unit 1: the living world and ecosystems

mutualism

+/+ both species benefit from interaction

predation, parasitism

+/- one species benefits, one is disadvantaged

commensalism

+/0 one species benefit, one unaffected

competition

-/- each species affected negatively to reduce competition, species often partition resources, which can lead to character displacement

amensalism

0/- one species in unaffected, one is disadvantaged

neutralism

0/0 populations do not affect one another

nitrogen cycle

1. nitrogen found in the atmosphere begins as nitrogen gas; this goes through nitrogen fixation in order to be retained by the living systems 2. bacteria converts atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia 3. ammonia can be added into plants as fertilizer 4. plants take this in through their roots and humans/animals then get it by eating these plants 5. death of a plant/animal: bacteria or fungi then convert that nitrogen into ammonium 6. nitrifying bacteria turn the ammonium into nitrate 7. nitrates can be leeched and moved into the water systems and an algae boom occurs (eutrophication) 8. algae dies and other bacteria has to break it down through respiration and takes in all of the oxygen 9. denitrifying bacteria return the nitrates back into the atmosphere 10. the cycle repeats

carbon cycle

1. terrestrial plants and phytoplankton in the water get carbon through photosynthesis 2. animals take in carbon through consumption of these plants 3. humans and other animals can also take in carbon by eating these animals which consumed the plants 4. this carbon is released through cellular respiration back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide 5. the carbon could also be covered and stored by rock and goes into the ground which we can use fossil fuels from 6. the carbon can be extracted from the rock 7. carbon can be released from a factory as combustion into the atmosphere 8. the cycle repeats

phosphorus cycle

1. weathering and erosion breaks down phosphorus rocks into the soil and water supple 2. fertilizer also contains phosphorus and can be given to plants that way 3. assimilation occurs: humans can eat the plants or other animals can eat the plants to take in the phosphorous 4. humans, plants, and animals die; therefore, through decomposing and excretion, phosphorous is returned into the water supply and works its way into the ocean 5. it settles in the sediments and becomes phosphate rocks which are uplifted once again 6. the cycle repeats

desert

30 degrees north and south cacti and succulents insects, scorpions, reptiles hot and dry lowest productivity

temperate grassland/prairie

30 to 40 degrees grasses, scattered trees hoofed animals warm and moderate medium productivity

coral reef

35 ppt, current and waves highest biodiversity in ocean very high productivity

open ocean

35 ppt/ currents vary phytoplankton large fish, mammals low productivity

taiga

50-60 degrees North needle trees cold and wet relatively productive

efficiency of photosynthesis equation

E = (npp / insolation) x 100 (insolation = solar radiation)

it is structured according to size and amount molecule to biosphere

Ecology is structured as a hierarchy. How is this hierarchy structured from smallest to largest?

blue and green wavelengths reduce as you go down organisms that live in the deeper water have specialized to do photosynthesis with color wavelengths

Explain what occurs in a body of water in regards to insolation availability and NPP. How have some species responded to this disadvantage?

atmosphere: all gases geosphere: physical land, rock hydrosphere: bodies of water biosphere: all living things the interconnectedness refers to energy and matter

What are the components of each sphere? Discuss how Earth's sphere work independently as well as interdependently.

the sun

What is the driving force behind the water cycle? How does this driving force impact the operation of the water cycle?

reef

a bar of rock, sand, coral or similar material, lying beneath the surface of water.

limiting factor

a factor that limits growth (any factor outside the optimal range); an organism's genetic potential is their ultimate this

biome

a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat

keystone species

a species that has a strong or wide reaching impact on a community is this removal of one of these largely alters an ecosystem: positive feedback loop

ecotone

a transitional area between ecosystems that shares many of the species and characteristics of both ecosystems

feedback system

affected when there is no change in decomposers

biosphere

all ecosystems are interconnected and interdependent

terrestrial

all of our land biomes

you kill a bug by stepping on it

amensalism example

intraspecific competition

among members of the same species (ex. two lions fighting over a mate for reproduction)

interspecific competition

among members of two or more different species (ex. fox and wolf fighting for one rabbit as a food source)

herbivory

an animal feeding on a plant

resources

any factors that are consumed by organisms (ex. water, chemical nutrients, light, oxygen, food, and space)

conditions

any factors that vary in space and time, but that are not used up or made unavailable to other species (ex. temperature, wind, pH, salinity, and fire)

matter

anything that occupies space and has mass (all solids, liquids, gasses, living and nonliving things)

90-10 rule in energy

approximately 90% of the energy of an organism is lost through the transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next only exception is humans

shrubland

argentina, cali, mediterranean small shrubs reptiles, deer, rabbit hot dry summer mild rainy winters low productivity

law of conservation of matter

atoms can neither be created nor destroyed

chemosynthesis

bacteria that are able to use the enrgy in some inorganic chemicals to form organic matter from CO2 and water

zones of stress

between the optimal range and the high or low limit of tolerance

salt marsh, estuary

brackish water mangrove trees, seagrass high productivity

optimum

certain level at which the organisms grow or survive the most; commonly referred to as the this range

populations

certain number of individuals that make up the interbreeding, reproducing groups; refers only to those individuals that live within a given area

organic

chemical compounds making up the tissues of living organisms

natural fixation

cloud to ground lightning strikes carry so much energy that it can easily convert nitrogen gas to nitrates

landscapes

cluster of interacting ecosystems such as a forest or an open meadow; usually on a scale humans can envision

temperate rainforest

coastal, mid-lats redwoods, ferns, mosses warm and wet med/highly productive

tree frogs using plants as protection

commensalism example

lion and a cheetah preying on a gazelle

competition examples

natural organic compounds

compounds making up living organisms

atmospheric nitrogen fixation

conversion of nitrogen gas to the ammonium form by discharges of lightning in this process

geosphere

crust, mantle, and inner and outer core of the earth

weather

day to day state of the atmosphere

detritus

dead plant and animal matter

adiabatic cooling (gay-lussac's law)

decrease in temperature due to a decrease in pressure

deserts

describe biomes 30 degrees north and south of the equator

temperate zone, subject to seasonal fluctuations affecting temperature and precipitation

describe biomes between 30 and 60 degrees north and south of the equator

tundra, taiga, cold deserts, very cold and little precipitation

describe biomes between 60 and 90 degrees of the equator

tropical biomes, hot, lots of precipitation

describe the biomes around the equator

very warm temperatures, precipitation, decent solar energy year round

describe the most productively efficient biomes

pressure decreases cooler temperature decrease in photosynthesis less productivity less vegetation

describe what happens to vegetation as you go up a mountain range

food chains

describe where the energy and nutrients go as they move from one organism to another

species

different kinds of living things in the community; all members that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring

they use resource partitioning which can lead to character displacement

discuss methods organisms use to reduce competition between other organisms.

nitrogen: more nitrogen in the eocsystem which kills plants and makes bacteria parasitic. nitrites also dissolve in run off and result in algae blooms phosphorus: excess can dissolve in run off and lead to eutrophication (everything dies) carbon: excess CO2 in the atmosphere does not leave quickly because of deforestation water: deforestation causes less water to be evaporated and therefore less rain

discuss the anthropogenic influences on each of the four cycles

temperature, precipitation, depth, sunlight, proximity to the equator

discuss the factors that contribute to the distribution of the aquatic biomes.

uneven distribution

drives weather and climate

trophic levels

each new level or organism energy is transferred to where energy is located within an ecosystem includes producers, consumers, and decomposers

lithosphere

earth's crust

temperate seasonal forest

eastern sides of continents 30-40 degrees deciduous trees, shrubs, flowers deer and squirrels warm and moderate highly productive

kinetic energy

energy in action or motion (light, heat, physical motion, and electrial current)

potential energy

energy in storage (stretched rubber band)

second law of thermodynamics

energy tends to change from a more ordered state to a less ordered state no process involving energy is 100% efficient

range of tolerance

entire pan that allows any growth at all

tropical rainforest

equator ferns, vines, flowers primates, cats, snakes hot and wet very highly productive

fundamental biological principle

every species has an optimum range, zones of stress, and limits of tolerance with respect to every abiotic factor, and these characteristics vary between species

increase in synthetic fertilizer and fossil fuel combustion has caused an increase in legume crops and green manures and has increased global nitrogen fixation use has increased because of an increase in population growth to feed more people at a quicker rate

explain how anthropogenic actions have impacted the nitrogen cycle

energy goes through an ecosystem as glucose. glucose is made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. this carbon comes from the co2 in the atmosphere from the carbon cycle. the hydrogen and oxygen come from the water cycle we get phosphorous from taking it in and eating it organisms take this glucose and use it to create proteins and dna

explain how energy flows through trophic levels and why the biogeochemical cycles are an important part of this energy movement.

ten percent of energy is passed on from one species to the next. this causes a "loss" of energy; however, it can not be lost because of the law of thermodynamics and is actually "lost" to heat.

explain the 90-10 rule. How does this impact the flow of energy between trophic levels? how can the law of thermodynamics be used to explain the loss of energy in an ecosystem?

a positive feedback loop has a negative impact on the environment. most of the things humans do creates a positive feedback loop

explain the difference between positive and negative feedback loops. What are some examples of each? Which feedback loop have a higher human impact?

positive feedback loop: output acts as input and moves the system toward destabilization and has a higher human impact negative feedback loop: result of stabilization of the system

explain the difference between positive and negative feedback loops. what are some examples of each? which feedback loop has a higher human impact?

climate (temp and precipitation) geography (terrain: flat, hilly, etc.) latitude altitude nutrient availability (biogeochemical cycles) soil quality (pH of the soil, high salinity, decomposer population)

factors affecting the productivity of terrestrial biomes

oxygen content, temperature (hotter = faster, colder = slower), pH or the soil, amount of water/soil moisture (too much = inhibits oxygen availability)

factors that influence the rate of nitrification

synthetic fixation

fertilizers have a high concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus haver bash process: large container in high pressure and high temp and H2 is pumped in from the burning of fossil fuels and have it break apart this causes nitrogen and hydrogen to combine to create ammonium which is then put into a fertilizer then into the ground where the plants convert it to nitrites and nitrates

food web

food chains interconnected and form a complex web of feeding relationships

plants in a desert compete for water; however, in a pond, water is a condition for plants such as water lilies or cattails which need special adaptations but are not competing

give an example of some factors which are both conditions and resources

net primary production

gpp - respiration energy left over after a the energy lost to cellular respiration and cellular needs is taken into account

climatograph

graph that shows the average precipitation rates and temperatures for a given area over the course of a year used to determine the biome of the area

chlorophyll

green pigment which capture light energy

photosynthesis

green plants use this to make glucose from carbon dioxide, water, and light energy

autotrophs

green plants, photosynthetic single-celled organisms, and chemosynthetic bacteria they produce their own organic material from inorganic constituents

feedback loops

help regulate the system when the systems become unstable when a disruption to the ecosystem occurs, the ecosystem has a way of balancing itself out

if a new organism is added to a food web, an invasive species would cause a positive feedback loop and utilize all the resources another species needs. if an invasive species (like stink bugs) is added to the foodweb, the ecosystem could reset itself (birds realize they can eat the stinkbugs)

how can feedback loops be used to explain how food webs can be affected when species are added or removed from them?

food chain: count the organisms food web: find the longest strain of feeding and count organisms there

how do you determine the amount of trophic levels

more biodiverse as two seperate ecosystems bring species from each ecosystem more species richness in the ecotone

how might the biodiversity of an ecotone compare to the biodiversity of each separate ecosystem?

unique habitat that is different than the surrounding because it is a mix of the characteristics of outside ecosystems many species specialized to the ecotone habitat as they are accustomed to that area to survive

how might the habitat of an ecotone differ from the surrounding ecosystems?

humans are diverting or removing 40% of the photosynthetic effort of land plants in order to support human enterprises

human impacts of the carbon cycle

phosphorus containing fertilizers which move from the soil into aquatic ecosystems and there is no way to return the phosphorous back to land eutrophication

human impacts of the phosphorus cycle

synthetic organic compounds

human made compounds

law of limiting factors/liebig's law of the minimum

if one limiting factor is corrected, growth will increase only until another factor comes into play

npp = 10 - 5 npp = 5 kg C/m2/yr

if the gpp for a patch of forest is 10 kg C/m2/yr, and the amount of carbon dioxide being used for cellular respiration is 5 kg C/m2/yr, what is the npp?

gpp = 10 + 5 gpp = 15 kg C/m2/yr

if you measure the available biomass for a patch of forest as 10 kg C/m2/yr, and the amount of CO2 given off into the atmosphere as 5 kg C/m2/yr, what is the gpp?

climate

in the long term (30 year) day to day notable changes in weather

biotic communities

includes all vegetation, animals, and microscopic creatures; determined by abiotic factors

ecosystems

interactive complex of communities and the abiotic environment affecting them within a particular area; includes humans

biomes

large areas on earth's surface with the same climate and similar vegetation; no sharp boundaries between biomes

biotic

living

oxidation

loss of electrons

producers

make high potential energy organic molecules for their needs and low potential energy raw materials for their environment

industrial fixation

manufacture of fertilizer converts nitrogen gas and hydrogen to ammonia

entropy

measure of the degree of disorder in a system

temperature

measures the molecular motion in a substance caused by the kinetic energy present in it

denitrification

microbial process that occurs in soils and sediments depleted of oxygen

fermentation

modified form of cellular respiration which results in end products such as ethyl alcohol, methan gas, and acetic acid

inorganic

molecules or compounds with neither carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds

predator/prey relationship

most common of ecological interactions population of each organism greatly affects the other

pilot fish eating parasites of the sharks they swim with

mutualism example

elements

naturally occurring atoms

barnacles attaching themselves to whales

neutralism examples

biological fixation

nitrogen fixing bacteria

combustion of fossil fuels

nitrogen from coal and oil is oxidized leading to nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere which are soon converted to nitric acid and then brought down to earth as acid precipitation

rhizobium

nitrogen-fixing bacterial organism which lives in the nodules on the roots of legumes

abiotic

nonliving (chemical, physical)

tundra

north of 60 degrees lichens, mosses ox, caribou cold and dry low productivity

gross primary production

npp + respiration energy created by photosynthesis

consumers

obtain energy for movement and growth from feeding on and breaking down organic matter made by producers

coral reefs

occupy 0.1% ocean volume, provide 25% ocean habitat; highly diverse and productive environments highly susceptible to climate change

natural streamflow

occurs from surface runoff and groundwater flow essential component of the hydrological cycle

marine biomes

oceans, coral reefs, marshlands, estuaries

parasitism

one organism relies on another (the host) for nourishment or for some other benefit rarely it will kill its host

cellular respiration

organic molecules are broken down to release the energy required for the work done by that cell

heterotrophs

organisms that must consume organic matter to obtain energy consumers and decomposers

resource partitioning

organisms working together to divide resources so they are not competing with each other (ex. birds all using the same tree for insects and sap)

positive feedback loop

output acts as input that moves the system further in the same direction destabilizes the ecosystem and forever changed the ecosystem very rare in natural ecosystems but more common in ecosystems impacted by humans (ex. erosion, climate change, pollution, deforestation)

anaerobic

oxygen free

parasitoids

parasites who kill their hosts

permafrost

permanently frozen subsoil

chemical energy

potential energy contained in chemicals and fuels

bear hunting a fish flees living on dogs

predation, parasitism example

trophic cascade

predators at high trophic levels indirectly help organisms at low trophic levels by limiting populations at intermediate trophic levels

primary production

refers to the rate at which solar energy is converted into organic compounds through photosynthesis over a unit of time measured in kcal/m2/yr

negative feedback loop

results in the stabilization of the system

eutrophication

severe water pollution caused by overfertilization causing overgrowth of algae, too many bacteria, and the death of fish

atoms

small pieces that combine to form molecules which compose matter; basic building blocks of all matter; made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons

streams

small, shallow, move at a fast rate, not too much flow

npp = 60,000 cal = 60 kcal 60 / 15,000 = .4%

solar radiation of 15,000 kcal/m2/yr reaches a meadow. producers are 20% efficient and supplyt a npp of 60,000 cal/m2 over a year what is the efficiency of photosynthesis in this region?

freshwater biomes

strems, rivers, ponds, lakes

niche

sum of all the conditions and resources under which a species can live; what the animal feeds on, where it feeds, where it finds shelter, how it responds to abiotic factors, and where it nests

energy

the ability to move matter

calorie

the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree celsius

character displacement

the evolution of physical characteristics among the competing species that reflect their specialized role in the environment

habitat

the kind of place--defined by the plant community and the physical environment--where a species is biologically adapted to live

limits of tolerance

the points at the high and low ends of the range of tolerance

ecology

the study of all the processes influencing the distribution and abundance of organisms and the interaction between living things and their environment

atmosphere

thin layer of gases separating Earth from outer space

biomass

total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level

savanna

transition desert to forest grasses and scattered trees hoofed animals warm with wet and dry seasons medium productivity

molecules

two or more atoms bonding in a specific way (ex. O2)

compound

two or more different kinds of atoms that are bonded (ex. H2O)

synergistic effects

two or more factors interacting in a way that causes an effect much greater than one would anticipate from each of the two acting separately

indirect

two organisms that compete for a resource at different times never knowing each other's presence (ex. nocturnal vs daytime organisms taking the same prey)

direct competition

two organisms that directly compete for a resource usually a winner and a loser (ex. shark and fish)

marshland

type of wetland dominated by herbaceous plants instead of woody plants often found at the edge of lakes and streams can be further classified if dominated by fresh or saltwater.

warm climate with wet soil and a lack of oxygen when organisms die and during the breakdown of waste products

under what conditions does denitrification occur?

anthropogenic effects

use of synthetic fertilizers increase nitrates in the ground which run off and get into waterways increases pollution in waterwaus fossil fuel use all affect nitrogen cycle

hydrosphere

water in all of its liquid and solid compartments

vegetation

what dictates the type of organism living in a biome

salinity

what differentiates aquatic biomes

primary consumer populations and therefore higher carnivorous populations

what does plant growth drive

precipitation and hydrological cycle

what drives plant growth

aquatic ecosystems struggle and have challenges with npp creation the challenge is that there is little diffusion of light through water less light, less photosynthesis, less production, less diversity

what happens in places with little sunlight?

the plant cannot take up the phosphorus because it will bond with other things in the soil

what happens in the phosphorus cycle if the soil too acidic or basic?

temperature and precipitation

what information does a climatogram provide that allows you to determine what biome you are looking at?

ecosystem ecology

what is happening to the large scale movement of matter and energy through the biosphere

organismal ecology

what is happening with individuals

heat and waste

what is the majority of energy lost to

the ocean (it does not produce the most NPP)

what produces the most oxygen in the atmosphere

estuary

where freshwater meets saltwater (brackish) highly productive and diverse

within rocks

where is the major reservoir of phosphorus found

microhabitats

where some organisms that operate on very small scales live like puddles, sheltered spaces by rocks, and holes in tree trunks

phosphorous cycle: limited amount of phosphorus in sediment and rock

which of the cycles create limiting factors in the ecosystem

they tend to be able to exist in more than one trophic levels because they require more energy from its food source must diversify its food in order to survive

why are consumers at the top of the food chain?

rivers

wide, deep, move slowly, less current

streams (biome)

zero salinity, fast current very small fish high productivity

rivers (biome)

zero salinity, medium current trout, salmon, catfish fast and slow zone medium productivity

wetland (swamp, marsh, bog)

zero salinity, still current baby fish, birds, insects high productivity

ponds

zero salinity, still current freshwater fish, plants, turtles low productivity = oligotrophic high productivity = eutrophic