are active in the day

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animals “preparing” food to be consumed by other animals and progressing their species

Facilitation

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preventing a species from growing in population

Interference

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a large group of ecosystems that share the same type of climate and communities of plants and animals that result from, and are adapted to, their environment

Biome

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biome

-aka boreal forest
-Largest is in Russia
-long, cold winters
-100in of precip
-acidic, low humus

Taiga

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biome

-cool,humid
-high rain (esp in winter)
-Moderate temps
-slow decomp

Temperate Rainforest

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biome

-US has the largest
-4 seasons
-deep soil layers
-rich in humus
-30-100 in precip

Temperate Seasonal Forest

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biome

-Largest in Brazil & Indonesia
-near equator
-steady,humid temp
-low humus
-shallow roots

Tropical Rainforests

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biome

-aka shrubland
-slight seasons
-hot/dry summer
-wet winters
-wetter winters=worse fires in summer

Chaparral

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biome

-dry, cool winters
-warm summers
-Veggie growth
-4 seasons(winds)

Temperate Grasslands

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biome

-aka tropical seasonal forest
-grazing animals
-tall grass, few trees
-dry winters
-wet summers

Savanna

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biome

-20-30 latitude
-almost no plants
-dry, little precip
-winds
-little to no topsoil

Desert

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biome

-aka arctic
-largest is in Alaska
-Frozen biome
-Dry, Low precip
-lots of humus

Tundra

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-Coldest, after Arc -southern hemisphere -20% of the Earth -Monthlong night

Antarctic

More precipitation = More

Biodiversity

include oceans, coral reefs, marshland, and estuaries

Marine biomes | (Streams are not a marine biome)

the primary source of dissolved oxygen on earth (land & sea)

Photosynthesis by microscopic plankton (phytoplankton)

Shallow water, reef-building corals have a symbiotic relationship with _________ which live in their tissues.

photosynthetic algae called zooxanthellae

the greatest source of freshwater

Glaciers

animals responsible for building reefs, cover very little of the ocean floor

Coral polyps

ocean's fish depend on healthy coral reefs because

-they protect coastlines from storms and erosion -processes fish waste (lowers BOD -used as food and medicines (ocean warming causes reefs to die)

BOD

Biochemical oxygen demand | (BOD increase = DO decrease)

Dissolved oxygen | (BOD increase = DO decrease)

Acidity measures:

pH level

Turbidity measures:

amount of solids suspended in water

Hardness measures:

how much Mg2+ & Ca2+ is present

Salinity

salty-ness (amount of NaCl)

fertile land that that has nutrients (slit & clay) replenished by floods

Floodplain

found where rivers meet sea, one of the most productive ecosystems in the world

Estuaries

coastal wetlands flooded and drained by salt water brought in by the tides

Salt marshes

the process of strong winds on the coasts of continents in conjunction with the earth's rotation, causes surface waters to be pushed offshore where deeper water is then pulled up to take its place, **associated with coastal currents**

Coastal Upwelling

# zone of a body of water highest diversity, salty & not salty, cold & warm, wet & dry

Intertidal zone

Act that requires minimum safety standards for community water supplies

Safe Drinking Water Act

Act that provides legislation to protect rivers, lakes, streams, and oceans

Clean Water Act

Sources

release more than absorb

Sinks

absorbs more than release

Limiting factors for plant growth:

nitrogen and phosphorus [phosphorus especially in marine ecosystems as it is an insoluble solid]

Primary recevoir of the carbon cycle

limestone | (Limestone is made of carbon, O2 & calcium)

Main recevoirs of the carbon cycle

sedimentary rocks -fossilized organic carbon (fossil fuels) -ocean -biosphere

Annual fluctuation in atmospheric CO2 is due to...

seasonal cycles in photosynthesis

Sources of Carbon

Combustion of fuel, decomposition, burning of fossil fuels like gas, coal and oil, deforestation and volcanic eruptions

Null

ocean, soil and forests are the world's largest carbon sink

Burning fossil fuels contributes to the net increase in atmospheric carbon because

sequestered carbon underground is added to carbon cycling between the atmosphere and biosphere

Removal & storage of carbon (usually as CO2) from the atmosphere into carbon sinks through physical/biological processes

Sequestering

Carbon Cycle can be broken into two subcycles

respiration and photosynthesis

Decomposition results in the storage of carbon as

coal and oil

Primary recevoir of the nitrogen cycle

atmosphere | soil is also a recevoir for nitrogen ## Footnote Nitrogen is in recevoirs for short periods of time

N2 gas fixed by lighting or bacteria | N2 gas --> Organic Nitrogen

Nitrogen Fixation | 1st step in the nitrogen cycle

N2 gas (atmospheric nitrogen) converted into a form of the ammonia for uptake by plants so that it can be synthesized into plant tissue | Organic Nitrogen --> Ammonia

Ammonification | 2nd Step of nitrogen cycle

the process that converts ammonia to nitrite & then to nitrate, occurs aerobically & is carried out exclusively by prokaryotes | Amonnia --> nitrite & then nitrate

Nitrification | 3rd Step in the nitrogen cycle

Plant roots absorb ions of ammonium & nitrate to make molecules like DNA, amino acids, & proteins

Assimilation | 4th Step in the Nitrogen cycle

Nitrate ions & nitrite ions are converted into nitrous oxide gas & nitrogen gas (N2)

Denitrification | 5th step in the nitrogen cycle

Examples of Inorganic Nitrogen

N2 gas, nitrate, nitrite, & ammonium

Examples of Organic Nitrogen

amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids

Fossil Fuel Examples

Coal, Crude Oil, & Natural Gases

Primary recevoir of the Phosphorus cycle

sediment

why does the phosphorus cycle take the longest?

phosphorus has no gaseous state ## Footnote -why scarce in aquatic & many terrestrial ecosystems (also cause compounds are often insoluble) -it is a limiting factor in biological systems

possible source of phosphorus in ecosystems

Guano (bird & bat feces)

Primary Recevoir of the Hydrofluoric Cycle

Ocean | (then ice caps & groundwater)

The Hydrofluoric Cycle is powered by

the sun

trees increase the rate of...

water infiltration

process of water vapor “evaporating” from leaves into the atmosphere | (aka evapotranspiration)

Transpiration

process of water seepage into the earth

Infiltration

the amount of energy generated

Gross Primary Productivity | GPP = NPP + CR

rate of energy storage in by photosynthesis after GPP is subtracted by cellular respiration (affected by: temperature, precipitation, & latitude)

Net Primary Productivity | NPP = GPP - CR

the rate at which solar energy (sunlight) is converted into organic compounds (glucose & O2) via photosynthesis over a unit of time

Primary productivity | (also known as primary production)

the process by which organisms use oxygen to break down food molecules to get chemical energy for cell functions

Cellular respiration

Measured by production in a single meter of land, ____ produces the most biomass | (biome)

tropical rainforests

________ produce the largest share of Earth’s biomass

Open oceans

____ of the energy that the lower level collects is moved up to the next trophic level, the rest (low quality energy) is released as heat

10%

1st law of thermodynamics

energy cannot be created or destroyed - only transformed

2nd law of thermodynamics

energy moves from high to low quality (more disordered) when transformed

a model of an interlocking pattern of food chains that depicts the flow of energy and nutrients in two or more food chains

food web

Matter is recycled by ______

decomposers

Plants absorb only ____ of the sun’s energy

Order of Trophic Levels

4)Top Predators 3)Intermediate Predators 2)First Order Consumers 1)Primary Producers (also written as) 4)Top Carnivore 3)Primary Carnivore 2)Herbivores 1)Producers