APES Unit 2 Quiz 1

AP

ecology

ecology

the study of connections in nature, how organisms interact with one another and their environment

organisms

different forms of life on Earth classified into species based on appearance, behavior, chemistry, and genetics

population

group of organisms of same species in an area

How does genetic diversity help populations?

helps population survive and adapt to changing environments

indicator species

species that serve as early warning of damage to ecosystem

What are examples of an indicator species?

mainly birds and amphibians, specifically frogs

keystone species

species whose actions alter the environment and affect many species, determine success of ecyostem and other species

What are examples of keystone species?

beavers, sea otters, elephants, and dung beetles

What are the four major components of Earth’s “life-support system”?

atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere

atmosphere

spherical mass of air over earth held by gravity

troposphere

-inner most layer of atmosphere, contains all the air we breath (78% N, 21% O, 1% water vapor, CO2, and methane)

-layer where weather occurs and life can surivive

stratosphere

atmospheric layer above troposphere, lower level is ozone layer, filters 95% of UV rays

hydrosphere

all water at/near water’s surface in all forms

How much of the world’s water is ocean water?

97% is ocean water, close to 71% of earth’s surface

How much of the world’s water is freshwater?

2.5%, ¾ of that is ICE

geosphere

rocks, minerals, and soil

What is the structure of the geosphere?

inner hot CORE, hot MANTLE, thin CRUST

also includes fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas

biosphere

parts of atmosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere where life is found (comparison to apple skin)

What 3 factors sustain earth’s life?

Solar energy, cycling of nutrients, and gravity

How does solar energy sustain earth’s life?

supports plant growth and interacts with CO2 and water for greenhouse effect

cycling of nutrients

limited supply on earth, its fixed supply must recycle to supoprt life, chemical cycling principle of sustainibility

gravity

holds onto atmosphere, enables chemical cycling and movements of organisms

What are the five ecosystem components ecologists study?

biosphere, ecosystems, communities, populations, organisms

trophic level

feeding level based off nutrients and food sources

producers

organisms that make nutrients they need, photosynthesis, autotrophs, green plants, trees, ferns, shrubs, and some bacteria, first trophic level

photosynthesis

water plus solar energy plus carbon dioxide→ glucose plus oxygen

6H20 + sun+ 6CO2→C6H12O6 + 6O2

How did oxygen end up in atmosphere?

cyanobacteria began photosynthesis 2.8 billion years ago and added oxygen to earth, till 21% which is when oxygen-breathing animals could live

consumers

cannot make their own food, heterotrophs

primary consumers

herbivores, eat green plants, second trophic level

carnivores

meat eaters, eat flesh or parts of other animals

seconday consumers

eat primary consumers, third trophic level

tertiary consumers

eat secondary consumers, fourth trophic level

decomposers

get nourishment by breaking down waste or remains of other animals

detritus feeders, detritivores

feed on wastes or dead bodies (earthworms, soil insects)

scavengers

feed on carrion or dead bodies on a larger scale (vultures, hyenas, flies)

aerobic respiration

when organisms use chemical energy from glucose or compounds to fuel themsleves

uses oxygen to convert glucose back into water

glucose + oxygen→ carbon dioxide + water + energy

anaerobic respiration or fermentation

breaking down glucose without oxygen,

glucose→ methane gas, alcohol, acetic acid, hydrogen sulfide + energy

biological community

all the populations of a species in a given area

niche

biological role species pays in community

species diversity

consists of the number of different species and abundnce of individuals an area contains

species richness

the number of different species in an ecosystem

species evenness

abundance of each species in ecosystem

What is correlation between species richness and evenness?

positive correlation, both go up

ecosystem

community of different species interacting with each other and nonliving environment

biodiversity

variety of life on earth or in ecoystem

four components of biodiversity

ecological/habitat diversity, species diversity, functional diversity, genetic diversity

functional diversity

variety of processes involving energy flow and chemical cycling as species

genetic diversity

variet of genetic material within a given species

habitat/ecological diversity

diversity of biological communities

ecological niche

total way of life/role of a species in ecosystem, all conditions needed

Ex: Large grazing animal in herds could be zebras, kangaroos, or buffalo→ same niche

generalist species

broad niches, tolerate wide range of conditions

specialist species

narrow niches, tolerate narrow range of conditions

biomes

large regions like forests, desersts, or grassland characterized by distinct climates

community structure

how biomes differ based on types, sizes, and plant species

edge effect

large areas of biomes have core habitats and edge habitats

How have humans affected edge effect?

fragmentation means less core habitats that support more species than edge habitats

ecotone

transitional zone, region with mix of species or immigrating

Why is having biodiversity important?

-creates stable environments

-maintaining earth’s capital

-source of food, medicine, fuels, building materials

-variety provides adaptation and evolution

-natural services like water purification, topsoil renewal, decomposition

native species

normally live and thrive in certain ecosystem

invasive species

nonative spcies taht compete with native species

Ex: African honeybees

Example of keystone species in book

American alligator, dig gator holes, nesting mounds, maintain vegetation

eukaryotic cells

have membranes distinct nucleus (all organisms except bacteria

prokaryotic cells

bacterial cells, have no inner mebranes or nucleus (eucbacteria and archebacteria)

taxonomic classification

how scientists group organisms based off characteristics

kingdom

all organisms that have 1+ common features

What are the six kingdoms?

-Animals

-Plants

-Protists

-Euchbacteria

-Archebacteria

-Fungi

protists

many-celled eukaryotic organisms

ex: algae

fungi

many-celled organisms

ex. mushrooms, molds, mildews yeasts

Flowering plants make up what % of the plant kingdom

90%

annual v.s perennial

annual-replanted every year

perennial-multiple seasons

invertebrates

no backbone animals (insects like shrimp, worms, snails, clams, octupuses)

verterbates

animals with backbone (amphibians, fishes, reptiles, birds, mammals)

Divisions

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species (King Philip Came Over For Good Spaghetti)

What happens when living matter is broken down?

nutreints are returned to soil

Why do rainforests have low-nutrient soil?

matter is broken down extremely fast

Why do grasslands have fertile soil?

matter is broken down slower

macronutrients

chemicals organisms need a lot of to live, grow, and reproudce (ex. carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, iron)

micronutrients

chemicals organisms need in small amounts

carrying capacity

function of the biotic and abiotic components in ecosystem, function of density-dependent and density-independent factors

productivity of ecosystem

amount of increase in organic matter per unit of time

biomass

amount of organic matter produced by ecosystem, dry weight and represents chemical energy stored at each level

solar energy stored in chemical bonds

Lincoln Index

waty to estimate populations, P=N1N2/R

food chains and webs

way to illustrate how energy moves from one another

second law of thermodynamics

in any process, energy is lost through heat

net primary productivity

total energy stored through photosynethis

rate at which producers make chemical energy MINUS rate at which it is used through aerobic respiration

10% Rule

roughly 90% of energy is lost at each trophic level, only 10% is incorporate into consuming organism

pyramid of energy flow

graphic display of transfer loss

food chain

sequence of organisms with each one serving as nutrient source for next level

gross primary productivity

rate at which producers make chemical energy from sun

Do oceans have high or low NPP?

low NPP

How do oceans produce most biomass despite low NPP?

sheer amount of space, 71% of surface so they have most producers

Does rainforest have high or low NPP?

high NPP due to many producers