Intro to Applied Ecol unit 1 (lectures 1-6)

Mississippi River watershed

2/3 of US and very agriculturally rich land, nutrient loading comes from erosion, fertilizer runoff, animal waste, sewage

glaciers, tectonic shifts, river changes, animal activities

4 causes of lake formation

trade winds weaken

ENSO first step

temperature

Earth's ______ has increased since the early 1900s

space and greenhouse gases

Earth's reflected/emitted radiation goes to

periphyton

algae moss that attaches to rocks to avoid fast flow of low-order streams

stomata

allow oxygen to leave and carbon dioxide to enter the leaf, but loose water

redistribute heat

and affect precipitation global air and ocean currents do these two major things

Dust Bowl

area that experienced dust storms and erosion, Montana down to Texas

weather

atmospheric conditions at specific place and time

6-8

average pH of freshwater

soil

biotic and abiotic, habitat, medium fro plant growth, water storage, recycling system

tides

bulge when moon is next to or opposite water's spot on earth

chemical weathering

caused by soil organisms, organic material, water- breaking down of soil

mechanical weathering

caused by water, temperature, and wind- breaking down of soil

tilling drought winds

causes of the Dust Bowl

order over 6

classified as rivers, low gradient, slower, meandering, lots of sediment/turbidity due to silt

CPOM

coarse particulate organic matter, eaten by shredders

lower metabolism

cold temperature leads to a short-term ____ ______

hypolimnion

cold, high density, deep waters

Ecosystem

collection of communities that function as a unit, includes biotic and abiotic

red

color indicates low organic content of soil

dark

color indicates organic matter in soil

blotchy

color indicates water-saturated soils

60 degrees

cool and rainy area due to rising warm air

1/3

crops make up how much of agricultural land

water balance

difference between organism and environment water concentration

crop rotation

different plants planted on the same field over growing seasons

Clean Water Act

doesn't define a wetland well, legally

air

doesn't have water's viscosity so organisms develop different body shapes

atmosphere area

due to the ______ and the ______, polar solar radiation is less intense

drought

during ENSO, get _____ in Australia/Indonesia

Observational (field)

experiment that can only prove correlation

Biotic

factor that consists of other organisms

FPOM

fine particulate organic matter, eaten by collectors

Individual population community

first three levels of hierarchy (smallest)

topography rainfall wind soil structure plant cover

five things that impact the rates of erosion

phytoplankton

floating algae that dominate rivers since water doesn't reach the bottom

lotic

flowing water

temperature and oxygen

follow light profile (mostly)

macro invertebrate

food availability decides what you'll find in these communities

viscosity

force required for an object to more through the liquid

.15

forest's albedo

grazers

found in higher order streams, eat algae fed by nutrients released in the river

collectors

found in low orders because they eat the FPOM broken down by the shredders

shredders

found in low orders because they feed on overhanging/falling leaves

groundwater, floodwater, waterfowl, fishing

four things threatened by loss of wetlands

Lake Erie

freshwater dead zone

why are wetlands destroyed

good farmland, wildlife threatens crops, dam projects, development, excavated for peat

2/3

grazing animals take up how much of agricultural land

gravity

has a greater effect on terrestrial organisms, leads to need for support systems

dissolved oxygen

highest at the surface to to diffusion from air and photosynthesis, low in bottom because bacteria use it up

rivers

hold least amount of freshwater

glaciers and ice

hold most of the world's freshwater

oceans

hold most of the world's water

lakes

hold third most amount of freshwater

groundwater

holds second most amount of freshwater

80%

how much agricultural land has soil erosion

0.1

how much has ocean pH fallen?

less dense

ice floats because it is ___ _____ than liquid water, preventing lakes from freezing through

eastern Pacific

in the ____ ____ during ENSO, the current slows, water warms, upwelling is reduced

acidification

increases solubility of heavy metal ions like aluminium

cropland

is more susceptible to erosion because whole plants are killed and soil is tilled and land is left bare (wind erosion)

more than 10

lakes are typically ___ ___ __ meters in area

thermal stratification

lakes display what trait in the summer?

lake effect

large bodies of water regulate temp and increase precipitation

Gulf of Mexico

largest dead zone in world, used to only develop in the spring, now is permanent and growing, due to Mississippi River

Ecosystem biome biosphere

last three levels of hierarchy (biggest)

intertidal zone

lies between high and low tide water line

logarithmic

light (and thus photosynthesis) declines in this fashion through a body of water

phosphorous

limiting nutrient in freshwater systems

nitrogen

limiting nutrient in marine systems

climate

long term and large scale atmospheric condition patterns

desiccation

loss of water to the environment (readily evaporated through cells unless air is saturated)

eutrophic

lots of nutrients, green and murky water, low DO, high population, low diversity

ogliotrophic

low nutrients, clear water, high DO, low population size, high diversity

salinity

major classification of bodies of water is based on

4 degrees

maximum density of water is at ______

miles of windbreaks

millions of trees were planted to form thousands of ____ _ ______

cool air

moves down

warm air

moves up

Coriolis effect

name for fact that Earth rotates faster at the equator

lentic

non-flowing water

right

northern hemisphere deflects air to the _____

clockwise

northern hemisphere gyres move ______

coral bleaching

not caused by acidification, driven by ocean warming

Soil Erosion Service

now the Natural Resources Conservation Service, established after the Dust Bowl

Quantitative

numbers used to express a relationship

half

of Earth's land surface is used for agriculture

Independent variable

on x axis, cause

Dependent variable

on y axis, effect

Qualitative

only words used to express a relationship

O horizon

organic, top layer of soil

Interacts

other name for biotic factors

5.5

pH of rain, so headwater streams are acidic

8

pH of seawater, due to alkaline ions Na K and Ca

thermocline

part of water that most light stops and water temperature cools and mostly flattens out

Abiotic

physical and chemical conditions like temp, moisture, gas concentration, light intensity

no-till

plant crops directly in the soil without plowing

contour planting

planting crops on a hill's contour

biotic weathering

plants, their roots, animals, fungi, and bacteria all contribute to breaking down of soil

less than 3

ponds are typically ___ ___ __ meters deep

texture

proportion of sand, silt, and clay in a soil

waxy cuticle

reduces water loss but prevents gas exchange

albedo

reflectivity of a surface, scale of 0-1

carbonate ions (CO3)

removed from water to form bicarbonate, taken away from CaCO3 (shell material)

mass migration

result of the Dust Bowl due to livestock and human deaths and destruction of cropland and home

macrophytes

rooted plants found in mid-order streams where flow is slow but turbidity is low

Self correcting

science is _____ ___________ because it searches for proof of falsehood

Observation question hypothesis experimentation

scientific method order

Model

simplified representation of a real system

.85

snow's albedo

texture organic matter structure nutrients pH

soil characteristics (5)

2-20

soil formation takes from ________ thousand years, thus restoration is impossible

precipitation plants evaporation

soil gains water through _____ and loses it through ______ and _______

top down

soil weathering takes place from the ____ _____

left

southern hemisphere deflects air to the ____

counterclockwise

southern hemisphere gyres move _____

headwater

streams of order 1, come from springs, seeps, rain, outlet of lakes, or glacier melt

B horizon

subsoil

buoyancy

supports aquatic organisms

fish

temperature variation decides what you'll find in these communities

structural support

terrestrial organisms have skeletons, chitin, cellulose as forms of _____ ______

more rain

the Southern Hemisphere gets ____ _____ due to more ocean area for air to pick up water

solar radiation

the poles get less intense ______ _______ than the equator

Ecology

the study of the interrelationships between abiotic and biotic factors in the struggle to exist

poles

these exhibit the most seasonal variation due to being tilted towards and away from the sun at different parts of the year

anchovies

these more offshore during ENSO and hurt fisherman

greenhouse gases

these re-emit reflected radiation back at Earth

clouds

these reflect some solar radiation back into space

orders 1-3

these streams are small, straight, swift, have rapids or waterfalls

rotation on its axis

this causes Earth's day and night to be different

axial tilt

this causes Earth's hemispheric seasonal variation

orbit around the sun

this causes Earth's seasonal variation

good of the species

this doesn't exist, can always be explained by individual Darwinian fitness

equatorial region

this exhibits the least seasonal variation because the sun is nearly directly overhead year round

torpedo shape

this in fish helps to minimize "drag" or frictional resistance

windward side

this part of a mountain gets higher precipitation bc air has to rise and drop precipitation

leeward side

this part of a mountain gets lower precipitation bc air has dropped precipitation already

high specific heat

this property of water means it can buffer temperature well

Gulf of Mexico dead zone

this stretches west due to westerlies (winds) and ocean currents

sand

this type of particle doesn't hold nutrients or water well

clay

this type of particle holds nutrients and water better, can flood though

season shade elevation/order

three factors that influence lotic temperature

salinity temperature dessication

three things that coastal/edge of ocean organisms need to be able to tolerate huge changes in

A horizon

top soil

greenhouse gases heat

trees sequester _______ _______ but also absorb more ______

more algae hurts shells

two major effects of ocean acidification

reducing nutrient inputs restoring wetlands

two things that would prevent the formation of dead zones

sand silt clay

types of soil particles (large to small)

Bedrock

unweathered parent material

equator

very rainy area due to rising warm air

30 degrees

warm and dry area due to falling masses of air

epilimnion

warm, low density surface waters

wetland ecosystem services

water purification, nutrient retention, essential habitat (waterfowl, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles), nursery habitat for many commercial fish species

algae

water velocity and depth decide what you'll find in these communities

density

water's _____ leads to fish buoyancy

polarity

water's ______ leads to surface tension and good solvent

sandstone or granite

watersheds dominated by this are acidic and poorly buffered

limestone CaCO3

watersheds dominated by this are basic and well-buffered

C horizon

weathered parent material

west to east

what direction does Earth rotate on its axis?

highest tides

when sun and moon align, when earth is closest to the sun, when the moon is new or full

nutrient loading

when too much of a nutrient gets into an aquatic ecosystem and increases photosynthesis (algae) which die and are eaten by bacteria which use up oxygen creatign apoxia (dead zones)

nutrients

when you hear "sediment" going into water, think ____

tropic of Cancer to Capricorn

where the sun is directly overhead migrates throughout the year from ___ _ ___ _ ____

convergence zone

where warm surface air rises and moves north and south

estuaries

zones where freshwater and saltwater mix