BIOL 208 FInal

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282 Terms

1
Community
an association of potentially interacting species inhabiting some defined area, at some particular scale, over some particular span of time
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2
Community structure
attributes of a community, such as the number of species or the distribution of individuals among species within the community
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3
Species diversity
a measure of diversity that increases with species evenness and species richness
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Species richness
the number of species in a community
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Species evenness
the relative abundance of species in a community
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6
What are the 3 types of species diversity
  1. Gamma

  2. Alpha

  3. Beta

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Gamma
diversity within a region or landscape
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Alpha
diversity within a locality within a region or landscape
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Beta
the difference between the diversity of a region or landscape, and a locality within the region or landscape. A measure of the diversity among locations within a region
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10
Guilds
Guilds are groups of similarly functioning organisms
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11
Species Dominance
More often than not, communities include a dominant species, one that is more common than all others.
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12
Most species in the community will occur in ________________________ abundances
moderate
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13
True or False: Diversity makes communities more stable
True
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14
Rank abundance curve
Plot of relative abundance of species against their rank in abundance. In other words, another way to assess dominance and diversity in community
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If the slope of the line is less in a rank abundance curve it has ___________________ eveness
less
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16
Describe the relationship between environmental complexity and species diversity?
In general, the more complex or heterogeneous, the environment, the greater species diversity
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17
Simple Homogeneous Environment
  1. Few factors that influence organisms

  2. Few niches

  3. Ex. the poles

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Complex Heterogenous Environment
  1. Many factors that influence organisms

  2. Many niches

  3. Equator

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19
Species composition
The species that occur in a given community at a given time
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20
Why is species composition important?
Shifts in species composition to non-native species often leads to changes (usually decreases) in species richness and evenness
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21
True or False: Generally, the more diverse a population is genetically, the more resilient it is
True
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22
Species Composition Shifts: Non-native species, invasive species
Species that establish a new range in which they proliferate, spread, and persist to the detriment of the environment
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23
Biodiversity
The sum of all organisms in an area, taking into account the diversity of species, their genes, their populations, and their ecosystems
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24
Food webs
Are trophic networks
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25
Trophic level
Position within a food web
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trophic position in the ecosystem
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Primary Producer = trophic level ______
1
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28
Primary Consumer = trophic level _________
2
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29
Secondary Consumer = trophic level _______
3
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30
Trophic Interaction
Transfer of energy from one trophic level to another, aka, eating
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10% Rule
10% of biomass in each trophic level is available for processing in further trophic levels. Therefore it should be 10% smaller in each increasing trophic level
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32
True or False: The 10% rule is a bit more efficient in aquatic systems than in terrestrial ones, thus there are more trophic levels
True
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33
Keystone species
species that, despite low biomass (=low population density), exert strong effects on the structure of the community they inhabit
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34
Why/how do keystone species affect the ecosystem?
  1. Reduce competitive exclusion between other species (through predation)

  2. Are mutualists, and perform important functions (parasite removal, movement of seeds)

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35
Trophic cascades
When a change in the population size of a species in one trophic level changes/alters populations in the other trophic levels
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Top-down Trophic Cascade
Trophic cascade caused by consumers
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bottom up trophic cascade
Trophic cascades caused by primary producers
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38
True or False: Most communities are controlled by both top-down and bottom-up trophic cascades
True
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39
Primary Production
The fixation of energy by autotrophs in an ecosystem
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40
What are the biggest sources of primary production?
Biggest source of primary production is photosynthesis, by plants, phytoplankton, and cyanobacteria
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41
True or False: Primary production can also occur through chemosynthesis by some species of bacteria
True
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42
The rate of primary production in an ecosystem is called ____________ ___________________
primary productivity
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43
Primary productivity
It is the amount of energy fixed by autotrophs over an interval of time. In the case of photosynthesis, how much energy from the sun is used to make sugars by plants.
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44
What is the Redfield Ratio
C:N:P -- 106C:16N:1P
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45
What are other reactions used to supplement sunlight if there is a lack of sunlight?
  1. Ammonium oxidation (NH4+)

  2. Methane oxidation (CH4)

  3. Reduced sulfur oxidation (H2S)

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46
What are the two measures of primary productivity
  1. Gross Primary Production

  2. Net Primary Production

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47
Gross Primary Production (GPP)
The total amount of energy fixed by all the autotrophs in the ecosystem, regardless of the cost associated with its fixation (Photosynthesis)
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Net Primary Production (NPP)
The total amount of energy fixed by all the autotrophs in the ecosystem, minus the cost associated with its fixation, it is the amount of energy available to consumers in an ecosystem (Photosynthesis-Respiration)
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49
Primary production in terrestrial ecosystems is mainly limited by ___________________ and __________________
temperature and moisture
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50
Actual Evapotranspiration (AET)
The total amount of water that evaporates and transpires off a landscape during a given time period, measured in mm water. Great for accounting for both temperature and precipitation, as AET is affected by both
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51
How does soil fertility effect primary production
Adding fertilizers nearly doubled primary production (because amount of nutrients available can often be the limiting factor in plant growth)
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52
Aquatic primary production is mainly limited by ______________ ______________
nutrient availability
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53
Eutriphication
nutrient enrichment of a water body through natural processes or pollution, generally causing rapid algal growth and reduced dissolved oxygen levels
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54
How is primary production determined in marine waters?
It is a gradient based on how far water is from land. NPP is highest in costal areas, lowest in deep ocean
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Hypoxia
When water oxygen concentrations
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56
Dead zones
Hypoxic areas in aquatic ecosystems, typically a consequence of pollution, eutrophication, and high rates of decomposition
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that are essentially devoid of life
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58
How do dead zones form?
  1. During the spring, sun-heated freshwater runoff from the Mississippi River creates a barrier layer in the Gulf, cutting off the saltier water below from contact with oxygen in the air

  2. Nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer and sewage in the freshwater later ignite huge algae blooms when the algae die, they sink into the saltier water below and decompose, using up oxygen in the deeper water

  3. Starved of oxygen and cut off from resupply, the deeper water becomes a dead zone. Fish avoid the area or die in massive numbers. Tiny organisms that form the vital base of the Gulf food chain also die. Winter brings respite, but spring runoff start the cycle anew

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59
The First Law of Thermodynamics
The total amount of energy in the universe is constant. Energy can be transformed
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60
but not created nor destroyed
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Second law of thermodynamics
Heat energy will move from a warmer body to a cooler-one. Thus, entropy will increase over time in a closed system
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Trophic Level
Position in food web
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determined by number of energy transfers from primary producers to that level
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Trophic dynamics
The transfer of energy from one part of the ecosystem to another
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65
What are the 3 reasons the 10% Rule exists?
  1. Loss of energy as it is transferred is inevitable

  2. not all biomass is edible

  3. not all biomass is accessible to be eaten

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66
True or False: Because of the 10% rule, pyramids exist
True
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67
What are the other limits (besides the 10% rule) that there are limits to the number of trophic levels?
  • of the NPP available to primary consumers, only 4% is passed up and is available to secondary consumers

  • Each successive level occurs in lower abundances

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68
True or False: 99% of the solar energy input into the ecosystem was available to primary consumer
True
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69
Allochthonous Inputs
Organic matter derived or created in a community external to the one it is deposited in
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70
Keystone species
Species that despite low biomass (=low population density), exert strong effects on the structure of the community they inhabit (disproportionate to biomass)
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71
Energy _________ through ecosystems
flows
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72
Nutrients ___________ through ecosystems
cycles
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73
Reservoirs
Stores of water or nutrients in a cycle
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74
Nutrients
elements that are required for the development, maintenance, and reproduction of organisms
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75
Macronutrients
Essential elements required in large concentrations in an organism
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76
What are the macronutrients
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus
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77
Micronutrients
essential elements required only in small concentrations in an organism
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78
What are the micronutrients
iron, magnesium, iodine, selenium, zinc
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79
Facts about Phosphorus
  1. Essential to energetics, genetics, and structure of living systems (main component of ATP, RNA, DNA, and phospholipid molecule)

  2. not very abundant in the biosphere

  3. Does not have an atmospheric reservoir

  4. Can be a limiting factor for aquatic primary production, not usually for terrestrial primary production

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80
The Phosphorus Cycle
  1. Phosphorus is tied up in mineral deposits and marine sediment

  2. Phosphorus is usually (naturally) released to ecosystems through weathering of rocks

  3. Plants take up phosphate ions from soil or water and incorporate them directly into tissue

  4. Animals gain phosphate by eating these tissues, or from tissues of other organisms

  5. Animals eliminate excess phosphorus through urine

  6. Phosphate in water can sometimes be precipitated into the sediment under the right conditions

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81
Facts about Nitrogen
  1. Important to structure and functioning of organisms

  2. May limit rates of primary production in terrestrial and marine systems

  3. one of the biggest reservoirs is the atmosphere (78% N)

  4. Microbes play a BIG role in the nitrogen cycle

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82
What are the forms of N
  1. Ammonium

  2. Ammonia

  3. Nitrite

  4. Nitrate

  5. Nitrogen gas

  6. Nitric oxide

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Ammonuium
NH4+
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NH4+
Ammonium
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Ammonia
NH3
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NH3
ammonia
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Nitrite
NO2-
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NO2-
Nitrite
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Nitrate
NO3-
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NO3-
Nitrate
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Nitrogen gas
N2
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Nitric oxide
NO
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93
What are the five transformations of N
  1. Nitrogen fixation

  2. Immobilization

  3. Mineralization (ammonification)

  4. Nitrification

  5. Denitrification

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Nitrogen Fixation
The process of converting atmospheric nitrogen into forms primary producers can use (by microbes and cyanobacteria)
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Immobilization
The conversion of mineral forms of nitrogen (ex. ammonia and nitrate) into organic forms (proteins)
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Mineralization
The conversion of organic forms of nitrogen (ex. proteins) into mineral forms (ex. ammonia and nitrate)
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Nitrification
The conversion of ammonium (NH4+) to nitrite (NO2), and then nitrite (NO2) to nitrate (NO3-)
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Denitrification
The process of converting nitrate into nitrogen gas
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The Nitrogen Cycle
1)
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True or False: Nitrogen can be fixed through nitrogen fixation by certain prokaryotes, it can also be fixed by lightning
True
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