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123 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Biosphere |
The highest level of organization of ecological systems. Thin layer above the earth supporting all life. |
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Biome |
Scale regions dominated by similar types of ecosystems. Geographic regions having similar climate that support similar communities and ecosystems. Determined by sun's energy and water. |
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Landscape |
Area of land or water composed of a patchwork of communities and ecosystems that exist in a broader spatial context. |
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Ecosystem |
Interacting components that function as a unit with biotic and abiotic components. |
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Community |
Interacting populations in a niche. |
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Shelford's Law |
Every living thing is distributed based on tolerance in their niche. Determined by genetics. |
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List 7 major biomes |
1. Tundra 2. Taiga 3. Deciduous Forest 4. Mixed Forest 5. Tropical Rainforest 6. Desert 7. Grassland |
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List 3 components of an organism's environment |
1. Physical Surrounding 2. Species of its own kind (population) 3. Species of different kind (community) |
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_____+_____= Evolution |
Natural selection and Mutations |
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Carrying Capacity |
The number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support |
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Malthus |
Claimed there is not enough carrying capacity for population expansion |
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Liebig |
Organic chemist developed Law of Minimum: growth is limited by a single factor |
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Ecosystem Ecology |
Study of structure and function of an ecological system, a community. Shifted from description to function |
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Biotic communtiy |
Natural occurring assemblage of plants and animals that live in the same environment, are mutually sustaining, interdependent, and constantly fixing, utilizing, and dissipating energy |
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List 2 conditions of an active communtiy |
1. Source of energy capable of converting energy into protoplasm. 2. Adequate supply of basic elements and a mechanism for keeping these substances in balance between living and nonliving parts of environment (biogeochemical cycles) |
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List 2 types of functional ecosystems |
1. Open System 2. Cybernetic system |
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Pollution |
Any interference in the flow of energy with loss of specie diversity and increase in pollutant tolerant species. |
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Open System |
Depends on an outside environment to provide inputs and accept output. Young and unstable needs the sun for main energy fixer. |
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Cybernetic System |
Self regulating, ideal state, very stable, operates on negative feedback to remain stable. Operates on an ideal set point |
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Homeostatic Plataeu |
Relatively stable state of equilibrium, to the balance between population numbers and resources |
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Indicating Organism |
Indicate the tolerance for an environmental condition |
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Habitat |
Specific set of conditions that surrounds the organism. |
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Two main components of Ecosystem |
Functional and Structural |
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Autotrophic |
Capable of converting inorganic substances by the photo chemical process into organic compounds
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Heterotrophic |
Animal consumers and decomposers |
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Trophic Levels |
Levels of feeding containing animals with the same nutritional requirements. Steps in food chain |
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Pyramid of numbers |
Relates feeding with number of organisms at that trophic level. |
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Pyramid of Biomass |
Amount of organic mass measured in g/m^2 at each trophic level |
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Pyramid of energy |
Energy flow in a community. The different levels represent different groups of organisms that might compose trophic level |
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Two structural abiotic components of ecosystem |
Chemical and physical |
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4 biotic components of ecosystem |
Producers, consumers, decomposers, transformers |
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Niche |
Functional role of an organism in a community. Niche is determined by evolution of genes. |
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Niche competiton |
No two organisms occupy the same niche but they compliment each other. Can feed at different levels in a community or have complimentary diets. |
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Ecological Equivalents |
Animals occupying the same niche in different ecosystems. Mountain lion vs African lion. Deer vs antelope respectively |
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Ecotypes |
Group of organisms within a species that is adapted to particular environmental conditions and therefore exhibits behavioural, structural, or physiological differences from other members of the species |
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Dominants |
Common species in a communtiy
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Species diversity |
Greater environmental variation the greater the species number because of microhabitates that provide more niches |
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Diversity in unstable system |
Very young or polluted have greater numbers yet fewer species |
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Diversity and organism size |
Higher in smaller organisms |
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Opportunistic Species |
Abundance or species depends on the species themselves when conditions favor them |
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Communtiy composition |
Depends on the species that survivie under the conditions there and can create dominants. |
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Boundaries of community |
Sharp or continuum |
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Ecotone |
Place where two communities meet showing great contrast. Density and variety of life is highest there. |
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Stratification |
Community is divided into distinct layers. Horizontally and vertically; terrestrial and aquatic |
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Raunkaier Terrestrial Classification |
1. Therophytes- cycle in one season 2. Geophytes- buds on rhizone underground 3. Hemicryptophytes- perennials 4. Chamaephytes- Perrnnial 25cm (goldenrod) 5. Phanerophytes- tree and shrub >25mc 6. Epiphytes- plants living on other plants |
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Dansereau Aquatic Classification |
1. Verical determined by light, temp, and oxygen. 2. Horizontal determined by climatic or edaphic conditions |
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Physiognomy |
Naming community based on life forms |
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Faithfulness |
Species with low faithfulness occur in different communities and have a large variety of genetic variables and a lot of tolerances. |
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Exclusive species |
confined to one communtiy |
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Characteristic species |
identified with a certain community occurs more than 50% of the time there |
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Ubiquitous speceis |
No affinity to any one community |
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Two laws of thermodynamics |
Energy is conserved but can be converted. As entropy increases, less energy is available to do work. |
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Suns energy |
57% absorbed by atmosphere 36% heats the earth and water 8% strikes leaf 10-15% reflected 5% transmitted 80-85% absorbed .5-3.5 used in photosynthesis (5-7000 A due to light spectrum restrictions) |
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Two types of food webs |
Grazing and detritus |
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Detritus Web |
Begins with large standing crop and low primary production. Decaying/decomposition |
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Grazing Web |
Producers -> consumers |
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Producers |
Capable of converting inorganic compounds into organic compounds |
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Herbivores |
Capable of converting energy in plants into animal tissue |
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chief land herbivores |
insects, rodents, hoofed animals |
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chief herbivores in water |
zooplankton |
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Carnivores |
Flesh feeding animal. As trophic level increases, numbers decrease and fierceness/size increases |
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Omnivores |
Plant and flesh feeding. May be cannibalistic to supplement diet. |
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Biological magnification |
Toxic substances are preserved inside organisms and are concentrated as they move up trophic levels. |
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Energy shunting |
Plant energy-grazers-consumer Plant energy-grazer-consumer-detritus feeder |
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Inter tidal salt marsh |
10% herbivore 90% detritus feeders |
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Scots pine |
50% decomposer 50% wood |
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Deciduous forest |
7% crop eaten by insects 93% leaves |
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Primary production |
Energy accumulated by plants |
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Primary productivity |
rate of accumulating energy |
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gross production |
all suns energy used for photosynthesis |
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net primary production |
energy stored in organic matter after growth or respiration |
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Kilocalorie |
amount of energy needed to raise 1L of water by 1 C. |
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Efficient Ecosystems |
Biomass accumulated in relation to energy consumed or utilized. |
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Poor production yield |
0.5-1.0 g/m^2 per day |
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Medium production yield |
20 g/m^2 per day |
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Good production yield |
25 g/m^2 per day |
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Good production examples |
year long agricultural fields estuaries coral reefs-best |
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Consumer production |
net energy from producer available to herbivore/decomposer |
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secondary production |
Gain in biomass for heterotrophs and decomposers after consumed food is used for maintenance
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Result of consumed food |
1. Maintenance (physiological, muscular, heat) 2. Growth 3. Reproduction 4. Lost in feces |
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E=R+P E=I+F |
Energy=Maintenance+Production Energy=Consumed+Lost in feces |
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Food Chain Efficiency |
(Cal assimilated by carnivore)/ (Cal assimilated by herbivore) |
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Growth efficiency |
(Potential energy used in growth)/ (Ingested potential energy) |
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High growth efficiency |
Active, small, warm blooded animals have high growth and birth rates. |
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Assimilation efficiency |
(Potential energy ingested-feces)/ (Ingested potential energy) |
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Vertebrates assimilation efficiency |
Utilize 98% of assimilated energy in metabolism. 2% goes into net production |
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Cold blooded vs warm blooded efficiency |
Cold- better secondary producers |
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Body size |
Large animals have a higher metabolic rate requiring more energy. Strength and size of prey determines number needed to eat. Man eats food of all sizes |
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Standing Crop |
Too few fish=not using the energy Too many fish=less energy available per individual. Lowers efficiency |
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Transformation energy chain |
1000 Kcal fixed by plants 10 Kcal converted to herbivore 1 Kcal carnivore .1 Kcal secondary carnivore |
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Water cycle |
1. Evaporation 2. Condensation 3. Sublimation 4. Precipitation 5. Transpiration 6. Runoff 7. Infiltration |
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Carbon cycle |
Carbon Dioxide enters via 1. Respiration 2. Combustion Carbon Dioxide exits via 1. Photosynthesis |
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Nitrogen Cycle |
Denitrification (nitrate to gas) -> Nitrogen fixation (gas to ammonia) -> Plant nitrogen -> animal nitrogen-> degradation into amino acids->Ammonia->Nitrite oxidized->nitrate oxidized->denitrification |
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Phosphorous cycle |
Erosion and marine death=dissolved phosphates Enter terrestrial ecosystem via sediment, exretion/death Used by plants and animals |
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Rainfall pattern |
No rain in tropic of cancer or capricorn Warm moist air falls on equator |
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Cud |
Cellulose after digestion in ruminants |
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Trichonympha |
Protozoan allows termite to digest wood |
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Parasite/parasitoid |
Parasite doesn't kill host Parasitoid will kill host eventually |
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Poikilotherms |
Metabolic rate based on environment |
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Homeotherms |
Warm blooded homeostasis |
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Heteroderm |
Metabolic rate depends on environment or food substrate. Bees, bats, humming bird |
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Oxygen |
Terrestiral -21% O2 78% N2 -humans exhale 5% oxygen Aquatic -less than 4ppm -3.98 C highest O2 -Respiration, temp, salt, waste, subterranean |
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Carbon Dioxide |
Terrestrial -0.03% -humans exhale 4% Aquatic -10ppm -Carbonic acid lowers pH -Acid rain 5-5.5 pH |
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Nitrogen |
Terrestrial -78% in atmosphere -Converted by plants Aquatic -result of decomposition and waste -Nitrate -Nitrite -Ammonia |
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Hydrogen |
Not limiting. Dissociation leads to OH- or H+ which affect pH |
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Macronutrients |
Calcium Magnesium Phosphorous Potassium Sulfur |
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Micronutrients |
Copper Zinc Boron Iron Manganese Molybdenum Cobalt Vanadium Sodium Chlorine |
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Hibernation |
Resting during cold extremes to conserve energy. High reduction in metabolism. 4.5 C temperature with shallow breathing, slow circulation, and high fat digestion. EX Bats, squirrels, woodchucks, etc |
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Cold/Warm blood hibernation |
Cold- body temp drops then metabolism Warm- heart rate and metabolism drops then temperature drops. 15-40 % body weight lost |
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Bordeau mixture |
Copper sulfate, lime and water removes downy mildew |
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Chlorosis |
Yellowing of leaves due to lack of manganese and molybdenum |
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Teart Disease |
Animal disease characterized by hair loss and diarrhea. Caused by excess molydenum |
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Optimum temperature |
Temp at which an organism will grow best for egg development mostly |
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Hypothatlmus |
Brain structure regulating temperature |
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Acclimitization |
Adjustments to environment |
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Chemothermogenesis |
The thyroid increases metabolism to increase body heat. |
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Vascularization in cold environments |
Blood does not enter capillary network in extremes |
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Thermal pollution |
rapid heat additions to water |
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Critical temperature point |
Point at which metabolic rate decreases |
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Vapor pressure |
Vapor pressure of water>air=evaporation Vapor pressure of water<air=Condensation |
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Relative humidity |
Moisture content in air. Decrease in RH leads to increase in vapor pressure leading to evaporation |
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Mesic |
Plants or trees that live in a balanced isotonic state |
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Xeric |
Plants living in a low moisture environment. Moisture is a limiting factor |
