Vocabulary
Energy is never created or destroyed
What is the 1st law of thermodynamics?
Type of biome: Nutrient-poor soil (high temp. & rainfall → rapid decomposition of org. matter; acidic soil + high rainfall → nutrient leaching)
What is a tropical rainforest?
Salinity, flow, depth, and temperature.
What are Characteristics of Aquatic Biomes?
Salinity: How much salt there is in a body of water, determines which species can survive & usability for drinking (Fresh water vs. estuary vs. ocean)
Depth: Influences how much sunlight can penetrate and reach plants below the surface for photosynthesis
Flow: Determines which plants & organisms can survive, how much O2 can dissolve into water. Temperature: Warmer water holds less dissolved O2 so it can support fewer aq. organisms
Slowest cycle between water, carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen.
What is the phosphorus cycle?
One, linear path of energy & matter.
vs.
at least 2 different, interconnected path of energy & matter.
What is the difference between food chain and food web?
The plants & animals found in a region; based on yearly temp. + precipitation (climate)
What is a biome?
A biome that is typically found in 30˚- 60˚Latitude.
What is temperate?
Temperate grasslands, temperate rainforest, temperate seasonal forest, Woodland.
Area with soil submerged/saturated in water for at least part of the year, but shallow enough for emergent plants.
What is a wetland?
Plants living here have to be adapted to living with roots submerged in standing water (cattails, lily pads, reeds)
A reservoir that takes in more carbon than it releases.
vs.
A reservoir that releases more carbon than it takes in.
What is the difference between carbon sink and carbon source?
Sink: Ocean (algae & sediments), plants, soil
Source: Fossil fuel combustion, Animal ag. (cow burps & farts = CH4), Deforestation releases CO2 from trees
In trophic pyramids, only about __% of the energy from one level makes it to the next level; the other __% is used by the organism & lost as heat
What is the 10% rule?
2nd Law of Thermodynamics: Each time energy is transferred, some of it is lost as heat.
Any close and long-term interaction between two organisms of different species.
What is symbiosis?
Mutualism (+/+), commensalism (+/0), and parasitism (+/-) are all symbiotic relationships
Low soil nutrients, Low water availability, Few plants survive here.
What is a tundra?
frozen soils of tundra don’t allow nutrients in dead organic matter to be broken down by decomposers.
Narrow band of coastline between high & low tide
What is Intertidal Zones?
Organisms must be adapted to survive crashing waves & direct sunlight/heat during low tide
2 main sources of water (processes that cycle it from liquid on earth back into the atmosphere)
What is evaporation and transpiration?
Transpiration: process plants use to draw groundwater from roots up to their leaves. Leaf openings called stomata open, allowing water to evap. into atm. from leaf
Removal or addition of a higher level consumer has a ripple effect above and below its trophic levels
What is a Trophic cascade?
An organism lays eggs inside a host organism; eggs hatch & larvae eat the host for energy
What is a Parasitoids?
Plants need soil nutrients to grow, so availability determines which plants can survive in a biome.
What is Nutrient Availability?
Littoral-->Limnetic-->Profundal-->Benthic
What are different layers of freshwater bodies?
Littoral: shallow water w/emergent plants
Limnetic: where light can reach (photosynthesis)
No rooted plants, only phytoplankton
Profundal: too deep for sunlight (no photosynthesis)
Benthic: murky bottom where inverts (bugs) live, nutrient-rich sediments
B/c they’re limiting nutrients in aquatic ecosystems, extra input of N & P leads to ___.
Can occur from fertilizer runoff, human/animal waste contamination
Creates positive feedback loop: less O2 → more dead org. → more bacterial decomposition → less O2
What is eutrophication?
Algae bloom covers surface of water, blocking sunlight & killing plants below surface
Algae eventually die-off; bacteria that break down dead algae use up O2 in the water (b/c decomp. = aerobic process)
Lower O2 levels (dissolved oxygen) in water kills aquatic animals, especially fish
Bacteria use up even more O2 to decompose dead aq. animals.
The amount of energy (biomass) leftover for consumers after plants have used some for respiration
What is Net primary productivity?
NPP = GPP(Gross Primary Productivity) - RL(Respiration loss)
Reduces population size since there are fewer resources available & fewer organisms can survive
Resource partitioning, Temporal partitioning, Spatial partitioning, and Morphological partitioning.
What is Competition?
Resource partitioning: different species using the same resource in diff. ways to reduce competition. Temporal partitioning: using resource @ different times, such as wolves & coyotes hunting @ different times (night vs. day). Spatial partitioning: using different areas of a shared habitat (different length roots). Morphological partitioning: using different resources based on diff. evolved body features
Warming climate will shift boreal forests further north as tundra permafrost soil melts & lower latitudes become too warm for aspen & spruce.
What is shifting biomes?
Biomes shift in location on earth as climate changes
Area where sunlight can reach (photosynthesis)
vs.
area too deep for sunlight
What is the difference between Photic zone and Aphotic zone (abyssal)?
Process of N2 gas being converted into biologically available (useable by plants) NH3 (ammonia) or NO3- (nitrate)
What is Nitrogen Fixation?
Biotic fixation: certain bacteria that live in the soil, or in symbiotic relationship with plant root nodules convert N2 into ammonia (NH3)
Abiotic fixation: Lightning converts N2 gas into nitrate (NO3-) and FF combustion converts N2 gas into ammonia (NH3)
Calculate the amount of energy available to a tertiary consumer in the following ecosystem.
175,000 J of energy produced by plants in the ecosystem (after respiration)
What is 175 J of energy?