Biology 2 > Ecosystems > Flashcards

Ecosystems Flashcards

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1
Q

Regardless of an ecosystems size, its dynamics involve 2 main processes: —— & ——

A
  1. Energy Flow

2. Chemical Cycling

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2
Q

Energy flows — ecosystems while chemical cycle — them

A
  1. Through

2. Within

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3
Q

Ecologist study the transformations of — & — in an ecosystem and map the movements of ——

A
  1. Energy
  2. Matter
  3. Chemical elements
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4
Q

First law of thermodynamics: energy cannot be — or —, only — or —

A
  1. Created
  2. Destroyed
  3. Transferred
  4. Transform
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5
Q

Energy enters an ecosystem as ——, some is transformed into — energy by plants that is transferred to other organisms, and is ultimately lost as —

A
  1. Solar radiation
  2. Chemical
  3. Heat
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6
Q

Second law of thermodynamics: every exchange of energy — the — of the universe

A
  1. Increases

2. Entropy

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7
Q

In an ecosystem, energy conversion are not completely —, and some energy is always — as heat

A
  1. Efficient

2. Lost

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8
Q

Law of conservation of mass: — cannot be — or —

A
  1. Matter
  2. Created
  3. Destroyed
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9
Q

Chemical elements are continually — within ecosystem

A

Recycled

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10
Q

Although most elements are not gained or lost on a — scale, they can be gained or lost from a particular —

A
  1. Global

2. Ecosystem

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11
Q

Ecosystems are — systems, absorbing — & — and releasing — & — products

A
  1. Open
  2. Energy
  3. Mass
  4. Heat
  5. Waste
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12
Q

If a nutrients — from an ecosystem exceed its —, that nutrient will limit —

A
  1. Outputs
  2. Inputs
  3. Production
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13
Q

Ecologists group species into tropical levels based on their main source of nutrition and energy:

  • —: build molecules themselves using photosynthesis or chemo synthesis as an energy source
  • —: depend on the bio synthetic output of other organisms
A
  1. Autotrophs

2. Heterotrophs

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14
Q 
Energy and nutrients pass from:
Primary producers(—) to primary consumers (—) to secondary consumers (—) then to tertiary consumers (— that feed on other —)
A
  1. Autotrophs
  2. Herbivores
  3. Carnivores
  4. Carnivores
  5. Carnivores
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15
Q

—, or —: consumers that derive their energy from —, nonliving organic matter

A
  1. Detritivores
  2. Decomposes
  3. Detritus
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16
Q

— & — are the main detritivores

A
  1. Prokaryotes

2. Fungi

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17
Q

Decomposers play a critical role in recycling — elements to ——

A
  1. Chemical

2. Primary producers

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18
Q

— connects all tropic levels

A

Decomposition

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19
Q

In most ecosystems, —— is the amount of light energy converted to chemical; energy by autotrophs during a given time period

A

Primary production

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20
Q

In some ecosystems, initial energy input is — an chemoautotroph are the ——

A
  1. Chemical

2. Primary producers

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21
Q

The amount of solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface limits — — of ecosystems
* Varies with —, with most in the tropics

A
  1. Photosynthetic output

2. Latitude

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22
Q

Only a small fraction of solar energy actually strikes — organisms, and even less is of a usable —

A
  1. Photosynthetic

2. Wavelength

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23
Q

The extent of photosynthetic production sets the —— for an ecosystems — budget

A
  1. Spending limit

2. Energy

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24
Q

———: total primary production

* measured as the conversion of — from — to ——— per unit time

A
  1. Gross primary production (GPP)
  2. Energy
  3. Light
  4. Organic chemical energy
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25
———: amount of new biomass added in a given area over a given time period, not the total biomass of autotrophs
Net primary production (NPP)
26
NPP is equal to — minus — used by primary producers for —
1. GPP 2. Energy 3. Respiration
27
NPP on average is equal to about — of —
1. 1/2 | 2. GPP
28
Only NPP is available to —
Consumers
29
———, —, & —— are among the most productive ecosystems per unit area
1. Tropical rain forests 2. Estuaries 3. Coral reefs
30
Marine ecosystems are relatively — per unit area, but contribute much to global net —— because of their —
1. Unproductive 2. Primary production 3. Volume
31
Net ecosystem production (NEP) is the measure of total —— during a given period
Biomes accumulation
32
NEP= — minus the total — of — organisms in an ecosystem
1. GPP 2. Respiration 3. All
33
NEP is useful in determining whether an ecosystem is — or ——-
1. Gaining 2. Losing 3. Biomass
34
Primary production in aquatic ecosystems is controlled by both — & —
1. Light | 2. Nutrients
35
Light: — of light penetration affects —— in the photic zone of an ocean or lake
1. Depth | 2. Primary production
36
Nutrients: | * More than —, nutrients limit primary production in most — & —
1. Light 2. Oceans 3. Lakes
37
——: an element that must be added for production to increase in an area * — & — most often limit marine production
1. Limiting Nutrient 2. Nitrogen 3. Phosphorus
38
The addition of large amount of — to lake has a wide range of — impacts
1. Nutrients | 2. Ecological
39
In some areas sewage runoff has caused — of lakes, which can lead to loss of most fish species
Eutrophication
40
— limits Cyanobacteria growth more often than — in lake~led to the use of phosphate-free detergents
1. Phosphorus | 2. Nitrogen
41
In terrestrial ecosystems, — & — affect primary production on a large scale
1. Temperature | 2. Moisture
42
Soil nutrients often limit primary production in — ecosystems
Terrestrial
43
— is the most common limiting nutrient in soils
Nitrogen
44
— can also be a limiting nutrient, especially on older soils
Phosphorus
45
Various adaptations help plants access limiting nutrients from soil: *Some plants form — with — fixing bacteria
1. Mutualisms | 2. Nitrogen
46
Various adaptations help plants access limiting nutrients from soil: * Many plants for mutualisms with —— ~ Supply plants with — and other limiting elements
1. Mycorrhizal fungi | 2. Phosphorus
47
Various adaptations help plants access limiting nutrients from soil: * Roots have —— to increase surface area
Root hairs
48
Various adaptations help plants access limiting nutrients from soil: * Many plants release — that increase the availability of ——
1. Enzymes | 2. Limiting nutrients
49
Secondary production: amount of — energy in consumers food converted to new — during a given period of time * only about —/— of the leaves energy is used for secondary production
1. Chemical 2. Biomass 3. 1/6
50
Production efficiency: the fraction of energy stored in — food that is not used for —
1. Assimilated | 2. Respiration
51
Birds and mammals have efficiencies in the range of —% because of the high cost of —
1. 1-3% | 2. Endothermy
52
Fishes have production efficiencies of around —%
10%
53
Insects and microorganisms have efficiencies of —% or more
40%
54
——: percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next * Must always be — than production efficiencies because also takes into account unconsumed organic matter * Usually about —%, with a range of 5% to 20% * Multiplied over the length of a ——
1. Tropic efficiency 2. Less 3. 10% 4. Food Chain
55
An energy pyramid represents the — of energy with each — in a food chain
1. Loss | 2. Transfer
56
Approximately —% of chemical energy voxed by photosynthesis reaches a tertiary consumer
0.1%
57
In a biomass pyramid each tier represents the —— of all organisms in one tropic level
Dry weight
58
Most bio mass pyramid show a sharp decrease at successively ———
Higher tropic levels
59
Certain aquatic ecosystems have inverted biomass pyramids: producers (phytoplankton) are consumed so quickly that they are outweighed by ——
Primary consumers
60
Given enough time, —— can recover from many types of disturbances
Biological communities
61
Restoration ecology seeks to initiate or speed up the — of ——
1. Recovery | 2. Degraded ecosystems
62
2 key strategies are — and — of ecosystem processes
1. Bioremediation | 2. Augmentation
63
— is the of living organisms to detoxify ecosystems * organisms most often used are —,—, or — * These organisms can take up, and sometimes metabolize, — molecules
1. Bioremediation 2. Prokaryotes, fungi, or plants 3. Toxic
64
—— uses organisms to add essential materials to a degraded ecosystem
Biological Augmentation
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