Organisms that break down dead organic matter and recycle nutrients (found at the bottom of a trophic level)
Decomposers
What are the three levels of biodiversity
1. Species Diversity
2. Genetics
3. Ecosystem
Structures or habitat connections that allow wildlife to move between isolated habitats
Wildlife Corridors
The shallow, nearshore zone of a lake with abundant sunlight and aquatic vegetation
Littoral Zone
A natural climate cycle associated with unusually warm surface waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific (We are experiencing it now)
El Nino
The increasing concentration of persistent toxic substances at higher trophic levels
Biomagnification
What is species richness
The number of different species present in an area
The division of large, connected habitats into smaller, isolated patches
Habitat Fragmentation
These wetlands are characterized by the accumulation of partially decomposed organic matter called peat
Peatlands
The 2013–2016 Pacific marine heatwave that contributed to Northern California's kelp forest decline.
The blob
The process by which certain organisms use chemical energy instead of sunlight to produce organic matter. Done by species at the bottom of the ocean
Chemosynthesis
In Simpson’s Diversity Index (1 − D), a value closer to 0 indicates
Low biodiversity
What is this invasive species example
This invasive predator, brown tree snake contributed to the extinction of several native bird species on Guam.
This layer of a stratified lake is characterized by a rapid decrease in water temperature with increasing depth
Thermocline
The critically endangered sea star whose decline contributed to increased sea urchin populations along the West Coast
Sunflower Seastar
This pesticide accumulated in food webs and contributed to eggshell thinning in bald eagles.
DDT
Term used for a species found only in one geographic location on Earth
Endemic species
The extinction event approximately 252 million years ago, considered the largest of the five major mass extinctions
Permian- Triassic Extinction
The process in which excessive nutrients stimulate algal growth and can lead to oxygen depletion
Eutrophication
% percentage of kelp forest lost in California
90%
What percentage of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next?
10%
This mathematical index measures biodiversity by accounting for both species richness and species evenness.
Simpsons Diversity Index
The process in which geographic isolation leads to the evolution of separate species
Allopatric Species
The seasonal mixing of lake water that redistributes oxygen and nutrients
his chemical process occurs when the ocean absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide, lowering seawater pH and making it more difficult for organisms such as oysters and corals to build their calcium carbonate shells and skeletons.
Ocean Acidification