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38 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Ecosystem |
Interacting parts of a biological community in its environment |
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Sustainable Ecosystem |
Ecosystem that can continue in the same state and support a variety of organisms |
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Biotic Factor |
All living things in an ecosystem (plants, animals, fungi, algae, bacteria, viruses) and their interactions |
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Symbiosis and an example |
2 members of different species live together in close association
Ex: crocodile and a plover - the plover picks food from the crocodile's teeth and eats it |
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Predation |
1 organism consumes another for food
Ex: Fox hunts and eats a rabbit |
Fox hunts and eats a rabbit |
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Competition |
2 or more organisms that compete for ressources such as food, sunlight and space) this influence the population size
Ex:dandelions and grass compete for space, sunlight and food |
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Abiotic Factors |
All non living things that affect an ecosystem (water, air, nutrients, light, soil) |
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Abiotic effects - water |
Water sources dry up naturally with droughts
Water quality can be affected by chemicals from humans |
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Abiotic effects - oxygen |
O2 levels in water can decrease
Deforestation decreases O2 levels on Earth |
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Abiotic effect - light |
Varies with seasons, tree cover |
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Abiotic effect - nutrients |
N and P
Humans alter their balance with fertilizers |
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Abiotic effect - soil |
Erosion destroys the top layer which depletes nutrients for plants |
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Food chain |
Shows the path of energy from one organism to another |
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Producers |
Make their own food (glucose) through photosynthesis - always first in a food chain |
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Scavenger |
Feeds on dead remains |
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Decomposer |
Breaks down nutrients in decaying bodies and waste of organisms and return the nutrients to an abiotic part of the ecosystem |
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Food web |
Series of interconnected food chains |
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Niche |
An organism's role in an ecosystem |
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Trophic level |
Category of organisms that is defined by how the organisms get energy |
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Describe the trophic levels |
1st- producers 2nd- primary consumers (herbivores) 3rd- secondary consumers (carnivores) 4th- tertiary consumer The top carnivore is quaternary |
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Biomass |
The total mass of living organisms in a defined area or group |
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How much energy is transferred between trophic levels? |
10% |
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Trophic efficiency |
A measure of the amount of energy transferred from on level of a food web to anithe |
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Lithosphere |
The hard part of the Earths surface |
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Hydrosphere |
All water found on Earth |
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Atmosphere |
The layers of air above Earths surface |
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Biosphere |
The regions of Earth where living organisms exist |
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Photosynthesis |
A process in which plants, algae and some bacteria capture the Suns energy and covert it into chemical energy (make their own food) - autotrophs |
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Chlorophyll |
A green pigment in plants that absorb sunlight |
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What do plants need to do photosynthesis and what does it make? |
Water, CO2, sunlight to make glucose and oxygen |
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Stomata |
Tiny holes in leaves that let CO2 into the plant |
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Formula for photosynthesis |
6CO2 + 6H2O ------------- glucose (C6 H12 O6) + 6O2 |
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Cellular respiration |
The breakdown of glucose to produce energy into heterotrophs, used by plants, animals, fungi and others |
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Fermentation |
The breakdown of glucose for energy without O2 Bacteria and some fungi use this |
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Formula for cellular respiration |
glucose (C6 H12 O6) + 6O2 ------------- 6CO2 + 6H2O |
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Nutrient |
A chemical that is essential to living things and is cycled through ecosystems |
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Eutrophication |
A process on which nutrient levels in an aquatic ecosystem increases, leading to an increase in the populations of primary producers |
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Bioaccumulation |
A process in which materials (especially toxins) are ingested by an organism at a rate greater than they are eliminated |
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