Chapter 4

Consumers, or heterotrophs, take in food made by other organisms. Then they break apart the food to release its energy. How do these actions of consumers contribute to the carbon cycle?

Eating and breaking apart food releases carbon dioxide as a byproduct.

Percolation

groundwater moving in the saturated zone below the earth's surface

decomposers

feed on small pieces of dead and decaying plants and animals -organisms that eat dead matter and recycle nutrients for food chains

Nutrient limitation soil

have a lot of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium farmers spray pesticides

Geological processes

forming rock, break down through erosion

Deposition

gas to solid

scavengers

go off on already dead animals consume carcasses

ground water discharge

ground water goes into

Human Activity

mining burning fossil fuels

Heterotroph

must acquire energy from other organisms; considered consumers official name for organisms that need to eat

Food webs

network of complex feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem

Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus are examples of Choose...that organisms need to stay alive. Nitrogen can be the Choose...in an ecosystem when its available forms are in short supply.

nutrients; limiting nutrient

herbivores

obtain energy by eating plants

omnivores

obtain energy by eating plants and animals

Why can't the producers in some ecosystems make an unlimited supply of organic material?

one or more nutrients are in short supply

Energy pyramid

only a small amount of energy gets transferred on to each organism because organisms use that energy as they eat.

In the open ocean, tiny organisms called Choose... perform photosynthesis. They are the primary producers in many Choose... that overlap to form a(n) Choose...

phytoplankton; food chains; food web

In this food web, what is represented by the chains of arrows from the grass to the fox?

the one-way flow of energy through the ecosystem

ecology

the study of ecosystems

Agricultural runoff

when runoff of fertilizers in plants run into oceans water there are too much nitrogen and phosphorus. Algae will bloom and algal bloom will disrupt ecosystems.

Recycling in the Biosphere

while energy flows one way through an ecosystem, matter is constantly recycled within the system

Transpiration

water from plants evaporates into the atmosphere

Runoff

water from sky runs into body of water

Decomposer and Detritivores...

are always there even when you don't think of it; they act as recyclers

The Water Cycle

water moving through different stages ocean, land, atmosphere -evaporation, precipitation, condensation

Water impact carbon cycle

water raining can dissolve carbon in the air

10% rule

10% of energy moves from one trophic level to the next

Which statements accurately relate photosynthesis to the other processes of the carbon cycle shown in the diagram? Select all of the correct statements.

-Photosynthesis is the only biological process that takes up carbon dioxide. -Photosynthesis is the only process that transfers carbon from the air to the biosphere.

Which of the claims below does this model support? Select all the claims that are supported.

-The number of trophic levels is limited, and typically is less than 10. -On average, about 10 percent of available energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. -Among consumers in an ecosystem, first-level consumers have the most available energy.

Nutrient limitation in aquatic ecosystems

-open ocean worst because their is no nutrients from land- no energy from sunlight -no nutrients from runoff and no energy from sunligth

Which of the following BEST describes how energy flows in this ecosystem?

About ten percent of the energy at one trophic level is passed to the next trophic level.

Gregory is studying Lake Mairead. The lake has clear water and supports a healthy community of algae, fishes, and other aquatic organisms. Gregory hypothesizes that phosphorus is a limiting nutrient in the lake. Which experimental result provides the strongest evidence in support of the hypothesis?

Adding phosphorus-rich fertilizer to a sample of lake water causes an increase in the growth of algae.

Which statements describe all primary producers?

All make energy rich compounds that can be used by other organisms.

precipitation

Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface.

Scientists classify clams as consumers. Which observation about clams provides the strongest evidence for this classification?

Clams gain energy and nutrients by filtering particles from water.

photosynthesis

Conversion of light energy from the sun into chemical energy.

condensation

Gas to liquid

Ecological pyramid

Illustration that shows the relative amount of energy or matter contained in each trophic level -diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy, numbers or biomass at different trophic levels

Which part of the plant is the hardest to eat and why?

Leaves because it contains cellulose which is hard for many organisms to digest.

How can animals eat leaves?

Micro-organisms- symbiotic relationship helps digest leaves chewing on pulp- can mechanically digest complex digestive tract- adaptations

Which is one way that the movement of matter through an ecosystem is different from the transfer of energy?

Only the movement of matter occurs in an unending cycle.

What is the role of photosynthesis?

The role of photosynthesis in transferring carbon from the atmosphere to the biosphere.

algal bloom

When algae receives extra nutrients, has rapid growth, and dies. This can decrease oxygen levels in water and cause larger die offs.

nutrient

a chemical organisms need to sustain life

ecosystem

a community of organisms and their nonliving environment in an area

food chain

a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten. Food chains vary in level, but the Primary Producer is always the first step in the chain. -a one-way picture showing how the energy floes between organisms

Human activities

agricultural- when taking plants out they remove the whole- not able to decay

While it is important to recognize and categorize consumers, we cannot forget that nature is...

always changing

Why is nitrogen important?

amino acids-proteins nucleic acids-DNA/RNA

Moving through biosphere

animals decay and become part of ground- may turn into fossil fuels

Nutrient limitation

any nutrient that limits productivity in aquatic and land ecosystems

Gerald is studying the plants and animals of a meadow. He classifies the grasses and clover as Choose... because they make their own food through the process of Choose... . He classifies insects that feed on the clover as Choose... because he thinks they eat only plant matter, not animal matter.

autotrophs; photosynthesis; herbivores

The nitrogen cycle is an example of a(n) Choose...cycle. Its processes include the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, which is called Choose... Nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere in the process of Choose...

biogeochemical; nitrogen fixation; denitrification

Why can matter recycle through the biosphere because...

biological systems don't use up matter they transform it

What are the tree kinds of ecological pyramids?

biomass, numbers, and energy

human impact on carbon cycle

burn fossil fuels put carbon dioxide in air

defenestration

burning trees adding carbon to the atmosphere

Detritivores

feed on even smaller detritus particles -official name for organisms that eat dead matter

chemosynthesis

chemical energy is used to produce carbohydrates -chemical process that uses chemical energy to make sugars

biosphere

earth and all living things on it

Biogeochemical Cycles

elements pass from one organism to another and among parts of the biosphere -cycles of nutrients that go through organisms and the planet

How are energy and nutrient movements in the ecosystem different?

energy is a one way flow and nutrients cycle

Phosphorous Cycle

essential for DNA and RNA abundant not in biosphere or atmosphere

Disturbance

if one organism is deleted/extinct the food web can change drastically depending on which organisms eat which

Where is nitrogen found?

in the atmosphere, wastes soil large water bodies, and dead decaying organic matter

Biological processes

involves living things-breeding taking and expelling waste

Carnivores

kill and eat other animals

Carbon Cycle

major component of all organic compound

Nitrogen Fixation

process in which nitrogen gas goes into ammonia found on the roots of the legume family plants absorb nitrate through bacteria -completed by special bacteria and converts nitrogen gas into nitrates

Sometimes organisms will even ____________ depending on their ---------.

recategorize; ecosystem

Carbon in marine sediments

sediment of carbon at bottom of ocean turn into rocks- from volcanoes- rocks and carbon gas can come out

Pyramid of Numbers

show the relative number of individual organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem- look similar to pyramids of energy- both can be inverted

sublimation

solid to gas

Trophic level

step in a food chain or food web

What should an ecologist measure in order to construct a pyramid of biomass for an ecosystem?

the biomass in each trophic level of the food web

Berries and seeds are best to digest because...

they are easy to digest and are energy rich.

Biomass

total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level -how organic matter is available

Carbon cycles through the biosphere in all the following processes except? decomposing plants and animals transpiration photosynthesis burning fossil fuels

transpiration

What part of the water cycle is a biological process?

transpiration

interception

trees stop the water from getting to the ground

denitrification

type soil that can take nitrates and put it back into the atmosphere

Autotrophs

use solar energy or chemical energy to produce food by assembling organic compounds into complex organic compounds

evaporation

water changes from liquid to gas

Chemical and Physical Processes

water changing form, lightiing