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32 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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an ecosystem involves two processes that cannot be fully described at lower levels. what are these?
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energy flow and chemical cycling
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because energy cannot be recycled, an ecosystem must be powered by what?
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a continuous influx of new energy from an external source (the sun)
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----- flows through ecosystem while ----- cycles within them
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energy...matter
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energy enters most ecosystems in the form of what?
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sunlight
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sunlight is converted to chemical energy by what?
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autotrophs
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chemical energy by autotrophs are passed to ---- in the organic compounds of food
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heterotrophs
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photosynthetic organisms acquire what two elements in inorganic form from the air, soil, and water and assimilate them into organic molecules, some of which are consumed by animals?
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carbon and nitrogen
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metabolism of plants, animals, and other organisms, such as ----- and ----- break down organic wastes and dead organisms
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bacteria and fungi
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autotrophs are also known as what?
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primary producers
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which trophic level supports all others in an ecosystem?
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autotrophs
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primary producers use light energy to synthesize ----- and then use as fuel for ----
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sugar, cellular respiration
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primary consumers are also known as what?
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herbivores
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what determines the routes of energy flow and chemical cycling?
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trophic structure
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-----, such as humans, eat producers as well as consumers of different levels
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omnivores
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give an example of a consumer that feed at several different trophic levels
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owl may eat mice but may also eat some invertebrates and snakes
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all organisms are considered producers because...
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their production supports that of all other organisms
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all organisms are considered consumers because...
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they metabolize organic compounds they make themselves from materials they assimilate from teh environment
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all organisms perform some decomposition; in ----- they all break down organic material and release inorganic products such as carbon dioxide and ammonia
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cellular metabolism
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three categories of primary producers are...
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plants, algae, and bacteria
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what are the most important autotrophs in the limnetic zone of lakes and open ocean?
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phytoplankton (algae and bacteria)
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what are most important primary producers in the littoral areas of both freshwater and marine ecosystems?
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multicellular algae and aquatic plants
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what are main producers near hot water vents on the deep-sea floor?
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chemoautotrophic bacteria
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in aphotic zone, life depends on what?
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energy and nutrients that rain down from above in the form of dead plankton and detritus
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type of bacteria that derive energy from the oxidation of hydrogen sulfide
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chemoautotrophic
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many primary and higher-order consumers are ----- feeders, meaning that they supplement their main diet of autotrophs with some heterotrophic material when it becomes available
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opportunistic
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name some of the major primary consumers on land
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insects, snails, plant parasites, grazing mammals, and some birds
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chipmunks or squirrels eating mostly seeds and fruit but also eating bird eggs and nestlings occassionally is an example of...
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opportunistic feeder
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in aquatic ecosystems, phytoplankton are consumed mainly by what?
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zooplankton
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name some major zooplankton
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heterotrophic protists, crustaceans, and some fish
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name some of secondary consumers in terrestrial ecosystems
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spiders, frogs, insect-eating birds, carnivorous mammals, and animal parasites
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what are an ecosystem's main decomposers?
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prokaryotes and fungi
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----- interconnects all trophic levels
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decomposition
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