APES Unit 1 - Ecosystems
Which of the following types of organisms are required to complete the nitrogen cycle, including the process of denitrification?
Bacteria
Which biogeochemical cycles includes the processes of buffering ocean pH and photosynthesis
Carbon Cycle
This biome is found in shallow waters off the coastline and is Earth's most biologically diverse marine biome.
Coral Reefs
describe the movement of energy in an ecosystem
Energy is harnessed by producers, and available energy decreases with each trophic level transfer.
true statement about aquatic biomes
Freshwater biomes are a vital source of drinking water.
The total rate of photosynthesis in a given area.
Gross primary productivity
Which of the following best describes gross primary productivity in an ecosystem?
Gross primary productivity is the total amount of solar energy captured by producers through photosynthesis over time.
Which of the following changes in the hydrologic cycle is most likely to occur as a result of the change in vegetation in the area?
Increased infiltration
In reef ecosystems, corals often have microalgae living inside them. The algae supply the corals with nutrients, and the coral give shelter to the algae. What interaction best describes the relationship between the corals and the algae?
Mutualism
This cycle deals with the weathering of rocks?
Phosphorus
The flow of energy in most terrestrial ecosystems
Producers use energy from the sun to make organic matter, such as sugars, from carbon dioxide and water and are then consumed by organisms higher in the food chain.
This freshwater biome is characterized by fast-flowing water that can originate from underground springs or runoff, which carries sediment and organic material.
Rivers
This biome is characterized by long dry seasons and is dominated by grasses, shrubs, and grazing animals.
Savanna
Carbon Cycle
The series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment. This involves the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels.
This biome is warm and wet, with little seasonal variation in temperature and frequent precipitation.
Tropical Rain Forest
Which of the following terrestrial biomes has the highest net primary productivity?
Tropical Rain Forest
example of resource partitioning in an ecosystem
Two different bird species feed from the same oak tree; one eats acorns, and the other eats insects in the bark.
a terrestrial ecosystem that will have the highest net primary productivity
Warm temperatures, high rainfall, and consistent sunlight
Ecosystem
a particular location on Earth distinguished by its particular mix of interacting biotic and abiotic components
mutualism
benefits two interacting species by increasing both species' chances of survival or reproduction
An example of carbon source with the carbon cycle is
burning of fossil fuels
secondary consumers
carnivores that eat primary consumers
tertiary consumer
carnivores that eat secondary consumers; are pretty rare
herbivores
consumes plants as prey
which process most directly results in the storage of carbon as coal and oil over millions of years?
decomposition
This biome contains plants that are adapted to prevent water loss due to the low average rainfall and high temperatures year-round.
desert
second law of thermodynamics
energy transfer through food chains/webs is not efficient. Usable chemical energy is degraded and lost to the environment as low-quality heat.
Intestinal bacteria inhabit the gut of humans.
example of a symbiotic relationship
Which of the following best describes what is represented by the arrows in the food web?
flow of energy
90% of energy is lost within the food web and food chain due to
heat/energy
primary consumers
heterotrophs that consume producers
Where is the majority of fresh water found on Earth?
ice caps and glaciers
In the food chain, which of the following would be the secondary consumer?
mouse
producers/autrotrophs
organisms that use the suns's energy to produce usable forms of energy
detritovores
organisms, such as dung beetles, that specialize in breaking down dead tissues and waste products (referred to as detritus) into smaller particles
What process reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
photosynthesis
carbon dioxide + water + solar energy --> glucose + oxygen
photosynthesis
trophic pyramid
represents the distribution of biomass along trophic levels
trophic levels
successive levels of organisms consuming one another is called this
food web
take into account the complexity of nature, and they illustrate one of the most important concepts of ecology
Phosphorus Cycle
the cyclic movement of phosphorus in different chemical forms from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment. This cycle does not have an atmospheric component.
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
the energy captured minus the energy respired by producers
Decomposer
the fungi and bacteria that complete the breakdown process by recycling the nutrients from dead tissues and wastes back into the ecosystem
The largest reservoirs of carbon, stored in the form of carbon dioxide is where
the ocean
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)
the process in which scientists look at the total amount of solar energy that the producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time
ecological efficiency
the proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another
food chains
the sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers
Biomass
the total mass of all living matter in a specific area
What within the carbon cycle is a carbon sink that holds carbon compounds for the shortest period of time
vegetation/plants
Only this amount of energy is passed from one trophic level to the next
10%
why don't terrestrial trophic pyramids usually have levels higher than tertiary consumers
A large proportion of energy is lost as heat as it is transferred up the pyramid, so there is not enough energy available to support another level.
uses oxygen to convert glucose (or other nutrient molecules) back into carbon dioxide and water.
Aerobic respiration
Omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and animals
also known as fermentation. Obtain energy by breaking down glucose in the absence of oxygen.
Anaerobic respiration
The majority of the nitrogen on Earth can be found in which of the following reservoirs?
Atmosphere
In a given ecosystem, producers convert solar energy into 15,000kcal of chemical energy stored in organic compounds. Which of the following is the most likely amount of energy available to secondary consumers?
150 kcal
Algae in an aquatic food chain convert solar energy into 93,000 kilocalories of plant tissue. Which of the following values best represents the amount of energy available for secondary consumers in the food chain?
930 kcal
Algae in an aquatic food chain convert solar energy into 93,000 kilocalories of plant tissue. Which of the following values best represents the amount of energy available for primary consumers in the food chain?
9300 kcal
The energy available to consumers determined by subtracting the energy used by plants from the total energy transformed by the process of photosynthesis.
Net primary productivity
Which of the following best describes the net primary productivity of an ecosystem?
Net primary productivity is the amount of energy lost through respiration by producers subtracted from the gross primary productivity of an ecosystem.
This biome is dominated by trees such as oak, elm, poplar, beech and maple and is desirable for human settlement and agricultural production. Trees will lose their leaves and become dormant in the winter months
Temperate Deciduous Forest
In a fish species, the number of eggs that hatch and survive for one year varies depending on the number of eggs that were produced. As the number of eggs produced increases past a threshold number, the survival rate of the offspring decreases. Which of the following statements best explains why only a limited number of offspring can survive in a fish population?
The chance of survival decreases when there is intraspecific competition for resources among surviving yearlings.
Water Cycle
The continual movement of water between Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surface through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.
Nitrogen Cycle
The transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to the atmosphere. Lightning, and nitrogen fixing bacteria transform inorganic nitrogen to organic forms of nitrogen.
This biome contains a nutrient-rich environment created by falling leaves and trapped organic materials from the large trees, and it provides the ecosystem service of filtering pollutants from water.
Wetlands
limiting resource
a resource that a population cannot live without and which occurs in quantities lower than the population would require to increase in size
commensalism
a type of relationship in which one species benefits but the other is neither harmed nor helped
scavengers
are carnivores, such as vultures, that consume dead animals
consumers; heterotrophs
are incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain their energy by consuming other organisms