Earth’s Spheres
This sphere includes all living organisms on Earth.
What is the Biosphere?
Organisms that make their own food using sunlight.
What are producers?
A species that isn't originally a part of the ecosystem.
What is a non-native species?
Pollution released into the air.
What is air pollution?
Government program that cleans up toxic waste sites.
What is Superfund?
This sphere includes oceans, rivers, groundwater, and glaciers.
What is the hydrosphere?
Organisms that eat both plants and animals.
What are omnivores?
A non-native species that causes environmental or economic harm.
What is an invasive species?
Pollution caused by fertilizers entering waterways.
What is runoff?
The federal agency responsible for environmental protection.
What is the EPA?
This sphere includes rocks, soil, and Earth’s crust.
What is the lithosphere (geosphere)?
A network of interconnected food chains.
What is a food web?
One reason invasive species spread quickly.
What is lack of natural predators?
The main source of nutrient pollution in rivers and lakes comes from this human activity.
What is agricultural fertilizer runoff?
Law that regulates air pollution.
What is the Clean Air Act?
This sphere includes gases that surround Earth and influence weather and climate.
What is the atmosphere?
An organism whose removal causes major changes to an ecosystem.
What is a keystone species?
This trait allows invasive species to spread rapidly and outcompete native species.
What is rapid reproduction?
Burning fossil fuels mainly increases this greenhouse gas.
What is carbon dioxide?
Law that protects rivers, lakes, and drinking water.
What is the Clean Water Act?
Changes in glaciers and sea level directly affect climate through interactions between these spheres.
What are the hydrosphere and atmosphere?
Only about 10% of energy is passed from one feeding level to the next in this structure.
What is a trophic level (or trophic pyramid)?
Invasive species reduce biodiversity by doing this.
What is outcompeting native species for resources?
Human activity that contributes most to climate change.
What is burning fossil fuels?
The law that created the Superfund program.
What is CERCLA?