E.V. unit 3 Ecology

troposphere

0-11 miles above sea level, 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen

stratophere

11-30 miles above sea level (contains ozone)

geosphere

core mantle and crust

lithosphere

crust and upper mantle, contains fossil fuels, minerals, and soil nutrients

biosphere

part of earth where all life exists (12 miles below sea level to highest mountains)

characteristics of life

1. composed of cells

2. develop and grow

3. use energy

4. respond to environment

5. adapt to environment and evolve

6. reproduce

evolution

genetic changes that occur over time, often results in adaptations that allow a species to survive environmental conditions

natural selection

leads to increased frequency of some genes and a decrease in frequency of others

life sustaining factors of earth

one way flow of high quality energy through food webs, cycling of matter, gravity

ecology

the study of how organisms interact with one another and their environment

species

one or more populations of individuals that can interbreed under natural conditions to produce offspring that are reproductively isolated from other groups

population

all members of the same species that occupy a given area at the same time

habitat

the place where an organism typically lives

niche

an organisms role in its ecosystem (what it does to survive)

range of tolerence

range of chemical and physical conditions that must be maintained for a population of particular species to stay alive, grow, develop and function normaly

acclimation

adjustment to slowly changing new conditions

threshold effect

harmful or fatal reaction as the tolerance level is exceeded

limiting factor

single abiotic factor that limits the growth, abundance or distribution of a species

carrying capacity

the max population of a given species that a particular habitat can support indefinitely

community

populations of a different species occupying and interacting in a particular place

ecotone

transitional region that contains a mixture of species from bordering ecosystems and often has organisms unique to that area

biodiversity types

life forms that can best survive the current variety of conditions on earth, genetic, species, functional, ecological

biome

large terrestrial climate regions with characteristic organisms

aquatic life zones

water portions of the biosphere

autotrophs

make own food from compounds in the environemnt, usually light, responsible for energy input

equation for photosynthesis

6CO2 + 6H2O + light energy → C6H12O6 + 6O2

chemosynthesis

uses no light to make energy, use heat to convert hydrogen sulfide and CO2 into organic nutrient molecules

heterotrophs

consumers, eat producers or other consumers

detritus feeders

live off semi decomposed parts of dead organisms and wastes of living organisms

aerobic respiration

release of energy from organic compounds by producers and consumers, produces CO2 and water

aerobic respiration equation

C6H12O6 + O6→(with enzymes) 6CO2 + 6H2O

anaerobic respiration

no oxygen, fermentation can produce methane or ethal alcohol

tropic level

feeding level of an organism being a producer or consumer (secondary or tertiary)

carbon cycles

carbon reservoirs in ocean, earths crust, and atmosphere, enters by aerobic reactions, burning fossil fuels and volcanoes, fixed into organic compounds

greenhouse gasses

CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, CFC’s, ozone, water vapor, refelect infared radiation from the sun

nitrogen cycle

nitrogen from atmosphere pulled into soil by nitrogen fixing bacteria (legumes) convert N2 to NH4+ and NO3-, denitrification occurs in anaerobic conditions

phosphorus cycle

earths crust is main reservoir, weathered rock leaches it into water, needed for ATP, cellular membranes and nucleic acids

indicator species

early warning signs that a community or ecosystem is in trouble, amphibians and songbirds

keystone species

have one or more roles that are disproportionately important compared to other species, pollinators and predators

pyramid of numbers

represent the number of organisms in each tropic level, in forests the producer rung is small because one tree can support a lot

pyramid of biomass

represents to total dry weight of all organisms in a particular trophic level

pyramid of energy flow

shows that usable energy transferred from one trophic level to the next is between 2% and 40% (10% is average), the more levels the more energy loss, always a pyramid

gross primary productivity

the rate at which an ecosystems prroducers capture and store chemical energy as biomass

net primary productivity

difference between the amount of chemical energy photosynthesized by auatotrophs and the amount of energy required to keep plants alive (energy avaliable to consumer