apes unit 1

Values that Affect Environmental Decision Making

Values that Affect Environmental Decision Making

aesthetic, economic, environmental, educational, ethical/moral, health, recreational, scientific, social/cultural

what is the apes decision making model?

gather info, consider values, explore consequences, and make a decision

ecosystem

An ____ is a community of living organisms interacting with their nonliving environment

the natural home/environment of a plant, animal or organism

habitat

the role the species plays (including food it eats, where it lives, where it reproduces, and relationships w other species). every animal has one in the community

niche

trophic pyraminds

organizes life into diff levels based on what it eats

how much energy is passed up each tropic level + why are there less organisms higher up

only 10% is passed up, so less animals can be supported - all the other 90% is lost to heat/metabolic processes

Detritivore

Eats detritus, “trash,” dead organisms, example: catfish

Decomposer

Breaks down dead things, example: fungus

Scavenger

Eats dead organisms, example: vulture

Species interactions (6 types)

1. Interspecific competition

2. Intraspecific competition

3. Predation

4. Parasitism

5. Mutualism

6. Commensalism

2 types of interactions

abiotic + biotic

Competition

• Most common interaction

• Occurs any time there is shared use of a limited resource

• Negative – Negative interaction

Mitigating Competition

Given enough time, natural selection will mitigate the negative impacts of competition

• Resource Partitioning:

• Different species, that compete for similar limited resources, evolve traits that allow them to share that resource.

  • Could mean using the resource at different times or in different ways

• Ecological Niche

• The role a species plays in an ecosystem

• Includes all physical, biological, and chemical conditions a species lives and reproduces under

Predation

• When the member of one species feed directly on a member of another species.

  • Herbivory: predation, just with plants

  • Positive – Negative interaction

• Predator – prey relationship:

• Impact on population sizes

• Impact on evolution and natural selection

Symbiosis

a close relationship between two species

Mutualism

Both species benefit (positive – positive)

Parasitism

One species benefits, the other is harmed (positive – negative)

Commensalism

One species benefits, the other is not impacted (positive – neutral)

The ____ is the source of MOST energy on Earth’s surface

sun

Life can be organized in different ways to demonstrate how _____

energy flows through an ecosystem

what is primary productivity

The rate at which solar energy is converted into organic compounds through photosynthesis over a unit of time. or simplified - The amount of plant matter growing in a given area

what is gross primary productivity

“The TOTAL rate of photosynthesis in a given area.”

what is net primary productivity

The amount of energy stored in primary producers AFTER subtracting the energy lost to respiration

food chain

the relationship of how energy is transferred up the trophic levels

food web

a visual map of feeding relationships and energy flow

• Includes many different organisms at all the various levels

• Greatly simplified; leaves out the majority of species

what are the four key macronutrients

carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and water - necessary for life

The availability and rate of flow of these nutrients helps to predict how productive an area is and how much life it can support

importance of The Nutrient Cycles

source

Something that gives off a particular nutrient

Sink

Something that accumulated a particular nutrient

Reservoir

Something that contains a particular nutrient

the carbon cycle mostly shifts between

photosynthesis and aerobic respiration

what role does carbon dioxide play in the carbon cycle?

• CO2 makes up 0.04% of the composition of the atmosphere

• More CO2 = Warmer Temperatures

• Less CO2  = cooler temperatures

what are marine sediments and fossil fuels (in relation to the carbon cycle)

they are mostly carbonates = a significant reservoir of carbon

what is the largest reservoir of nitrogen

atmospheric nitrogen

why is phosphorus a significant limiting factor

• most solids have little phosphorus

• there is no atmospheric phosphorus

• the main reservoir is rock and sediment

how is phosphorus added to a system

by being weathered out of bedrock

hydrological cycle (aka water cycle) is powered by __ and is the primary reservoir of _

sun, water (the ice caps and glaciers are the second largest reservoir of water on earth)

productivity and the abundance of life is dictated by

key macronutrients

the carbon cycle centers around

photosynthesis and aerobic respiration

the nitrogen cycle requires microbes to

turn atmospheric nitrogen into usable compounds

the phosphorous cycle moves the (slowest/fastest) and its compounds are in the (smallest/largest) amounts making it a __

slowest, smallest, limiting factor

(t/f) the hydrological cycle helps drive most of the other cycles

TRUE!!!

what is the carbon cycle

the movement of atoms and molecules containing carbon between sources and sinks

producers convert carbon dioxide into ___ during photosynthesis

carbohydrates

consumers gain carbon from the

carbohydrates in the producers they consume

how is carbon released into the atmosphere during cellular respiration

released as carbon dioxide

where is a massive store of carbon that is not in the atmosphere?

plant and animal decomposition

how does burning fossil fuels affect the carbon cycle

it adds to the atmospheric carbon - this cycles through (before it was stored, so it didn’t cycle through)

where does most of the carbon dioxide in the air go?

it gets dissolved into the ocean or is used up by plants in photosynthesis

what is the seasonal change in carbon dioxide amounts?

summer- growing plants photosynthesize more so there is less carbon in the atmosphere

winter- plants are decaying so that dead matter releasing more carbon as well as overall less plants are photosynthesizing so carbon levels rise

what is the greenhouse gas we are releasing the most?

carbon dioxide (shocker)

define global warming

gradual increase in the average global temperature. Because the rise in temperature correlates to the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, most scientists conclude that the increase in greenhouse gases, and other factors, have caused the increase in temperature. (maybe i will clean up this definition)

what is the nitrogen cycle!

movement of atoms and molecules containing nitrogen between sources and sinks

what is the major reservoir of nitrogen

the atmosphere! but they don’t hold it for very long and it moves around quickly

where does the majority of the nitrogen cycle take place

the soil

define nitrogen fixation

bacteria takes nitrogen from the air and changes it into a usable form

• nitrogen is turned into ammonia (form of nitrogen) that is available for uptake by plants and can be synthesized into plant tissue

decomposition

decaying matter returns nitrogen to the soil

what are some human impacts on the nitrogen cycle

mining, municipal sewage, haber-bosch process, dead zones, nitric oxide, nitrous oxide

what is the phosphorous cycle

movement of atoms and molecules containing phosphorous between sources and sinks (why did she give the same definition for each and just switch out the element)

major reservoirs of phosphorous

rock and sediments containing phosphorous-bearing minerals

what is the importance of phosphorous

its part of many molecules that make up the cells of living organisms

• plants get it from soil and water

• animals get it from consuming plants

• it cycles between the environment and organisms

how is phosphorous absorbed

enters soil and water when rocks erode (dissolves into phosphate)

-plants absorb through their roots

-some washes off and ends up in water bodies

-not all phosphate salts are soluble so they sink to the bottom of bodies of water and turn into sediment

fertilizers in nitrogen and phosphorous cycles

fertilizers contain both n and p

-excess fertilizer can be picked up in runoff and go to bodies of water causing rapid growth of algae and eventually dead zones (oxygen depletion)

what is wrong with N2

it is unusable for most life forms (so nitrogen must be turned into other compounds to be used)

what forms of nitrogen are usuable

ammonia (nh3), ammonium ions (NH4+) and nitrates (NO3-)

holds molecules in reservoirs for longest time

carbon cycle

2 cycles that disrupt humans the most (due to climate change and greenhouse gases)

carbon and nitrogen cycles

factors that impact global distribution of nonmineral marine natural resources

salinity, depth, turbidity, nutrient availability, and temperature

marine biomes include:

oceans, coral reefs, marshland, and estuaries

supply a large portion of the Earth’s oxygen and take in CO2

algae (found in marine biomes)

types of organisms in an aquatic ecosystem are mainly determined by _____

the water’s salinity

freshwater ecosystems include:

ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, and wetlands

what are wetlands

areas of land that are periodically under water (soil contains a great deal of moisture)

What factors determine which organisms live in which area of the water

temperature, sunlight, oxygen, and nutrients

Three groups of aquatic organisms (grouped by their location and by their adaptation)

plankton, nekton, and benthos

plankton

mass of mostly microscopic organisms that float or drift freely in the water. includes:

2 types of plankton

-microscopic animals: zooplankton

-microscopic plants or algae: phytoplankton.

nekton

all organisms that swim actively in open water, independent of currents. (ex: fish)

benthos

ottom-dwelling organisms of the sea or ocean and are often attached to hard surfaces. (ex: coral)

are decomposers aquatic organisms

yes!

which bodies of water can form naturally where groundwater reaches the Earth’s surface

Lakes, ponds, and wetlands

Lakes and ponds can be structured into ___ and ___ zones.

horizontal, vertical

types of organisms present in lakes and ponds depend on what

sunlight

littoral zone

shallow zone in a freshwater habitat where light reaches the bottom and nurtures plants. (Aquatic life diverse and abundant.)

benthic zone

region near the bottom of a pond, lake or ocean which is inhabited by bacteria, decomposers, insect larvae, and clams.

eutrophication

increase in the amount of nutrients, such as nitrates, in an aquatic ecosystem

causes algae to grow excessively, eventually killing oxygen loving organisms

eutrophic lake

A lake that has large amounts of plant growth due to nutrients

what are factors that accelerate eutrophication

runoff and animal waste

wo main types of freshwater wetlands

marshes and swamps

difference between marshes and swamps

Marshes contain nonwoody plants, while swamps are dominated by woody plants.

important environmental functions of a wetland

-absorb and remove pollutants from the water.

-control flooding by absorbing extra water

-home for native and migratory wildlife

-feeding and spawning for many freshwater game fish.

where do marshes tend to occur

low, flat lands and have little water movement.

several kinds of marshes, each of which is characterized by what

salinity

brakish marsh vs salt marsh

slightly salty water vs saltier water

is benthic zone of marshes barren

No! nutrient rich and contains many type of organisms (types of birds and ducks adapted to sifting through water)

what species do marshes attract

migratory birds