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Science Gr 9 > Unit 4: Ecology > Flashcards

Unit 4: Ecology Flashcards

(59 cards)

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1
Q

Astmosphere

A

-A layer of gas and suspended solids that surround the earth, held in place by gravity.
-Made of around 78% of nitrogen and about 21% oxygen

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2
Q

Fixation

A

-The first step in making nitrogen usable by plants
-bacteria changes from nitrogen into ammonium

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3
Q

Ammonium

A

A positively charged ion and key component in fertilizers

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4
Q

Nitrification

A

-The second step
-Process by which ammonium gets changed into nitrates by bacteria
-Nitrates are then what the plants can absorb

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5
Q

Assimilation

A

-Third step
-This is how plants get nitrogen
-They absorb nitrates from the soil into their roots
-Then the nitrogen gets used in amino acids, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll

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6
Q

Amonnification

A

-step 4
-Part of the decaying process
-When a plant or animal dies, decomposes like fungi and bacteria turn the nitrogen back in ammonium so it can reenter the oxygen cycle

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7
Q

Denitrification

A

-final step
-Extra nitrogen in the soil gets put back out into the air
-There are special bacteria that can perform this task as-well.

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8
Q

Biodiversity

A

-Variety of life that exists on specific ecosystem/biome
-Up to 50 million different species on earth
-Higher the number of species in an area, the higher the biodiversity of that region

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9
Q

Where on earth is the species richness highest?

A

-Near the equator
-Rainforests has about 283 species of trees
-Ontario forest might have about 15 species or less

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10
Q

Benefits of biodiversity

A

-Cultural services (recreation, aesthetic, spiritual experiences)
-Ecosystem products (food sources, plant dyes, rubber, aspirin, and wax)
-Environmental benefits (maintain abiotic and biotic features, cycling of nutrients, protect soil from wind and water erosion)

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11
Q

Human actions on biodiversity

A

-Human activities threaten biodiversity
-Increase rate of extinct species

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12
Q

Lithosphere

A

Rocky outer layer shell of the earth
Made of rocks and minerals
50-150km in thickness

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13
Q

Hydrosphere

A

All the water on, above, and below the earth’s surface
-Oceans (97% of the hydrosphere) lakes, ice, groundwater, and clouds/water vapour
-Circulated through water cycle

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14
Q

Biosphere

A

-Where life exists
-Mostly on land and water
-Meets all conditions for life

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15
Q

Ecosystem

A

All the living organisms in a region and interact with each other and their non-living environment
-Ecosystems are described by their biotic and abiotic factors

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16
Q

Biotic

A

Living things (organisms)
-Eg. competition for niche, resources, mates, diseases, biodiversity, etc

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17
Q

Abiotic

A

Non-living things
-Eg. sunlight, wind, temperature

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18
Q

Niche

A

The role an organism plays in a community

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19
Q

Ecological pyramid

A

These are the graphical representations of food chains, with producers at the bottom, then successive trophic level stacked and centered above it like a playground.

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20
Q

3 types of pyramids

A

-Pyramid of numbers
-Pyramid of biomass
-Pyramid of energy-total amount of stored energy

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21
Q

Energy pyramid

A

-The amount of energy available at each trophic level
-Of all the energy that comes from the sun, only 1-2% is used by plants for photosynthesis
-As u go up the pyramid, only 10% of the energy is passed on to the next organism

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22
Q

Where does lost energy go?

A

-Heat-loss (some of the energy will be converted to “unusable” forms and escape the body)
-Cost of living (movement, reproduction, making new cells)
-Waste (some of the food remains undigested or is eliminated)

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23
Q

Consumer

A

An organism that can not make its own food (cannot provide for itself)

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24
Q

Food chain

Study These Flashcards
A

A series of organisms that eat one another so that energy and nutrients flow from one to the next

25
Food web
Visually represents the interconnected feeding relationships within an ecosystem
26
Producer
An organism that can provide for itself and others
27
Ecology
The scientific study of interactions between living organisms and their environment.
28
Interaction
the ways in which living things and non-living thing elements affect and respond to each other in the environment
29
Biome
a large region with specific climate conditions and particular types of plants and animals
30
Detritivore
an organism that feeds on dead organic matter, especially plant material
31
Community
all the different populations of organisms living together in one area and interacting
32
autotroph
an organism that makes its own food usually through photosynthesis (also called a producer)
33
heterotroph
an organism that cannot make its own food and must eat other organisms to get energy (animals, fungi)
34
Photosynthesis
Process by which plants and some other organisms use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to make glucose and oxygen
35
Cellular respiration
the process cells use to break down glucose into energy usually using oxygen
36
Food chain
a simple, linear diagram showing how energy moves from one organism to another (eg, grass-rabbit-fox)
37
Food web
a complex network of interconnected food chains showing how energy flows through an ecosystem with many feeding relationships
38
limiting factors
environmental conditions that restrict the growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism or population
39
tolerance range
the acceptable limits of variation or deviation from a desired or expected value
40
deviation
anything that differs from the expected
41
carrying capacity
the maximum population that a given area can sustain
42
optimum range
represents the ideal conditions, or a specific range of conditions withing which a particular process, activity of organism functions best, or is most likely to succeed.
43
density dependent
impact populations based on their size or density
44
density independent
affect populations regardless of their density
45
bioamplification
the increase in concentration of a substance such as pesticide as we move up trophic levels within a food web
46
bioaccumulation
accumulations of toxins withing the bodies of organisms at the same trophic level
47
Ammonium
An ion that is important for growing plants because it helps them take in nutrients from the soil.
48
Extirpated
Local extinction of species -Some areas have it but others don’t
49
Fat soluble
Chemicals that dissolve in fats and oils, making them difficult for organisms to eliminate
50
Water soluble
Solutes that fan easily dissolve in water
51
Selective cutting
Removing specific trees within a forest, leaving others intact
52
Habitat loss
The reduction in the amount of space where a particular species, or group of species can survive and reproduce
53
Fragmentation
The breakdown of a large, continuous habitat into smaller, isolates patches
54
Natural ecosystem
A community of living and non-living things that occurs freely in nature without human activity
55
Leaching
The loss of water-soluble plant nutrients from soil, due to rain and irrigation
56
Erosion
The process where rocks are broken down by natural forces
57
Aeration
The process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or dissolved in a liquid or other substances that act as a fluid
58
Crop rotation
The practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sseqjence of growing seasons
59
HIPPOC
Used to represent the major threats to biodiversity -Habitat loss -Invase species -Pollution -Population (human) -Overharvesting -Climate change

Science Gr 9 (4 decks)

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