IB biology Ecology chapter 4

IB biology chapter 4 flashcards

Species

Are groups of organisms that can potentially interbreed to produce fertile offspring

Community

A community is formed by populations of different species living and interacting together

Autotrophic

Autotrophs are organisms that feed themselves by producing or creating their own food using inorganic molecules and an energy source

For example, any type of plant through photosynthesis

Heterotrophic

Heterotrophs are organisms that have to “steal” nutrients from other organisms,

an example being humans (eating other plants/animals)

consumers and three types

consumers are heterotrophs that feed on living organisms by ingestion, eating something else (rabbit or lion, grass for animal)

Herbivores, only plants

carnivores, only other animals

Omnivores, both

all digested inside body Saprot

Detritivores

Detritivores are heterotrophs that obtain organic nutrients from dead organisms by internal digestion (dead material digested inside body)

saprotrophs

saprotrophs are heterotrophs that abstain nutrients from dead organisms by external digestion

These organism break down food externally

Mushrooms and miceileal chords

Nutrient cycling

“circle of life”

Nutrients stored in soil, this is absorbed into trees or into the air

Plants are eaten by animals,

animals eaten by other animals

animal dies and is broken down into the soil

Decomposers break down organic matter

Mesocosm

Mesocosms are closed ecosystems that scientists often study, sealed environments, scientists can create different environmental conditions

What do most ecosystems rely on for energy?

Sunlight!

Chemotrophs

Chemotrophs do not get their energy from the sun or sunlight, they gain their energy from breaking down organic or inorganic molecules, these are usually found in spaces where the sun cannot reach such as far (deep) within the ocean

Order of feeding

Producer-primary consumer-secondary consumer-tertiary consumer

Cellular respiration use

Glucose and O2 to CO2 and H2O, Heat leaves, ATP is created

What is lost as energy but cannot be used as energy most often?

Heat, heat is how energy leaves the ecosystem

When is energy/heat lost?

Between tropic levels and as it moves from one trophic level to another

How much energy is lost and how much transferred between trophic levels?

90 percent of energy is lost and 10 percent of energy is transferred

Where is carbon found in ecosystems?

The sea, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, chalk and limestone, oil and natural gas, compounds in plants and animals

What coverts carbon dioxide and what does it turn into?

Autotrophs convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and other compounds

Where does the mass of does the mass from the glucose and energy that autotrophs create come from?

In photosynthesis, CO2 is converted into sugars to carry out functions

Basics of the carbon cycle

CO2 goes from the atmosphere to vegetation, this happens because it goes from a high to low concentration gradient, where carbon is higher in the atmosphere compared to vegetation, it is diffused in,

Next the animals eat the plants and vegetation. It can then be transferred through the trophic levels and returned to the atmosphere from soil or recycled into vegetation

Other CO2 can be dissolved int water or the ocean, some organisms such as algae dissolve the co2 while others use it to build things such as cells

CO2 is also found in different layers of the earths sediment, theses things can by brought to the surface (by humans)

From these fossil fuels and cement production are burnt and emitted back into the air

Methane

Methane is produced from organic matter from anaerobic conditions (organisms that digest organic matter in anaerobic conditions

What is Peat?

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. Sphagnum moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most common components in peat, although many other plants can contribute.

Calcium carbonate

calcium carbonate is used to for animals such as reef-building corals and Mollusca to build their hard parts.

Greenhouse gas

Any molecule that contributes to the greenhouse effect, these molecules can absorb radiation or heat from the sun and hold it in our atmosphere

What is a molecules global warming potential?

The Global Warming Potential (GWP) was developed to allow comparisons of the global warming impacts of different gases. Specifically, it is a measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a given period of time, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO₂).

What do greenhouse gases influence

Global temperatures and climate patterns

Ocean acidification

Measurements made over the last few decades have demonstrated that ocean carbon dioxide levels have risen in response to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading to an increase in acidity (that is, a decrease in pH) Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean. Ocean is more acidic AND there is a decrease in calcium carbonate CaCO3

Arguments against global warming and rebuttal

1. Climate change is natural, not our fault

   1. CLIMATE CAHNGE IS NATURAL, BUT NOT AT THE RATE WE ARE CHANGING IT (ABRUPTLY)

2. water vapor is the most powerful “greenhouse gas”, but it is not produced by humans

   1. Rising CO2 from humans increase atmospheric water vapor levels, making global warming worse

3. There is no scientific consensus

   1. 97 percent of climate experts agree that humans are causing climate change