SNC 1W1 Ecosystems Unit

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salt concentration in Aquatic ecosystems

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  • Fresh water = < 1%.
  • Ocean = 3%
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Oligotrophic bodies of water

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  • Low nutrient levels

  • deep and clear

  • photosynthetic organisms have difficulty obtaining enough nutrients

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97 Terms

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salt concentration in Aquatic ecosystems

  • Fresh water = < 1%.
  • Ocean = 3%
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Oligotrophic bodies of water

  • Low nutrient levels

  • deep and clear

  • photosynthetic organisms have difficulty obtaining enough nutrients

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Eutrophic bodies of water

  • High nutrient levels

  • Photosynthetic organisms grow rapidly and support a large biomass of consumers.

  • are often clouded with suspended microscopic plankton.

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Marsh

  • Constantly flooded with water from a
    specific source (e.g. river, lake, ocean, etc.)

  • Rich in mineral deposits

  • Plants are mostly grasses, reeds, and rushes.

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Swamp

  • Waterlogged soil
    with areas of dry land
  • Most develop from
    marshes
  • found on the
    edge of rivers,
    lakes or oceans
  • abundance of
    trees.
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Bog

  • sealed clay bottom prevents water from seeping out.

  • Form when plants decay in lakes and fill them up, forming peat.

  • Lack nutrients due to slow rate of decay.

  • Mosses, fungi, small shrubs.

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open ocean

nutrient poor and unable to support many photosynthesizing organisms.

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Deep ocean

lightless environment, so photosynthesis is impossible.

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intertidal zone location

The area between the low-tide and high-tide lines on ocean coastlines.

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adaptations of intertidal species

Protective body coatings and tough tissues to withstand wave action.

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common species in the intertidal zone

Seaweeds, barnacles, sea stars, and urchins.

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Limiting Factor

Any factor that restricts the size of a population (eg. food(biotic) or water(aboitic)

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Tolerance Range

The range of abiotic factors within which a species can survive.

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Mutualism

An interaction where both individuals benefit each other.

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Commensalism

An interaction where one individual benefits and the other neither benefits nor is harmed.

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Parasitism

An interaction where one individual lives on or in and feeds on a host organism.

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Predation

An interaction where one individual (predator) feeds on another (prey).

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Competition

An interaction where two individuals vie for the same resource.

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Carrying Capacity

The upper sustainable limit that an ecosystem can support, determined by resource availability and population density.

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Biome

A large geographical region defined by climate, with a specific set of biotic and abiotic features.

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Tundra- Abiotic Factors

• Low temperatures
• Short growing season
• Permafrost
• Precipitation from 0 to 25 cm/year
• Poor soil quality

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Tundra- Biotic Factors

• Low diversity
• Rapid-flowering plants
• Mosses and lichens
• Caribou
• Ptarmigan
• Lemmings
• Arctic foxes

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Boreal Forest (Taiga) - Abiotic

• Warmer than tundra
• No permafrost
• Changeable weather
• Soil contains some water and is acidic
• Precipitation 40 cm/year or more

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Boreal Forest (Taiga) - Biotic

• Coniferous trees
• Seed-eating birds
• Squirrels
• Voles
• Snowshoe hares
• Black bears
• Pine martens
• Grey wolves

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Temperate Deciduous Forest - Abiotic

• Longer growing season than boreal forest
• Higher temperatures than tundra or
boreal forest (4 seasons)
• Fertile soil
• Precipitation up to 100 cm/year

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Temperate Deciduous Forest - Biotic

• Deciduous trees and other flowering
plants
• Tree and ground squirrels
• Many insects
• Shrews and mice
• Deer
• Black bears
• Hummingbirds
• Weasels

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Grassland - Abiotic

• Longer growing season than boreal
forest
• Higher temperatures than tundra or
boreal forest
• Rich, fertile soil
• Precipitation from 25 to 75 cm/year
• No trees due to less rainfall than the
deciduous forest biome

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Grassland - Biotic

• Fescue grasses
• Grasshoppers
• Bison
• Voles and mice
• Snakes
• Hawks
• Coyotes

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Mountain Forest - Abiotic

• Temperatures vary with elevation
• Cool summers
• Windy conditions
• Heavy precipitation on leeward side of
mountains
• Fast-flowing rivers

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Mountain Forest - Biotic

• Marmots
• Squirrels
• Elk
• Black and Grizzly bear
• Cougar
• Large coniferous trees
• Ferns

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Water cycle

Liquid water evaporates into water vapour, condenses to form clouds, and precipitates back to earth.

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Niche

The way an organism interacts with other species and its environment, what it feeds on, what eats it and how it behaves.

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Herbivore

An animal that eats plants or other producers

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Omnivore

An animal that eats both plants and animals

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Carnivore

An animal that eats other animals

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Scavenger

An animal that feeds on the remains of another
organism.

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Food chain

a sequence of organisms
each feeding on the next, showing how energy is transferred
from one organism to another

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Trophic level

The position or feeding level of an organism in a food chain.

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Food web

a series of food chains that are
interconnected.

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indicator species

essential to food web

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pyramid of energy

10% of energy at one trophic level is transferred to the next. (why so few trophic levels)

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pyramid of numbers

-Show numbers of organisms
-because of energy lost at organisms at the top of the pyramid need more organisms to support them.

  • no account for the varying support of organisms
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pyramid of biomass

  • biomass (in kg) of different organisms following a food chain

  • More accurate version of energy transfer than a pyramid of numbers.

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Law of Conservation of Mass

particles of matter cannot be created or destroyed; they must be produced or obtained from existing chemicals.

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carbon cycle

The movement of carbon between abiotic and biotic parts of an ecosystem, primarily through photosynthesis and respiration.

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Habitat

Where an organism lives.

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Atmosphere

The layer of gases surrounding Earth, critical to life, moderating surface temps(too hot days, too cold nights) and blocking most U.V. radiation.

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Lithosphere

The rocky outer shell of Earth, consisting of rocks and minerals that make up mountains, ocean floors, and solid landscape.

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Hydrosphere

All of the Earth's water in solid, liquid, and gas form, including oceans, lakes, ice, rivers, groundwater, and clouds. oceans are 97% of water.

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Biosphere

The zone around Earth where life can exist, very thin compared to Earth itself.

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Ecosystem

All of the living organisms and their physical and chemical environment

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Abiotic factors

Non-living physical and chemical components in an ecosystem (e.g. sunlight, temperature, wind, water, minerals).

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Biotic factors

The living components of an ecosystem, including all organisms, their remains, and their products or wastes.

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Species

A group of similar organisms that can reproduce and whose offspring can also reproduce.

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Population

All members of the SAME species found in the same area.

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Community

Members of DIFFERENT species found in the same area.

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Sustainability

Ability to maintain natural ecological conditions or processes without interruptions, weakening, or loss of value.

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Sun's Radiant Energy

The Sun's radiant energy provides us with invisible energy (ex. UV rays) and visible or light energy.

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Absorption of energy from the sun

-70% is absorbed by the Earth and converted to thermal energy
-30% is reflected by the clouds or Earth's surface
-0.023% is absorbed by plants.

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Photosynthesis

organisms convert light energy into chemical energy

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Photosynthesis Equation

carbon dioxide + water (light energy) sugar + oxygen

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Consumers

Cannot photosynthesize and must consume other organisms for food.

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Producers

Make their own food (glucose) through photosynthesis.

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Cellular Respiration

To use the sugar made from photosynthesis and obtain its stored energy.

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Cellular Respiration Equation

sugar + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water + energy.

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Equilibrium

A state where biotic and abiotic features of an ecosystem remain relatively constant over time and populations are healthy and stable. Biomes have a greater equilibrium than smaller ecosystems.

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Ecological Succession

The process of establishing and replacing a community following a disturbance such as a geologic event (e.g. volcanic eruption), a fire, or human activity (e.g. deforestation).

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Primary Succession

Succession that occurs on soil or bare rock, where no life previously existed (e.g., following a volcanic eruption).

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Secondary Succession

Succession that follows a disturbance that disrupts but does not destroy the community (e.g., regrowth of an area following a forest fire).

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Pioneer Species

The first species to colonize an area during ecological succession.

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Climax Community

A stable, mature community that undergoes little or no change in species over time.

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Aquatic Succession

The process by which a body of water, such as a pond, gradually transitions into a land ecosystem through the accumulation of sediments and decaying organisms.

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Shoreline Succession

The succession of plants in a shoreline environment that are adapted to harsh conditions, which eventually leads to development of woodlands

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Biodiversity

The variety of life found in an area.

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Species Richness

The number of species in an area, Higher closer to the equator.

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Extinction

The dying out of a species.

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Habitats are being destroyed through

  • deforestation

  • urban and agricultural expansion

  • pollution

  • climate change

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Extirpated

A species that can no longer be found in a specific area.

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Endangered

A species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.

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Threatened

A species likely to become endangered if factors reducing its survival are not changed.

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Special Concern

A species that may become threatened or endangered because of a combination of factors.

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What has replaced much of Southern Ontario's temperate forest ecosystem?

Farmland, cities, and highways.

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Fragmentation of Terrestrial Ecosystems

  • the conversion of large areas of natural ecosystems into farmland and urban developments.

  • Fragmentation of natural ecosystems reduces their sustainability.

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What are the ideal conditions in wetlands that make them suitable for agriculture?

Flat terrain, deep nutrient-rich soil, and an abundant water supply.

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How can ecosystem sustainability be enhanced ?

  • One large area

  • Interconnected fragments

  • Closer fragments

  • Fewer trails/roads

<ul><li><p>One large area</p></li><li><p>Interconnected fragments</p></li><li><p>Closer fragments</p></li><li><p>Fewer trails/roads</p></li></ul><p></p>
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What is a non-native species?

An organism introduced to a new ecosystem where it wasn't naturally found, usually by human means, unintentional or deliberate.

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Why do introductions of non-native species usually fail?

The organism is in an ecosystem outside its tolerable range for abiotic factors.

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What are the potential outcomes of a successful introduction of a non-native species?

It can be beneficial, harmful, or have no effect on its new ecosystem.

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Why may a successful introduction be harmful ?

  • It can compete with native species for food, resources, and space

  • disrupt the equilibrium of an ecosystem

  • They have a lack of predators

  • damage agriculture, and spread diseases.

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What defines an invasive species?

A species that is harmful to its new ecosystem.

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How has globalization affected the introduction of non-native species?

Increased world traveling and the import/export of goods have made unintentional introductions more common.

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Methods to control invasive species

  • chemical (e.g., pesticides)

  • mechanical (e.g., hunting, trapping)

  • biological (introducing another species that doesn't affect natives).

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Ecological Impacts of Invasive Species

  • competing native species for resources

  • altering nutrient cycles and energy flow

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Economic Impacts of Invasive Species

Damage to forests and agriculture Causes financial loss

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Impacts of Invasive Species on Tourism

Impacts on wildlife viewing, fishing, and water-based recreation

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Impacts of Invasive Species on health

  • Disease causing organisms

  • Pesticides used to control the species