Ecology Exam Review

Frage	Antworten
What are Earth's 4 spheres?	Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Biosphere and Atmosphere
Briefly describe the Biosphere.	It is the life zone of the Earth and includes all living organisms (including man) and all organic matter that has not yet decomposed.
Briefly describe the Lithosphere.	It is the solid Earth that includes continental and oceanic crust as well as the various layers of the Earth's interior. It is constantly changing due to volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion, etc.
Briefly describe the Hydrosphere.	It contains all water in the Earth, including oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater and frozen water locked in snow/ice.
Briefly describe the Atmosphere.	It is the gaseous envelope that surrounds the Earth, composed of a mixture of gases including oxygen and carbon dioxide.
What are abiotic factors? Name 4 types of them.	They are non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems and limit the tolerance range of organisms. The 4 types include: water, light, temperature and space.
What are biotic factors?	Any living component that affects another organism, including animals that consume the organism in question, and the living food that the organism consumes, or living organisms themselves. They can also determine how easily a species can survive in an ecosystem.
What are the 5 types of species interactions?	Competition- 2 individuals seek the same resource Predation- one individual feeds on another Mutualism- 2 individuals benefit each other Commensalism- one individual benefits, other is unaffected Parasitism- one individual lives on or in the other and feeds on it
What are the 3 symbiotic relationships?	Mutualism, Commensalism and Parasitism
What is a limiting factor?	It determines which types of organisms and how many of each species are able to survive in an ecosystem.
What is carrying capacity?	It is maximum population size of a species that a given ecosystem can sustain.
What are herbivores?	Herbivores only eat plants. They are the primary consumer/second trophic level in a food chain.
What are carnivores?	Carnivores are organisms that consume only eat animals. They are heterotrophs, secondary consumers and the third or fourth trophic level.
What are omnivores?	Omnivores or organisms that consume both meat and plants.
What are decomposers?	They breakdown dead organisms in an ecosystem and turn it into detritus for detrivores to eat
What is chemosynthesis?	When producers capture energy from a source other then sunlight (occurs in aquatic ecosystems); use energy within chemical bonds of inorganic compounds
What is the pyramid of numbers?	It shows how many organisms are at each trophic level.
What is the pyramid of biomass?	It shows the mass of the total organisms at each trophic. (kg)
What is the pyramid of energy?	It shows how much energy is available at each trophic level in joules, but only 10% of it is available for the higher trophic level to consume.
What is an ecological niche?	A species specific role in an ecosystem, as well as how it behaves, what it eats and it's predators.
What is bioaccumulation?	A process in which materials, especially toxins, are ingested by an organism at a greater rate then they are eliminated. The toxins are stored in the fatty tissue of the organism.
What is biomagnification?	A process whereby the tissue concentrations of a contaminant increase as it passes up the food chain through two or more trophic levels.
Definition of ecosystem.	includes all of the living things (plants, animals and organisms) in a given area, interacting with each other, and also with their non-living environments.
Population	A grouping of organisms in which interbreeding occurs.
Community	An associations of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area and in a particular time.
Biodiversity	Describes the number of different kids of planets and animals in a specific area.
What is a keystone species?	A species that other species in the ecosystem rely on.
What are the causes of loss of biodiversity?	(HIPPO) Habitat Loss, invasive species, population growth, pollution and over-consumption of natural resources
What are invasive species?	They are introduced/non-native species that are brought into an ecosystem, with growing populations that spread and have a negative effect on their environment.
When a drop of water falls on the ground, what are four possible paths it could take through the water cycle?	Evaporation, accumulation, percolation and return flow.
What are the causes of acid rain?	Greenhouse gas emissions, carbon emission and reduction of neutralizing material.
How does acid rain affect the environment?	It can dissolve nutrients that plants need to survive and it can kill aquatic life in lakes or streams.
Why is the nitrogen cycle important to living things?	It is an important part of many cells and processes such as amino acids, proteins, and even our DNA. It is also needed to make chlorophyll in plants, which plants use in photosynthesis to make their food and energy.
How can nitrogen be fixed into our atmosphere?	Bacteria: turns nitrogen into ammonium Lightning: breaks nitrogen molecules & they combine with oxygen in the air

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