Studied by 68 people
i was hoping the first one would be chem but wtv
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
An ____ is a community of living organisms interacting with their nonliving environment
ecosystem
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)
Interspecific competition
Intraspecific competition
Predation
Parasitism
Mutualism
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
importance of The Nutrient Cycles
The availability and rate of flow of these nutrients helps to predict how productive an area is and how much life it can support
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 Â = 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
TURE!!!
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-)
Note 
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