ecology
What is the primary source of energy for most ecosystems?
Sunlight
Which process forms clouds in the water cycle?
Condensation
semi-enclosed coastal body of water where a river meets and mixes with the ocean, creating water that is saltier than fresh water but fresher than seawater
estuary
tiny, soft-bodied animal that builds a hard limestone skeleton to make up a coral reef
What is the symbiotic relationship that benefits both organisms?
Mutualism
What do you call an organism that breaks down dead plants and animals?
Decomposers
Instead of just eating living plants, most animals in an estuary eat this mixture of dead organic material of helpful bacteria and fungi
detritus
tiny algae lives inside coral tissue,
zooxanthellae
What is the ecological term for the role an organism plays in its ecosystem?
Ecological niche
What is the process called when plants release water vapor into the atmosphere
Transpiration
This specific zone of very high suspended sediment forms near the landward limit of salt intrusion due to flocculation, sharply reducing light penetration
Estuarine Turbidity Maximum (ETM)
special name for hard corals that actually build big reefs
hermatypic corals
In an ecosystem, producers contain 80,000 kJ of energy. Assuming 10% energy transfer efficiency, how much energy is available to tertiary consumers?
80 kJ
A lake experiences an algal bloom after heavy fertilizer runoff. Fish populations begin declining several days later. What is the explanation for this?
Decomposition of dead algae decreases dissolved oxygen
What is T=V/Q a calculation for
flushing time (or residence time)
free-swimming baby stage of a coral that floats through the water
planula larva
energy bc energy is lost going up the food chain
biomass can be inverted bc of marine environments, phytoplankton biomass at any instant is smaller than zooplankton biomass
what is the difference between a parasitoid and a parasite?
parasitoid = intend to kill host
parasite = long term
According to the Redfield Ratio, marine and estuarine systems typically have an atomic ratio below 16:1, making them limited by this specific nutrient
nitrogen
Scientists can look at ancient ocean temperatures by studying growth rings in coral skeletons, looking specifically at the ratios of elements like strontium and calcium or this type of isotope
oxygen!!