Amazon
What process in the Amazon canopy transfers massive amounts of water vapor into the atmosphere?
Evapotranspiration (creating flying rivers)
What agricultural industry is the single leading driver of Amazonian deforestation?
Cattle Ranching
Species found naturally in only one specific geographical region are called what?
Endemic Species
What pink-colored freshwater mammal endemic to the Amazon basin is threatened by dam building and mercury poisoning?
Amazon River Dolphin
The transition zone where two distinct ecological communities meet and integrate
Ecotone
Why are tropical rainforest soils (oxisols) surprisingly low in nutrients?
Rapid organic breakdown & nutrient leaching from heavy rainfall
How does slash-and-burn deforestation directly impact the atmospheric carbon pool?
Releases stored plant biomass carbon directly as CO2 gas
Ecosystems that store more net carbon than they release into the atmosphere are called what?
Carbon Sinks
What emergent giant tree with buttress roots produces pods harvested for food without cutting the tree down?
Brazil Nut Tree
What type of species interaction occurs when two species compete for the exact same limiting resource?
Interspecific Competition
What term describes atmospheric moisture vapor corridors generated by Amazon trees that transport rain across South America?
Flying Rivers
Dividing continuous forest habitats into small, isolated patches causes what specific degradation?
Habitat Fragmentation & Edge Effects
Direct and indirect economic benefits provided to humans by natural ecosystems are called what?
Ecosystem Services
What introduced invasive fish species alters native Amazonian aquatic food webs and outcompetes local species?
Tilapia
The maximum population size of a species that a given environment can sustain indefinitely.
Carrying Capacity
Crossing what deforestation threshold (~20-25%) could permanently transition Amazon rainforest into dry savanna?
Ecological Tipping Point
What toxic heavy metal used in gold extraction contaminates Brazilian aquatic ecosystems?
Mercury (Hg)
Which law of thermodynamics dictates that ~90% of energy is lost as heat at each trophic step?
Second Law of Thermodynamics
What term describes an organism that plays an disproportionately large role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community?
Keystone Species
Natural chemical compounds produced by plants that act as natural defenses against herbivores and pests.
Secondary Metabolites (or Phytochemicals)
What positive feedback loop occurs when deforestation reduces rainfall, causing remaining trees to dry out and burn?
Forest Dieback Feedback Loop
How do hydroelectric dams upstream of the Pantanal alter wetland biological cycles?
Disrupt natural flood pulse timing & block fish migration routes
What ecological process occurs when deforested farmland is abandoned and naturally reverts back to forest over decades?
Secondary Ecological Succession
Why does high biodiversity near the equator increase an ecosystem's ecological resilience?
Redundant functional roles in the food web cushion against disturbances
The mechanism where a plant releases chemicals into the soil that inhibit the growth or germination of neighboring plants.
Allelopathy