Kamsc honors biology chapter three: the biosphere

Ernst Haeckel

founder of ecology

ecology

the study of the interactions of living organisms with one another and with their physical environment

habitat

the place where a particular population of a species lives

biosphere

the area on earth where all life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere

8 km, 11 km

the biosphere extends from _____ above the earth's surface and _____ below the surface of the ocean

levels of organization

the way that ecologists break down the biosphere into smaller "levels" to make researching ecology easier

species

a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed to produce fertile offspring

populations

groups of individuals that belong to the same species that live in the same area at the same time

community

many different species living together in a habitat

population

most common level of organization that ecologists study

ecosystem

a community and the abiotic factors of it's habitat

abiotic factors

the physical aspects of a habitat

biotic factors

the living organisms in a habitat

biome

a group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities

biodiversity

the variety of organisms, their genetic differences, and the communities and ecosystems in which they occur

tropical rainforest

what ecosystem has the most biodiversity

more stability

more biodiversity =

animals, plants, protists, fungi, bacteria

five things that every ecosystem has

observing, experimenting, modeling

three tools ecologists use to study the living world

models

in ecology they help ecologists better understand complex ecological phenomena and make predictions on ecosystems

sunlight

the main energy source for life on earth

autotrophs

organisms that can capture energy from their environment to fuel the assembly of inorganic compounds into complex organic compounds

photosynthesis

when autotrophs use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates

chemosynthesis

when autotrophs use chemical energy in the bonds of inorganic compounds to form carbohydrates

heterotrophs

organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy

herbivores

heterotrophs that eat only plants

carnivores

heterotrophs that eat only animals

omnivores

heterotrophs that eat plants and animals

detritivores

heterotrophs that eat dead matter

decomposers

heterotrophs that break down organic matter

producers

organisms that first capture energy

consumers

organisms that consume other organisms for energy

food chain

a series of steps in which organisms in a specific ecosystem transfer energy through eating and being eaten

food web

links all the food chain in an ecosystem together

trophic level

a step in a food web or chain

ecological pyramid

a diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter within each trophic level in an ecosystem

energy pyramid

represents the relative amount of energy that is passed through different trophic levels in an ecosystem

biomass pyramid

represents the amount of potential food available for each trophic level in an ecosystem

biomass

the total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level

grams of organic matter per unit area

biomass is usually expressed in terms of

pyramid of numbers

represents the number of individual organisms in a trophic level

10

only about _____% of energy in a trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level

10

each higher level on the biomass pyramid contains ___% of the biomass found in the trophic level below it

it is released into the atmosphere as heat energy

where does the energy in the trophic levels go when only a certain percent of it is transferred to the next trophic level

primary productivity

the rate at which organic molecules in an ecosystem are produced through photosynthesis

producers

first trophic level

primary consumers

Second trophic level

herbivores

primary consumers

secondary consumers

third trophic level

carnivores and omnivores

secondary consumers

tertiary consumers

fourth trophic level

tertiary consumers

carnivores that only consume other carnivores

detritivores/decomposers

5th trophic level (but can be all trophic levels)

recycled

just as energy flows in an ecosystem, matter is _______

water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus

four most important substances that are cycled in ecosystems

bigeochemical cycles

cycles that show the recycling of matter between the unalive environment and living organisms in an ecosystem

evaporation, condensation, precipitation

three main steps of the water cycle

evaporation

the process of water turning into water vapor in the water cycle

transpiration

the process of water vapor coming from leaves on trees into the atmosphere

respiration, combustion/burning of organic material, volcanic acitvity

three sources of CO2 in the atmosphere

Autotrophs

What organisms take in CO2 and convert it into organic material

bacteria

what is the most important part of the nitrogen cycle

nitrogen fixation

the process performed by bacteria of combing nitrogen with oxygen to form ammonia

denitrification

the conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas by soil bacteria

DNA and RNA

phosphorus helps with the formation of what macromolecules

protein

Nitrogen helps with the assembly of what macromolecule

inorganic phosphate

what does phosphorus usually exist naturally as

the roots of plants

what absorbs phosphate ions from the ground

limiting nutrient

when an ecosystem is limited by a single nutrient that is scarce or cycles very slowly, this nutrient is called a

algal bloom

when an aquatic ecosystem recieves a large input of a limited nutrient and there is an immediate increase in the amount of algea and other producers