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27 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Gross Primary Productivity
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total rate of photosynthesis for the entireecosystem during a specific time interval
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Net Primary Productivity
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the rate of storage of energy in plant tissues inexcess of respiration by the plants during a specific time interval
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ecological pyramid
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Ecologists often represent the trophic structure of an ecosystem in this form
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Biomass Pyramid
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depicts the weight of an ecosystem’s members at each trophiclevel, typically the largest tier is that of the producers, the bottom tier, smallest tier is , typically, the top carnivores, the top tier
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Energy Pyramid
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tracks how usable energy decreases as it flows through anecosystem, energy enters at the bottom of the pyramid; the first trophic level,it diminishes as we approach the last level; the top carnivores.
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Biogeochemical Cycles
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The availability of energy and nutrients will influence an ecosystem, photosynthetic producers need raw materials to harness energy inphotosynthesis as well as mineral nutrients to meet their metabolic needs, Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), and Oxygen (O2), why sugars and starches are carbohydrates, mineral nutrients can include Nitrogen (N), Calcium (Ca), andPhosphorus (P), ions and/or nutrients are transferred from the environment,into organisms, and back into the environment.
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cycles based on 4 factors |
Minerals required by producers as nutrients available form ofmineral ions
Inputs from environment nutrient cycling actions of decomposersand detritivores, maintain as ecosystem’s nutrient levels environment functions as vast reservoir for mineral nutrients. actual amount of nutrients cycled through the ecosystem greaterthan the amount entering or leaving in a given year Weathering of rocks (ex; rain and snow), organismal metabolism, typical sources of releasing nutrients into an ecosystem.a] Ex; iron from stone, nitrogen fixation by bacteria.
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3 categories of biogeochemical cycles |
based on the part of theenvironment that holds the greatest amount of a specific mineral/nutrient; Hydrologic Cycle
Atmospheric Cycle Sedimentary Cycle allows for the cycling of mineral nutrients (ex; phosphorous)from the land to the sea floor and back to the land. |
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Hydrologic Cycle
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water; allow for the cycling of hydrogen and oxygen atoms as water “Global Water Cycle”
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Atmospheric Cycle
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gases; allows for the cycling of atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide (CO2).
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Sedimentary Cycle
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rock; allows for the cycling of mineral nutrients (ex; phosphorous) from the land to the sea floor and back to the land.
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The Hydrologic Cycle
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how water moves from the oceans, to the atmosphere, on to land, and back to the oceans, driven by solar energy causing evaporation of water, driving windand ocean currents by wind and ocean currents. Ex; winds blow clouds elsewhere where they then rain |
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Water is essential to an ecosystem
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needed by all organisms, serves as the transportation medium for nutrients and minerals Events that decrease water recovery by an ecosystem, such as deforestation,will also decrease the availability of minerals in the ecosystem, Plant roots hold moisture in the soil. Plants take up this water via roots and use it for their metabolism.
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The Phosphorous Cycle
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mineral involved in the sedimentary cycle,
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Phosphorous (P)
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is passed through food webs as it moves from land to ocean sediments and back to the land main reservoir for P, and for most minerals, is the earth’s crust, essential for life found in our bones,
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phosphate PO4 |
P in rocks is typically in the form, weathering and erosion causes PO4 to enter into rivers and streams and they carry it to the sea, often the main limiting factor in an ecosystem.
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Eutrophication
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when a body of water becomes enriched with nutrients, particularlyP, Although, natural event can be dramatically accelerated by humaninfluence (ex; farm run off), can result in the death of a lake.
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Two Examples of An Atmospheric Cycle
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Carbon Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle |
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Carbon Cycle C
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moves between the lower atmosphere, food webs, ocean water, oceansediments, and rocks, Sediments and rocks hold most of the C followed by the ocean, then soil, theatmosphere, and biomass on the land.b] C is released into the atmosphere by respiration, the burning of fossil fuels,and volcanic eruptions. Most atmospheric C is in the form of CO2
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Nitrogen Cycle N
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N is an important component of proteins and nucleic acids,
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some C |
is released by the decomposition of dead organisms, some is trapped up in sea shells, bones, etc. and so take longer toerode out
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During photosynthesis
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autotrophs lock up billions of metric tons of C in organiccompounds (ex; carbohydrates).
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N2,
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is the predominant gas in our atmosphere at 80%
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The Nitrogen Cycling Process
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Nitrogen fixation is done by some specialized bacteria that convert N2to ammonia (NH3) and then ammonium (NH4) in their cells, many nitrogen fixing bacteria live symbiotically with plants (ex; legumes)and supply N to these plants
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Extinction
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is the dying out of all members of a species, can occur either natural or artificial means, Approximately 99% of all species that lived on earth now extinct, a normal aspect of life, a constant, punctuated by cycles of massive die offs every24 million years, Some, dramatic, Ex; the Cambrian Extinction resulted in the destruction of over 90% of allanimal species that existed at that time
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Extinction
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occurs when death rates are higher than birth rates
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factors that cancause extinction
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competition with another species
inability to adapt to a new disease or predator (rare) commercial exploitation habitat destruction (normal) humans |
