Healthy Ecosystems
The Theory of Island Biogeography has two basic "rules" - one is size, and the other is this.
What is distance from the mainland?
This important elemental cycle does NOT have an atmospheric phase.
What is phosphorus?
This type of ecosystem service provides us with activities such as hiking, camping, and hunting.
What are Cultural services?
Located near the equator
Average annual rainfall is 2.5-4.5 meters
Largest is found in Brazil
What are rainforests?
This type of symbiotic ecosystem relationship occurs when both organisms benefit from the interaction.
What is mutualism?
This is the process by which organisms that are better adapted to their environment survive to pass on traits to offspring.
What is natural selection?
The imbalance of this cycle is increased by the burning of fossil fuels.
What is the carbon cycle?
Whether you eat food grown from your own garden or a commercial farm, you are using this ecosystem service.
What are Provisioning services?
Aquatic biome
Threatened by both ocean warming and ocean acidification
Largest is found off the coast of Australia
What are coral reefs?
Biomes are characterized by two abiotic factors, energy availability, and this.
What is precipitation?
Ecosystem health is often determined by two factors: Evenness, and this term, which indicates the total number of different species in an ecosystem.
What is Richness?
This process accounts for the amount of water entering the atmosphere from evaporation and transpiration combined.
What is evapotranspiration?
Bees, butterflies, and other pollinators are masters of this type of ecosystem service.
What are Supporting services?
Found at the northern-most latitudes
Average temps range from -50F to 50F
Only about 6-10in of precipitation annually
What are tundras?
When 5,000kcal are present in the producers of a food web, this amount is available to the primary consumers.
What is 500kcal? (10% rule!)
This type of ecological succession occurs after disruptions such as forest fires and storm events.
What is secondary succession?
When synthetic fertilizers run-off into bodies of water, this process can create "dead zones" due to the excess nitrogen and phosphorus.
What is eutrophication?
Medicines and the tires on your car both come from natural materials thanks to this type of ecosystem service.
What are Provisioning services?
Long, dry seasons
Dominated by grasses, shrubs, and grazing animals
Typically hot temperatures
What are savannas?
A forest with a gross primary productivity of 10,000kcal/m2/year and a net primary productivity of 7,000kcal/m2/year respires at a rate of this many kcal/m2/year.
What is 3,000kcal/m2/year?
In the early stages of primary succession, these two organisms help turn bare rock into soil.
What are moss and lichen?
These two nitrogen compounds can be taken up by plants, unlike the nitrogen we find in the atmosphere.
What are nitrates (NO3-) or nitrites (NO2-)?
Mangroves and wetlands are excellent examples of this type of ecosystem service, which helps clean our water and protect coasts from storm surges.
What are Regulating services?
Brackish biome (where salt & freshwater meet)
Lots of biodiversity & nutrients
Types include salt marshes and mangroves
What are estuaries?
Natural disturbances can be categorized as periodic, episodic, and this, which describes events such as volcanoes and earthquakes.