MIDTERM Flashcards

Question

hypoxic zone

Answer 1

* zone infested w algae, enough algae to lower oxygen concentrations and kills animal life * bacteria metabloize the avaible dissovled oxyegen from the algae and the lack of oxygen creates a hypoxic zone

Answer 2

**characteristics** * type one on survivorship curve * fewer, larger offspring * later reproductive age * larger adults * lower population growth * high ability to compete examples: humans, elephants, lions, cows

Answer 3

species that play roles affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem

Answer 4

**troposphere:** innnermost layer, weather takes place here. decrease in temperature as altittude increases. **stratosphere:** temperature increases the farther from earth you get. gases do not mix well. OZONE LOCATED IN THIS LAYER which protects eartn from UV rays. **mesosphere:** meteors burn up in this layer **thermosphere:** thinnest gas layer, auroras take place here and spxe shuttles orbit in this layer. also known as the **ionossphere** bc of the ionization and the aborbsition of the energetic charged particles. RADIO WAVES

Answer 5

**ZONES** ## Footnote 1. **littoral:** shallow sunlight waters near the shore to the depth at which rooted plants stop growing. High biolofical diversity, adequate nutrients from bottom sediments 2. **limnetic:** open, sunlit water surface layer away from the shore that extends to the depth penetrated by sunlight 3. **profundal:** deep ocean water where it is too dark for photosynthesis and has low oxygen levels 4. **benthic:** Mostly decomposers and detritus feeders and fish that swim from one zone to the other inhabit it

Answer 6

**ZONES** ## Footnote 1. **coastal:** warm, nutrient rich, shallow part of the ocean that extends form the high-tide mark on land to the edge of a shelflike extension of continental land masses known as the continental shelf 2. **euphotic:** upper layer of a body of water through which sunlight can penetrate and support photosynthesis 3. **bathyal:** dimly lit middle zone tha does not contain photosynthezing producers because of a lack of sunlight 4. **abyssal:** lowest zone, dark, and very cold whcih has little dissolved oxygen

Answer 7

* **single factor that limits the growth, abundance, or distribution of the pop. of a species in a ecosystem** * _Limiting Factor Principle:_ Too much or too little of any abiotic factor can limit or prevent growth of a pop., even if all factors are at or near the optimum range of tolerance examples: soil nutrients, precipatation

Answer 8

* very slow growth rate, opppostie of exponential growth rate. * rate at which some bacteria grow

Answer 9

- Involves rapid exponential population growth followed by a steady decrease in population growth with time until the population size levels off - occurs as the pop. encounters environmental resistance and its rate of growth decreases as it approaches the carrying capacity. - after leveling off, the pop. fluctuates slightly above and below the carrying capacity

Answer 10

- Subtropical dry and warm air in summer, cold currents - In winter, they experience maritime airmasses and cyclonic storms from polar front - Sandwiched between deserts and temperate rainforests - heavy bark, shoots from base roots or lignotubers - vegetation dominated by evergreen trees and sclerophyllous trees adapted to fire and to summer drought and cool moist winters - annuals and perrenials - regions: most original woodland now gone - shrubs/trees & heath vegetation

Answer 11

-rainforests, ocean, salt marsh ,swamps

Answer 12

* type of surface mining that uses explosives, massive shovels, and draglines (machine) to remove the top of a mountain to expose the seams of coal underneath the mountain

Answer 13

- also known as a corrective feedback loop - situation in which a change in a certain direction provides information that causes a system to change less in that direction - ex: recycling aluminum cans. Involves melting aluminim and feeding it back into an economic system to make new aluminum products. This reduces the need to find, extract, and process virgin aluminum ore. Also reduced the flow of waste matter into the environment

Answer 14

* the amount of energy that plants pass on to the commmunity of herbivores in an ecosystem ## Footnote **npp= gpp - energy used by plants**

Answer 15

* nitrogen is _needed_ in high amounts * found in DNA, RNA, Amino acids * only few organisms can directly convert nitrogen * production is caused more by humans than nature * **Ammonification:** bacteria converts ammonia to nitrate ions * **Nitrogen fixation:** gaseous nitrogen causes ammonia * -Used in fertilizers * - Dishcarge from sewage plants which destroys marine habitats * -Inputs of nitogen is affecting biodiversity -

Answer 16

-species that evolved somewhere else and then migrated into or are deliberately or accidentally introduced into a community

Answer 17

**pros:** - NO AIR POLLUTION - USED TO LIMIT THE NEED FOR OIL - LARGE FUEL SUPPLY **cons** - NONRENEWABLE - HIGH COSTS - LOW NET ENERGY YEILD - HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT (IF ACCIDENTS OCCUR) * *-SUBJECT FOR TERRORISTS ATTACKS - NO LONG TERM WAY TO STORE HIGHLY RADIOACTIVE WASTES**

Answer 18

* a form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost, and biological pest control (natural processes and resources) * little to no fossil fuels involved

Answer 19

layers of soil and rock overlying a mineral deposit

Answer 20

* the use of building material, building placement and design to collect solar energy to keep building warm or cool. * aborbs and stores heat from the sun directly within a structure using things such as double oanned windows, south-facing windows, insulation and tree placement. * NO NEED for systems with pumps or mechanical devices.

Answer 21

- pH: Numeric value that indicates the relative aciditiy or alkalinity of a substance on a scale of 0 to 14, with the neutral point at 7. - acid solutions have pH values lower than 7, and basic or alkaline solutions have pH values greater than 7 - acids have a pH less than 7 - bases have a pH greater than 7

Answer 22

**wide- spread, often global event in which major grouops of species are wiped out over a short time.** **causes of mass extinction** * asteriod impacts (dinosuars) * major climate change * habitat loss * natural disasters * diseases

Answer 23

- situations in which a change in a certain direction provides information that causes a system to change further in the same direction - ex: depositing money in a bank at a compound interest and leaving it in there. The interest increases the balance, which through a positive feedback loop leads to more interest and an even higher balance

Answer 24

* eat the autotrophs * herbivores * second on the pyramid * ex. rabbit that eats grass

Answer 25

* ecological succession in a **bare** area that has never been occupied by a community of organisms * pioneer species move in, such as mosses and lichens

Answer 26

**characteristics** * type 3 on the survivorship curve * species with capacity for high rate of pop. increase * many small offspring (most die before reproductive stage) * little parental care * early reproducitve age * putting most of their energy into reproduction * generalist niches examples: cockroaches, rodents, bacteria, dandelions (annual plants)

Answer 27

the amount of various salts dissolved in a given volume of water

Answer 28

- Tropical grasslands - Zimbdowe - Human Interference 1. ) raising cattle converts savanna to desrt 2. ) cattle drink a lot of water 3. ) cattle move back & forth to watering holes and crample on grasses - Dominant Plants 1. ) tall, perennial grasses 2. ) sometimes drought-tolerant and fire resistant trees or shrubs - Animals and their adaptations 1. ) elephants 2. ) giraffes 3. ) elephants eat lower to ground 4. ) eating high up 5. ) migrate 6. ) groups - Abiotic Factors 1. ) warm temperatures 2. ) seasonal rainfall 3. ) compact soil 4. ) frequent fires set by lightning

Answer 29

**-when energy is changed from one form to another, some of the useful energy is always degraded to lower quality, more dispersed, less useful energy** - this degraded energy usually takes the form of heat given off at a low temperature to the environment - we cannot even break even in tems of energy quality bc energy always goes from a more usuful to a less useful form when energy is changed from one form to another

Answer 30

* ecological succession in an area in which natural vegetation has been removed or destroyed but the soil an leftover nutrients stay

Answer 31

largest to smallest * sand * silt * clay

Answer 32

**O horizon:** uppermost horizon, made up of organic material (animal wastes, decomposing organisms) and live organsims. FORMS HUMUS **A horizon:** made up of weathered rock and leftover organic material from the O horizon. Often referred to as topsoil. **E horizon:** leached of clay, iron or aluminum oxides. ONLy minerals in this area are sand and silt. **B horizon:** recieves all the minerals that are leached out form A. illuviation occurs in this zone, dissovled materials from higher soil layers get brought down by water. **C horizion:** composed of larger peices of rock that have not been weathered. BEDROCK = R HORIZION ( NOT SOIL )

Answer 33

ratio of slit, sand and clay in soil

Answer 34

graph that shows the number of surviors in different age groups ## Footnote type one: k-selected organisms type three: r-selected organisms

Answer 35

- a society that manages its economy and pop. size without doing irreperable environmental harm by overloading the planet's ability to absorb environmental insults, replenish its resources, and sustain human and other forms of life over a specified period, usually hundreds to thousands of years - during this period, it satisfies the needs of its people wihtout depleting natural resources and thereby jeopardizing the prospects of current and future generations of humans and other species

Answer 36

-largest biome in the world high latitudesband high altitudes - short, wet summers - long,cold winters - not a lot of plants because of harsh conditions - lichens and mosses - coniferous trees and pines - white spruce - hemlock - douglas fir - predators - lynx and weasels - wolverines, bobcats, minks, ermines - snowshoe rabbit, red squirrels, voles - Red Deer, elk, moose

Answer 37

- New York - Animals and their adaptations 1. ) Bear 2. ) coyotes 3. ) Hibernation 4. ) migration - Human Interference 1. ) clearing for agriculture and urban development 2. ) cutting down trees 3. ) air pollution from transporting lumber - Abiotic Factors 1. ) cold to moderate winters 2. ) warm summers 3. ) year-round precipitation 4. ) fertile soils - Dominant Plants 1. ) broadleaf deciduous trees 2. ) some conifers 3. ) flowering shrubs 4. ) herbs

Answer 38

- # of speices found on an island determined by the immigration and extinction rates - theory states the two rates will reach an equilbrium that determines the island's number of species

Answer 39

* degradtion of water quality by any processes that changes water temperature * common cause is the use of water as a coolant in a nuclear power plant of a factory

Answer 40

1. wheat 2. rice 3. corn

Answer 41

* the average # of children who will be born to a women during her lifetime, typically during her reproductive years

Answer 42

* delpetion of a resource that is normally free to people. overused enough so there isnt enough for everyon else

Answer 43

* lithospheric plate boundary occurs where plates slide and grind past one another along a fracture (fault) in the lithosphere * most found on ocean floor, but some on land

Answer 44

All organsims that are the same number of energy transfers away from the original source of energy that enters an ecosytem For example, all producers belong to the first trophic level, herbivores belong to the second

Answer 45

- Arctic tundra= Fort Yukon, Alaska - Human Interference 1. ) damage from oil production & transport 2. ) Air pollution from oil production & transport 3. ) Off road vehicles destroy soil - Animals and their adaptations 1. ) Birds, mosquitos 2. ) Turn white in winter 3. ) Migrate - Plants 1. ) ground-hugging plants such as mosses, lichens, sedges, and short grasses - Abiotic Factors 1. ) Strong winds 2. ) Low precipitation 3. ) short and soggy summers 4. ) long,cold, and dark winters 5. ) Poorly developed soils 6. ) PERMAFROST

Answer 46

- the measure of relative clarity of a liquid - the measurement is a key test to water quality - tip: salt marsh

Answer 47

**reclamation: the return of massively scarred or devasted land to a condition that is environmentally useful and socially and politically acceptable** * established mandatory standards for mining activites on state and federal lands, includong a requirment that include impacts on fish, wildlife and related to the environmental values be minimized

Answer 48

**latin america** also located in south america, west africa and southeat asia (BRAZIL AND INDONESIA)

Answer 49

about 7 billion

MIDTERM Flashcards

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