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66 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
succession

The concept that communities proceed through a series of recognizable, predictable changes in structure over time. Occurs because organisms change their environment, which gives advantage to new species taking over due to advantage in different environment.
climax community

relatively stable, long lasting (not permanent) community that is the result of succession. Determined by weather/climate, soil characteristics, availability of water, locally available seed sources, frequency of disturbance, invasion of outside organisms.
primary succession

begins with a total lack of organism and bare mineral surfaces or water. Takes a very long time.

Secondary succession

begins with the destruction or disturbance of an existing ecosystem. more common than primary and happens quicker due to rarely environments are completely destroyed.


terrestrial primary succession


1. Pioneer Stages


bare rock has huge temperature changes, no soil, little moisture, few nutrients, very little can thrive.




pioneer community first become established

pioneer community

first to colonize bare sand/rock in terrestrial primary succession. Usually tiny windblown spores, lichens, other organisms.
lichens

combo of bacteria/algae (take care of photosynthesis) and fungi (attach to rock and retain water). grow very slowly. Break rock into soil by trapping airborne debris, producing acids, along with normal physical/chemical weathering.

Terrestrial Primary Succession


2. Intermediate Stage

thin layer of soil produced in the pioneer stage. can retain water and support fungi, small worms, insects, bacteria, protozoa, and tiny annual plants (live 1 year and die leaving seeds for next season). Small, arrive with wind and rain. Increase organic material, increasing soil layer. eliminates lichens due to shade from plants. annual stage replaced by perennial grasses /herbs, which are replaced by trees, replaced by bigger sun loving trees, replaced by shade tolerant trees,

Terrestrial Primary Succession


3. Climax Community


A relatively stable, long lasting, complex community of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria produced. Always the last step, even if conditions never improve past lichens.





successional stage/seral stage

each step from pioneer community to climax community in primary terrestrial succession.
sere
entire sequence of successional stages from pioneer to climax
4 comparisons of climax vs successional communities.

1. climax maintain mix of species for long periods of time, successional have slow changes




2. Climax have many specialized ecological niches, communities have more generalized niches.




3. Climax have more kinds or number of organism and kinds of interactions among organisms than successional.




4. Climax recycle nutrients and maintain constant biomass, succesional accumulate new biomass.

Aquatic Primary Succession

Most are temporary except for oceans. Other bodies of water get filled in by organic matter/soil over time.

Aquatic Primary Succession


1. Early Stages - Aquatic Vegetation

at first only floating plants and algae live in deep lakes. Sediment accumulation allows allows some submerged plants to take root in soil. Help trap more sediment. As sediment increases emergent plants appear. eventually as even more sediment accumulates wet soil forms and grasses start growing (wet meadow).

Aquatic Primary Succession


2. Later Stages - Transition to Terrestrial Communities.

Plants in wet meadow draw out moisture from soil, increase in organic matter also dries out soil. Eventually moves on to terrestrial succession.

Aquatic Primary Succession


3. Observing Aquatic Succession

shallower portions at shore can easily see steps by moving from inland to deep water.

Comparing primary and secondary succession

Major diff

human activities that effect succession

agriculture, logging, suppressing forest fires, draining swamps/water, irrigation/flooding,

biomes

terrestrial climax communities with wide geographic distribution. Generally divided by climate.

the 2 primary non-biological factors that impact climax communities.

Precipitation: total amount per year, what type (snow, sleet, rain), and seasonal distribution.




Temperature: range of temps, general temps, and seasonal changes

other smaller factors impacting climax communities

periodic fires, strong winds, type of soil, and type of organisms present in an area.

name each of the major terrestrial biomes of the world

desert, temperate grasslands (also known as prairies or steppes), savannas, mediterranean shrublands, tropical dry forest, tropical rainforest, temperate deciduous forests, temperate rainforest, taiga (also known as northern coniferous forest/ boreal forest), tundra,

deserts

Areas that generally average less 25 cm (10 inches) of precipitation yearly. Some get snow/rain during winter, others get rare heavy thundershowers (rain isn't absorbed easily, runs off into gullies). Evaporation usually high.




Usually windy. Very few clouds allow earth to heat up rapidly in the day, but cool down at night.




Contain many species, dispersed over large area. Have special adaptions to survive dry, hot environment. Animals tend to be smaller and have lower numbers, mostly nocturnal. some get water entirely from food or efficient kidneys.

Temperate grasslands/ prairies/ steppes

Climate: 25-75 cm (10 to 30 inches) yearly precipitation, windy, hot summers and cold-to-mild winters. Many areas depend on fire (prevents tree growth and releases nutrients into soil from dead plants).




Grasses make up 60-90% of vegetation, roots of grasses and other plants bind together and hold soil together, large herds of migratory grazing mammals, several other types of insects, small mammals, and birds




Humans have converted large portions for agriculture use, useful for growing crops and raising domesticated grazers, little left needs preservation.

savannas


found in tropical Africa, south America and Australia. Have extensive grasslands spotted with occasional trees.




Climate: 50-150cm (20-60 inches) rain, has very heavy rainfall followed by drought.




Organisms: Reproduction timed with rainy season, mostly grass but some drought/fire resistant trees. most mammals are grazers. mound building termites very common insect.




Human Impact: heavily impacted by agriculture, wet for farming and dry for livestock, some nomadic herding.

Mediterranean shrubland

near ocean, dominated by shrubby plants




Climate: wet cool winter and hot dry summers. 40-100 cm (15-40 inches) rain, located off Mediterranean cost, southern California coast, west coast of Chile, and southern Australia coast.




Organisms: woody shrubs tolerant to hot dry (fire common) summer, often dormant during summer. variety of mammals, insects, reptiles, and birds.




Human Impact: very disturbed as many major cities are located on the coastland.

tropical dry forest

located in central/south America, Australia, Africa, and Asia (particularly India and Myanmar).


Climate: monsoon climate, several months rainfall followed by several months of little rain. 50-200 cm (20-80 inches) yearly rain.




Organisms: plants adapted to drought periods, will drop leaves during longer droughts, several animal species.




Human Impact: high human population areas, logging, also converted for agriculture.

Tropical Rainforest


located near equator in Central/South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and islands in Caribbean sea and pacific ocean.




Climate: warm year round, rains daily, more than 200 cm (80 inches) yearly. Rain washes away nutrients not immediately absorbed by plant life makes for poor soils.




Organism: Trees have specialized root systems to absorb nutrients (work with fungi called mycorrhizae), greater diversity of species than any other biome.




Canopy layer blocks out light, understory trees are shade tolerant, vines grow up trees until they reach canopy, ferns mosses and orchids grow on trees, epiphytic plants,




large variety of insects, climbing lizards and mammals, tree frogs, large number of fruit producing flowers.




many animals communicate with sound due to low light levels.





Human Impact: tons of logging and agriculture, many ranches, growing food very inefficient but high numbers of poor continue to farm,


epiphytic plants


plants that live on the surfaces of other plants, often trap nutrients from rain before reaching rainforest floor.





Temperate deciduous forest


4 seasons, trees lose leaves and regrow in spring, located in eastern United States, parts of south central/southeastern Canada, southern Africa, Europe, and Asia.




Climate: 75-100 cm (30-60 inches) evenly distributed precipitation yearly. relatively mild winters.




Organisms: major plant life are trees, very few species (2-3 usually) which shade forest floor where small flowers grow which grow during spring before leaves on trees regrow blocking sun, many small shrubs. Birds are mostly migratory and eat summer insects, some year round birds, several small mammals and reptiles/amphibians.




Human Impact: logging, farming, many major cities located there.

Temperate Rainforest


located in coastal areas: northern California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, southern Alaska, New Zealand, and southwest Chile




climate: prevailing westerly winds brings moisture from coast inland, pushed up mountains causes rain/snow. 130-300 cm (50-120 inches) of precipitation or more. Cool air prevents evaporation keeps things damp.




Organisms: have evergreen trees, old growth forests have tree up to 800 years old and 100m tall, several deciduous trees, trees covered in mosses and ferns, most plants have photosynthetic organisms growing on them (turns everything green), use nurse trees for nutrition, several different animal species




Human impact: 1/2 of all forest is gone from logging

nurse trees

a tree dies and falls to the ground, rots providing nutrients for new trees.
taiga/northern coniferous forest/boreal forest


located in southern half of Canada, northern Europe, much of Russia.




Climate: short cool summer, 6 month long winters, lots of snow. 25-100 cm (10-40 inches) precipitation. Stays humid due to low temps and lots of snowmelt, has lakes ponds and bogs on landscape.




Organisms: Evergreen trees (like Conifers) adapted for winter, no moisture in winter due to freezing soil/snow. needles prevent water loss, lose needles in fall, many migratory birds and feed on insects, typical mammals include deer caribou, moose, wolves, mice, squirrels, almost no reptiles/amphibians




Human Impact: population density low, some logging and reindeer herding, some subsistence hunting.

Tundra

Climate: extremely cold, no trees, has permafrost, located far north and mountaintops.




Climate: extremely cold 10 month winter, windy, no trees. less than 25 cm (10 inches) precipitation, short summers melt snow (under 50 f temps), shallow ponds and pools




Organisms: small, slow growing plants like grasses, dwarf birch, dwarf willow, and lichens grow when top layer of soil thaws for a short time, less than 8 inches tall. clouds of insects, birds eat insects lots of waterfowl (ducks geese) migrate south in fall. no reptiles/amphibians, few mammals (musk oxen, caribou, artic hare) feed on plant life. foxes wolves and owls main predators.




Human impact: very little but causes longer lasting damage than other areas.


Permafrost:


Permanently frozen subsurface soil



alpine tundra

scattered patches of tundra like communities on mountaintops. Animals migrate to lower elevations during winter.
Major Marine ecosystems


pelagic, benthic, coral reef, mangrove swamp, abyssal, estuary




shaped by suns ability to penetrate water, water depth, bottom substrate type, water temp, amount of dissolved salt



marine ecosystem

high salt content

freshwater ecosystem

little salt dissolved
pelagic organisms
not attached to bottom of ocean, swim actively hunting food
plankton

aquatic organisms, can't swim and are carried by currents

phytoplankton
photosynthesis, base of food web, mostly algae and bacteria in open ocean, stay in euphotic zone
euphotic zone

upper layers of ocean where sunlight penetrates, depth depends on water clarity, clear water is 150m deep.

zooplankton
carried by currents, eat phytoplankton, are generally deeper in ocean and swim up to eat. get eaten by larger predators (fish/shrimp), which get eaten by bigger fish (tuna, salmon, sharks, mackerel).
pelagic marine ecosystem
open ocean, have actively swimming organisms, producers are phytoplankton. kind and amount of material dissolved in water major factor (inorganic nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon) mostly brought up by ocean currents, and near rivers which deposit sediment.
benthic organisms

live on the ocean bottom, both attached and not. include fish, clams, oysters, sponges, and seaweed (shallow water) provide shelter/food for sea urchins, worms, some fish.
benthic ecosystem

located on ocean floor, type of substrate important which ranges from sand to mud to rock, temperature also huge influence, coral reef/mangrove are benthic only warm water
coral reef ecosystem


produced by coral animals, which use skeletons to capture food and expose to sunlight, single celled algae grow inside them which provide nutrients for coral. many fish, crustaceans, sponges, clams, and snails live here, only near equator have to have warm water, shallow water,




one of the most productive ecosystems in the world

mangrove swamp ecosystems


tropical forest ecosystem live near shallow water near shore. Special salt tolerant trees by excreting salt from leaves need shallow water and few waves, root systems extend above water trapping sediment




provides habitat for oysters, crabs, jellyfish, sponges, and fish. eventually form into terrestrial




located in south Florida, Caribbean, southeast Asia, Africa

abyssal ecosystem

benthic at deepest parts of the ocean, no light, rely on organic matter floating down from euphotic zone
estuary ecosystem
consists of shallow, partially enclosed areas where freshwater enters the ocean, saltiness changes with tide and flow of water from river, fewer highly adapted species. depend on nutrients deposited by rivers, shallow water good for phytoplankton and algae, nursery site for fish and crustaceans, sediment fill eventually creates salt marsh
Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems

oceans cover 70% of earth, overfishing, fish farming adds extra nutrients and increases disease, estuaries affected by fertilizer animal waster and pesticides, oil spills and floating trash heaps,
Freshwater Ecosystems

lakes/ponds, streams/rivers, swamps/marshes




salt levels much lower, water temp greatly varied, water constantly moving toward oceans, low oxygen levels, have flowering plants and insects

emergent plants

plants that live in shallows lakes, rooted at bottom, and have leaves that float on the surface.




Examples: cattails, bulrushes, arrowhead plants, water lilies.

submerged plants

rooted plants that remain below water surface.

littoral zone
Lakes
shallow water algae grow, fish crayfish and clams live there. has rooted vegetation

limnetic zone
portion of a lake without rooted vegetation.
oligotrophic lakes

deep, clear, cold, nutrient-poor, low productivity
eutrophic lake

shallow, murky, warm, nutrient-rich
biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)


amount of oxygen used by decomposers to break down a specific amount of organic matter in lakes.




bacteria and fungi

lakes and ponds


can use same ways to classify as ocean for deep lakes, euphotic zone. many flowering plants on shore, has littoral zone and limnetic zone.




Productivity dependent on temperature (decreases photosynthesis, shallower tend to be warmer), water depth, amount of nutrients carried by rivers into lakes, and dissolved oxygen content




organic material enters through organism metabolic waste, dead fall in water near edge, many lakes experience die offs in winter due to low oxygen levels.

periphyton

collection of attached algae, animals, and fungi that live in streams or rivers.
streams and rivers


water is moving, not very productive despite light usually penetrating to bottom, depend on organic matter (dead leaves, vegetation, and insects) falling in from terrestrial sources, feces of insects eaten from other insects, eaten by other insets and fish.




large rivers and muddy streams depend on food drifting in from other streams, are warmer and slower moving, less oxygen, plants live along river banks.

swamps


wetlands that contain trees that are able to live in places that are either permanently flooded or flooded for a major part of the year




successional state from aquatic to terrestrial

marshes


wetlands that are dominated by grasses and reeds.




successional state moving to terrestrial communities

Human impact on freshwater ecosystems

.002 % of worlds water, effected by pollution runoff (agricultural runoff, sewage, sediment, trash).