Extreme Habitat Makeover
Sunlight, air temperature, soil, and water salinity are all examples of these non-living factors in an ecosystem
What are Abiotic factors?
Instead of relying on other organisms for energy like consumers do, plants use sunlight, water, and soil to fulfill this scientific role
What are autotrophs (or producers)
This concept measures how much people take from nature compared to the amount of natural resources available
What is an Ecological Footprint?
Name the specific combination of atoms that forms a single molecule of water
Two hydrogens and One Oxygen (H2O)
Water that has been properly treated and certified safe to drink is called this.
What is potable water?
Unlike an entire ecosystem, an ecological community contains only these components.
What are biotic factors (living plants and animals)?
This term describes the total mass of living organisms in an ecosystem.
What is biomass?
Scientists estimate they have discovered only this percentage of all Earth's living species
What is 12.5%?
On the Celsius scale, water freezes at this temperature and boils at this temperature.
What is 0°C (freezing) and 100°C (boiling)?
An entire area of land where all rain and rivers drain into the same central body of water.
What is a watershed?
These organisms break down dead waste into simpler nutrients for the ecosystem to reuse.
What are detritivores (decomposers)?
In a food web pyramid of grass, mice, snakes, and wolves, this animal hunts at the very top.
What is the wolf (apex predator)?
These are community partnerships in Ontario that work alongside municipalities to manage water resources, protect local habitats, and provide student education
What are Conservation Authorities?
Describe how water particles are arranged and move in ice (solid) compared to water vapor (gas)
In solid ice, particles are packed tightly in fixed positions and vibrate; in water vapor gas, particles are far apart and move rapidly in all directions
The underground boundary line separating dry soil above from saturated groundwater below.
What is the water table?
Primary succession takes significantly longer to establish a habitat than secondary succession because this critical component is completely missing at the start
What is soil?
A non-native species introduced into an ecosystem that damages the local habitat and crowds out native wildlife.
What is an invasive species?
Using natural bacteria or microorganisms to clean up oil spills and hazardous waste is called this.
What is Bioremediation?
Dry ice turning directly into gas without melting is sublimation; frost forming directly from vapor is this.
What is deposition?
Average ocean water has 3.5% salinity, but water with extremely high salt concentration is called this.
What is brine water?
An ecosystem's carrying capacity drops sharply despite having adequate land and water. Name two biological changes that could cause this drop
What are a decrease in available food (producers) or an influx of invasive competitors/disease
This sustainable farming strategy uses natural methods to control pests while minimizing chemical damage
What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)?
Over-pumping groundwater combined with heavy agricultural fertilizer runoff leads to these two environmental problems.
Over-pumping lowers the water table level
fertilizer runoff causes algal blooms
Oceans can absorb massive amounts of heat without a big jump in temperature, making them act as this.
What is a heat sink?
Water that contains high amounts of dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium is known as this.
What is hard water?