APES Unit 1 + 2

What does the red light and blue light absorption affect?

Photosynthesis in aquatic ecosystems.

Based on the theory of island biogeography, which of the following is the most likely reason that an island in the ocean that is 5 kilometers from a continent would have a higher number of species than one that is 15 kilometers from a continent?

There are more species that have the ability to travel 5 kilometers than can travel 15 kilometers.

For which of the following reasons do small isolated islands have a greater rate of species extinction than larger, less isolated islands?

Small isolated islands have a lower availability of resources.

A 163 square-kilometer (km2) small island is found 2,000km from the mainland. A second, larger, 230,000km2 island is found 1,000km from the mainland. Based on the theory of island biogeography, which of the following statements is most likely true about the small island when compared with the large island?

The rate of immigration is lower for the small island than for the large island.

Top to bottom: snakes/mice/grasshoppers/grass Based on the diagram, which group of organisms would be considered herbivores?

Grasshoppers

Where is the location of the greatest remaining natural biodiversity?

South America

Where is the majority (68.7%) of fresh water found on Earth?

Ice caps and glaciers

Of the following organisms, which occupies the lowest trophic level; spider, deer, lion, hawk, snake?

deer

Which marine zone has the greatest biodiversity?

Sea Level-200 in the right corner where the land is.

Based on the diagram, which of the following best describes the most likely direct effect of a decline of the small fish population on the marine food web?

The jellyfish population will increase because of decreased predation.

Which of the following best describes why secondary succession generally occurs more quickly than primary succession?

Secondary succession takes place in areas that already have soil and nutrients in place, whereas primary succession occurs in areas that lack soil.

For a primary producer, the main function of photosynthesis is to manufacture

glucose

Exemplified by bees consuming nectar and carrying pollen from one flower to another

Mutualism

Exemplified by moss growing on a tree trunk in a forest

Communalism

Assuming all other variables are constant, which of the following is the most likely conclusion about the greatest potential for gross primary productivity that can be supported by data in the graph?

Gross primary productivity in Location 1 is greater than that in Location 2 in March.

Which of the following best describes the net primary productivity of an ecosystem?

Net primary productivity is the amount of energy lost through respiration by producers subtracted from the gross primary productivity of an ecosystem.

Approximate efficiency of the conversion of light energy to chemical energy in photosynthesis

1%

The ultimate source of energy for terrestrial ecosystem is

the Sun

Which of the following categories of organisms, which are required for the cycling of matter in an ecosystem, is missing from the table?

Decomposers

This biome is characterized by long dry seasons and is dominated by grasses, shrubs, and grazing animals.

Savanna

Of the following ecosystems, which has the lowest net primary productivity, measured as kilocalories of energy produced per square meter per year?

Open ocean

Open oceans produce the largest share of Earth's biomass because the net primary productivity (NPP) of the oceans is

low, but the large expanse of the oceans supports enormous numbers of producers such as phytoplankton

Phosphorus and nitrogen are both required for plant growth.

For a primary producer, the main function of photosynthesis is to manufacture

glucose

The process in the hydrologic cycle in which water vapor is released from leaves into the atmosphere is called

transpiration

Approximately what percent of the water on Earth is freshwater (liquid and solid)?

2.5%

Which of the following best explains why each of the finch species on the Galápagos Islands evolved to be specialists?

Islands have limited food resources, forcing species to feed on a small range of food items.

Based on the theory of island biogeography, which of the following is the most likely reason that an island in the ocean that is 5 kilometers from a continent would have a higher number of species than one that is 15 kilometers from a continent?

There are more species that have the ability to travel 5 kilometers than can travel 15 kilometers.

Scientists are interested in determining the average number of species that have migrated from the mainland to a group of islands, as shown below. Partway through their study, they decided to include an additional island in their study group. Based on the theory of island biogeography, which of the following best explains how the scientists' calculation of average number of species would change with the inclusion of this new island in their study?

The average would decrease because fewer species would have migrated directly to the farther island.

What process begins with bare rock?

Primary succession

Which of the following best describes the role of moss in the transition to stage III of the process?

It breaks down rock and adds organic nutrients to the soil.

Which of the following best describes why secondary succession generally occurs more quickly than primary succession?

Secondary succession takes place in areas that already have soil and nutrients in place, whereas primary succession occurs in areas that lack soil.

Which tree species grows best with full sunlight?

Sweet Gum

What country has the largest area of boreal forests?

Russia

Which of the following best explains why terrestrial trophic pyramids usually do not have levels higher than tertiary consumers?

A large proportion of energy is lost as heat as it is transferred up the pyramid, so there is not enough energy available to support another level.

The diagram shows the amount of phosphorus measured in teragrams (1 teragram = 1×1012 grams), in the various reservoirs of the phosphorus cycle. Based on the diagram, which of the following reservoirs contains the most phosphorus?

Sediments

The two major processes involved in the carbon cycle are

photosynthesis and respiration

Which of the following is the best explanation of the fact that agricultural production on floodplains is often relatively high?

On floodplains, soils tend to be nutrient-rich and fertile.

In a predator-prey relationship-

the predator is an organism that eats another organism (the prey).

What is symbiosis?

A close and long-term interaction between two species in an ecosystem.

What are three types of symbiosis?

mutualism, commensalism, parasitism

When/where can competition occur in an ecosystem?

within or between species in an ecosystem where there are limited resources.

Define resource partitioning

using the resources in different ways, places, or at different times.

What can resource partitioning lead to?

the reduction of negative impact of competition on survival.

Define biome.

A major life zone, a major community of plants and animals with similar life forms and environmental conditions.

What does a biome contain?

Characteristic communities of plants and animals that result from, and are adapted to, its climate

What are examples of major terrestrial biomes?

taiga, temperate rainforests, temperate seasonal rainforests, tropical rainforests, shrubland, temperate grassland, savanna, desert, and tundra.

Why does global distribution of nonmineral terrestrial natural resources vary?

Due to some combination of climate, geography, latitude and altitude, nutrient availability, and soil.

What are some examples of nonmineral terrestrial natural resources?

water and trees for lumber

True or False: the worldwide distribution of biomes is dynamic.

True

Has the worldwide distribution of biomes changed in the past?

Yes

Why may the worldwide distribution of biomes shift again?

Due to global climate changes.

What are some examples of freshwater biomes?

streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes.

What are the freshwater biomes a vital resource for?

Drinking water.

What are some examples of marine biomes?

oceans, coral reefs, marshland, and estuaries.

What supplies a large portion of the Earth's oxygen?

Algae in marine biomes.

What else does algae in the marine biomes do?

Takes in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

What is an example of nonmineral marine natural resources?

different types of fish

Why does the global distribution of nonmineral marine natural resources vary?

Due to some combination of salinity, depth, turbidity, nutrient availability, and temperature.

What is the carbon cycle?

The movement of atoms and molecules containing the element carbon between sources and sinks.

True or False: Reservoirs in which carbon compounds occur in the carbon cycle can hold those compounds for a long or short period of time.

True

What has led to the storage of carbon over millions of years?

Plant and animal decomposition.

What does the burning of fossil fuels do?

It quickly moves the store composition, from plant and animal decomposition, into atmospheric carbon (for of carbon dioxide).

Define nitrogen cycle.

The movement of atoms and molecules containing the element nitrogen between sources and sinks.

How long do most reservoirs where nitrogen compounds occur in the nitrogen cycle?

relatively short periods of time.

What is nitrogen fixation?

The process in which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into a form of nitrogen (primarily ammonia) that is available for uptake by plants and that can be synthesized into plant tissue.

What is the major reservoir of nitrogen?

The atmosphere.

What is the phosphorus cycle?

The movement of atoms and molecules containing the element phosphorus between sources and sinks.

What are the major reservoirs of phosphorous in the phosphorous cycle?

Rock and sediments that contain phosphorous-bearing materials.

What is component is not in the phosphorous cycle?

An atmospheric component.

What limitations does missing an atmospheric component impose on the ecosystem?

The return of phosphorous from the ocean to land which make phosphorous naturally scarce in aquatic and many terrestrial ecosystems.

In undisturbed ecosystems, what is the limiting factor in biological systems.

Phosphorous

What is the hydrologic cycle?

The movement of water in its various solid, liquid, and gaseous phases between sources and sinks.

What is the hydrologic cycle powered by?

The sun

What is the primary reservoir of water at the Earth's surface?

oceans

What are the smaller reservoirs of water at Earth's surface?

Ice caps and groundwater.

What is primary productivity?

The rate at which solar energy (sunlight) is converted into organic compounds via photosynthesis over a until of time.

What is gross primary productivity (GPP)?

The total rate of photosynthesis in a given area.

What is net primary productivity (NPP)?

The rate of energy storage by photo synthesizers in a given ares, after subtracting the energy lost to respiration.

What is productivity measured in?

units of energy per unit area per unit time (e.g., kcal/m2/yr)

Where is most red light absorbed?

The upper 1m of water

Where does blue light penetrate?

Only deeper than 100m in the clearest water.

What did photo synthesizers adapt to address the lack of visible light?

Mechanisms

What do all ecosystems depend on?

a continuous inflow of high-quality energy in order to maintain their structure and function of transferring matter between the environment and organisms via biogeochemical cycles

What is essential for life?

Biogeochemical cycles

What does each cycle of biogeochemical cycles demonstrate?

The conservation of matter.

In what communities does energy flow from the sun to producers in the lowest trophic levels and then upward to higher trophic levels?

Terrestrial and near-surface marine communities.

What does the 10% rule approximate?

In the transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next, only about 10% of the energy is passed on.

What is a food web a model of?

An interlocking pattern of food chains that depicts the flow of energy and nutrients in two or more food chains.

What types of feedback loops can play a role in food webs?

Positive and negative

What can happen when one species is removed from or added to a specific food web?

The rest of the food web can be affected.

What diversities are included in the biodiversity of an ecosystem?

genetic, species, and habitat.

What is the effect of a more genetically diverse population?

The better it can respond to environmental stressors.

What can a population bottleneck lead to?

The loss of genetic diversity.

Do ecosystems that have a larger or smaller number of species more likely to recover from disruptions?

Larger

What does loss of habitat lead to?

A loss of a specialist species followed by the loss of generalist species.

What causes the reduction in numbers of species that have large territorial requirements?

The loss of habitat.

What does species richness refer to?

The number of different species found in an ecosystem.

What are the four categories of ecosystem services?

provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting.

How can anthropogenic activities potentially disrupt ecosystem services?

They can result in economic and ecological consequences.