Terms : Hide Images
| 4889485007 | ecosystem | A particular location on earth distinguished by its particular mix of interacting biotic and abiotic components | 0 | |
| 4889485008 | Ecosystem Boundaries | Some ecosystems, such as a caves and lakes have very distinctive boundaries. However, in most ecosystems it is difficult to determine where one ecosystems stops and the next begins. | 1 | |
| 4889485009 | Ecosystem Processes | Even though it is helpful to distinguish between two different ecosystems, ecosystems interact with other ecosystems. | 2 | |
| 4889485010 | Cellular Respiration | the process by which other organisms gain energy from eating the tissues of producers. | 3 | |
| 4889485011 | Energy Flow through Ecosystems |  | 4 | |
| 4889485012 | Producers (autotrophs) | are able to use the suns energy to produce usable energy through the process called photosynthesis. | 5 | |
| 4889485013 | Circle of Life |  | 6 | |
| 4889485014 | Consumers (heterotrophs) | obtain energy by consuming other organisms |  | 7 |
| 4889485015 | Primary Consumers | (herbivores) consume producers | 8 | |
| 4889485016 | Secondary Consumers | (Carnivores) obtain energy by eating primary consumers | 9 | |
| 4889485017 | Tertiary Consumers | (Carnivores) eat secondary consumers | 10 | |
| 4889485018 | Food Chain | The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers. | 11 | |
| 4889485019 | Food Web | A more realistic type of food chain that takes into account the complexity of nature. |  | 12 |
| 4889485020 | Food Chain vs. Food Web |  | 13 | |
| 4889485021 | Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) | The total amount of solar energy that the producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time. | 14 | |
| 4889485022 | Net Primary Productivity (NPP) | The energy captured (GPP) minus the energy respired by producers measured in g C/m^2 | 15 | |
| 4889485023 | Biomass | The energy in an ecosystem is measured in terms of biomass. | 16 | |
| 4889485024 | Standing Crop | The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time. | 17 | |
| 4889485025 | Ecological Efficiency | The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another. (picture explains it is 90% efficient) |  | 18 |
| 4889485026 | Trophic Pyramid | The representation of the distribution of biomass among trophic levels. |  | 19 |
| 4889485027 | Biosphere | the combination of all ecosystems on earth | 20 | |
| 4889485028 | Biogeochemical cycles | the movement of matter within and between ecosystems involving biological, geologic, and chemical processes | 21 | |
| 4889485029 | The Hydrologic Cycle | The movement of water through the biosphere |  | 22 |
| 4889485030 | Transpiration | The process where plants release water from their leaves into the atmosphere. | 23 | |
| 4889485031 | Evapotranspiration | The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration. | 24 | |
| 4889485032 | Runoff | When water moves across the land surface into streams and rivers, eventually reaching the ocean | 25 | |
| 4889485033 | Human Influences on the water cycle | withdraw large quantities of fresh water - water diversion, groundwater depletion, wetland drainage clear vegetation - increase runoff, decrease infiltration & groundwater recharge, increase flooding & soil erosion; modify water quality - add nutrients (P, N...) & pollutants | 26 | |
| 4889485034 | The Carbon Cycle |  | 27 | |
| 4889485035 | Carbon Chemistry |  | 28 | |
| 4889485036 | Human Influences on the Carbon Cycle | removal of vegetation - decreases primary production (decreases carbon fixation); burning fossil fuels & biomass (wood) - increase movement of carbon into the atmosphere; the resulting increased concentration of atmospheric CO2 is believed to be sufficient to modify world climate through global warming (see Chapter 19). | 29 | |
| 4889485037 | Guano (nitrogen) harvest | people would take bags of bird droppings for excess nitrogen | 30 | |
| 4889485038 | The Nitrogen Cycle |  | 31 | |
| 4889485039 | Human Influences on the Nitrogen Cycle | emit nitric oxide (NO), which leads to acid rain emit nitrous oxide into the atmosphere - nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas & also depletes ozone in stratosphere mine nitrogen-containing fertilizers, deplete nitrogen from croplands, & leach nitrate from soil by irrigation - leads to modification of nitrogen distribution in soils; remove N from soil by burning grasslands & cutting forest - leads to decreased N in soils; add excess N to aquatic systems - runoff of nitrates & other soluble N-containing compounds stimulates algal blooms, depletes oxygen, & decreases biodiversity; add excess N to terrestrial systems - atmospheric deposition increases growth of some species (especially weeds) & can decrease biodiversity; | 32 | |
| 4889485040 | Role of Phosphorus | essential nutrient for plants & animals - especially building block for DNA, other nucleic acids (including ATP; ATP stores chemical energy), various fats in cell membranes (phospholipids), & hard calcium-phosphate compounds (in bones, teeth, & shells); limiting nutrient in many ecosystems - typically, addition of P leads to increased productivity, especially for fresh water aquatic systems. | 33 | |
| 4889485041 | The Phosphorus Cycle |  | 34 | |
| 4889485042 | Human Influences | mine large quantities of phosphate rock - used for organic fertilizers & detergents; can cause local effects from mining & releases more P into environment; sharply decrease P available in tropical forests & other ecosystems where P is limiting - deforestation & certain agricultural practices decrease available P; add excess P to aquatic ecosystems - leads to excessive algal growth, depletion of oxygen, & decrease in biodiversity; such eutrophication ("over nourishment") | 35 | |
| 4889485043 | Disturbance | An event caused by physical, chemical or biological agents that results in changes in population size or community composition. | 36 | |
| 4889485044 | Watershed | All of the land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake or wetland. |  | 37 |
| 4889485045 | Resistance | A measure of how much a disturbance can affect its flows of energy and matter. | 38 | |
| 4889485046 | Resilience | The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance. | 39 | |
| 4889485047 | Restoration Ecology | A new scientific discipline that is interested in restoring damaged ecosystems. | 40 | |
| 4889485048 | The Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis | states that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels |  | 41 |
| 4889485049 | Instrumental Values of Ecosystems | Provisions- Goods that humans can use directly. Regulating services- The service provided by natural systems that helps regulate environmental conditions. Support systems- The support services that natural ecosystems provide such as pollination, natural filters and pest control. Resilience- Resilience of an ecosystem ensures that it will continue to provide benefits to humans. This greatly depends on species diversity. Cultural services- Ecosystems provide cultural or aesthetic benefits to many people. | 42 |
