Biology Chapter 3,4,5, & 6 test
estuaries
wetlands formed where rivers meet the sea
ecosystem
a collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving, or physical, evnironment.
biome
a group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities
species
a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring
biome
a particular physical environment that contains a charactersitc assemblage of plants and animals
nutrients
all the chemical substances that an organism requires to live
wetland
an ecosystem in which water either covers the spil or is present at or near the surface of the soil for at least part of the year.
predation
an interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organism
symbiosis
any relationship in which two species live closley together
communities
assembaleges of different populations that live together in a defined area
phoytosynthesis
autotrophs use light energy to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and energy-rich carbohydrates such as sugars and starches
nitrogen fixation
baterica, which live in the soil and on the roots of plants called legumes, convert nitrogen gas into ammonia in a process known as...
boreal forest
biome also called taiga. along the northern edge of the temperate zone are dense evergreen forests of coniferous trees. long cold winters, short mild summers, moderate precipiation, high humidity, acidic nutruent poor soils. found in north america, asian and northern europe
temperate woodland and shrubland
biome characterized by a semiarid climate and a mix of shrub communities and open woodlands. hot, dry summers, cool and mosit winers. thin nutrient poor soils. found in western coasts of north and south america, areas around the mediterranean sea, south africa, and australia
tundra
biome characterized by permafrost. strong winds, low precipitation, short and soggy summers, long and cold dark winters, poorly devloped soils. found in northern nort america, asia, and europe
desert
biome ery dry, have less than 25 centimeters of annual rainfall. variable temperatures. found in africa, asia, the middle east, united states, mexico, south america, and australia
tropical dry forest
biome grow where rainfall is highly season rather than year round. generally warm year round, alternating wet and dry seasons. tall decidious trees. in parts of africa, south and central america, mexico, india, australia, and tropical islands
temperate grassland
biome haracterized by a rich miz of grasses and underlaid by some of the world's most fertile soils. warm to hot summers, cold winters, moderate, seasonal precipitation. found in central asia, north america, australia, central europe, and upland plateaus of south america
temperate forest
biome has coniferous trees and deciduous trees. cold to moderate winters, warm summers, and yyear round preciptation. found in eastern united states, south eastern canada, most of europe, and parts of japan, china and australia
tropical rain forest
biome hot and wet year round; thin, nutrient poor soils. tall evergreen trees, ferns, large woody vines found in South and Cenral America, parts of Africa, southern India, and north eastern Australia
Northwestern Coniferous Forest
biome mild, moist air from the pacific ocean provides abundant rainfall to this biome. made up of a variety of conifers ranging from giant redwoods along the coast of northern california to spruce, fure and hemlock farther north. mild temperatures, abundant precipitation during fall, winter and spring, relatively cool dry summer. found on pacific coast of northwestern united states and canada, from northern california to alaska
tropical savanna
biome recieves more fainfall than deserts but less than tropical dry forests. warm temperatures, seasonal rainfall. tall perennial grasses. found in large parts of eastern africa, southern brazil, and northern australia
mutualism
both species benefit
decomposers
breaks down organic matter, ex; bacteria and fungi
mangrove swamps
coastal wetlands that are widespead across tropical regions, including southern florida and hawaii.
polar zones
cold areas where the sun's rays strike earth at a very low angle
biosphere
contains the combined portions of the planet in which all of life exists, uncluding land, water and air or the atmosphere. the highest level of organization that ecologists study
canopy
dense covering on top of trees
ecological pyramid
diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a food chain or food web
trophic levels
each step in a food chain or food web
biogeochemical cycles
elements, chemcial compunds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another
coastal ocean
extends from the low tide mark to the outer edge of the continental shelf, the relatively shallow border than surrounds the continents
detritivores
feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter, collectively called detritus. ex; mites, earthworms, snails and crabs
carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and a few other gases
gases that trap hea energy and maintain earth's termparature range
plankton
general term for the tiny, free floating or weakly swimming organisms that live both freshwater and saltwater environments
populations
groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area
consumers
heterotrophs are also called this...
inorganic chemical compounds
instead of sun, organisms rely on types of energy stored in....
carbon cycle
involves four different kinds of processes involved in the carbon cycle: biological processes, such as photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition of plants and animals. geochemical processes, such as the release of carob diozide gas to the atmosphere by volcanoes, mixed biogeochemical processes, such as the burial of carbon rich remains of organisms and their conversaion into coal and pteroleum (fossil fuels) by the pressure of the overlying earth human activity, including mining, the burning of fossil fuels, and the cutting and burning of forests
phosphorus
is essential to living organisms because it forms part of important life-sustaining molecules such as DNA and RNA. it does not enter the atmosphere. it remains mostly on land in rock and soil minerals and in ocean sediments
producers
like autotrophs only these organic molecules combine and recombine to produce living tissue. they are called...
detritus
made p of tiny pieces of organic material that provide food for organisms at the base of the estuary's food web
coral reefs
named for the coral animals whose hard calcium carbonate skeletons make up their primary structure
kelp forests
named for their dominant organsm: a giant brown alae that can gros at extraordinary rates, as much as 50 centimeters a day
tropical zone
near the equator, between 23.5 degrees north and 23.5 degrees south latitudes. receive direct or nearly direct sunligh year round, making the climate almost always warm.
78 percent
nitrogen makes up this percent of the earth's atmosphere
carnivores
obtain energy by eating animals. ex; snakes, dogs, and owls
herbivores
obtain energy by eating only plants. ex; cows, caterpillars, and deer
exponential growth
occurs when the indiiduals in a population reprodcue at a constant rate. on a graph forms a J shape.
COMMENSALISM
one member of the association benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed
parasitism
one organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it
aphotic zone
only in this relatively thin surface layer, typically down to a depth of about 200 meters, can algae and other producers grow. permanetly dark.
heterotrophs
organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply
photic zone
photosynthesis is limited to this well lit upper layer
cyanobacteria
photosynthetic bacteria that are important in certain wet ecosystems such as tidal flats and salt marshes
abiotic factors
physical, or nonliving, factors that shape ecosystems
zooplankton
planktonic animals, feed on the phytoplankton
autotrophs
plants, some algae, and certain bacteria can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use that energu to produce food. they are called...
lichen
primary species on volcanic rocks. made up of afungus and an alga and can grow on bare rock. they break up rocks.
matter
recycled within and between ecosystems, unlike the one way flow of energy
biomass pyramid
represents the amount of living organic matter at each trophic level
understory
second layer of shorter trees and vines
energy pyramid
shows the relative amount of energy available at each trophic level
pyramid of numbers
shows the relative number of individual organisms at each trophic level
phytoplankton
single celled alae are supported by nutrients in the water and form the base of many aquatic food webs.
temperate zones
sit between the polar zones and the tropics. temperature ranges from hot to cold
denitrification
soil bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas in a process called...
competitive exlcusion principle
states that no two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time
primary succession
succession that occurs on surfaces where no soil exists
salt marshes
temperate zone stuaries dominated by salt tolerant grasses above the low tide line and by seagrasses under water
10 percent
the amount of energu that is transferred to each organisms at the next trophic level
climate
the average, year after year conditions of temperature and precipitation in a particular region
biotic factors
the biological influence on organisms within an ecosystem
microclimate
the climate within a small area that differs significantly from the climate around it
weather
the day to day condition of earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place
food chain
the energy stored by producers can be passed through an ecosystem
pioneer species
the first species to populate the area
niche
the full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions
sunlight
the main energy source for life on earth
immigration
the movement of individuals into an area is another factor that can cause a poplation to grow
emigrration
the movement of individuals out of a population can cause a population to decrease in size
greenhouse effect
the natural situation in which heat is retained by this layer of greenhouse gasses
population denisty
the number of individuals per unit area
benthos
the ocean floor contains organisms that live attacted to or near the bottom such as sea stars, anemones, and marine worms, sicentists refers to these organisms as...
evaporation
the process by which water changes from a liquid form to an atmospheric gas
zonation
the prominent horizontal banding of organisms that live in a particular habitat
primary productivity
the rate at which organic matter is created by producers
polar, temperate, and tropical zones
the result of differences in latitude and thus the angle of heating, earth has three main climate zones
ecology
the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their enviornment, or surroundings
ecological succession
the series of predictable changes that occur in a community
observing, experimenting, and modeling
the three basic approaches a scientist uses to conduct modern ecological resarch
biomas
the toal amount of living tissue within a given trophic level
the number of births, the number of deaths, and the number of individuals that enter or leave the population
three factors can affect population size
geographic distribution, density, and growth rate
three imprtant charactersistics of a population are...
trasnpiration
water can also enter the atmosphere by evaporating from the leaves of plants in the process of...
algal bloom
when an aquatic ecosystem receives a large input of a limiting nutruent, for example, runoff from heavily fertilized fields, that result is often an immdeiate increase in the amount of algae and other producers
limiting nutrient
when an ecosystem is limited by a single nutrient that is scare or cycles verly slowly, this substance is called a...
chemosynthesis
when organisms use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates
food web
when the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecoysystem form a network of complex interactions ecologists describe the se relationships as...
secondary succession
whena disturbance of some kind changes an existing community without removing the soil. ex; forest fire