interactive questions from exam #1

what are the main levels of organization in ecology

ecosystem, community and population

the flow of carbon from gas to rabbits is studied from the perspective of the

ecosystem

what would be a bee's niche?

to pollinate

what would be a plants niche?

photosynthesis, food for animals, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, provide habitats, provide humans oxygen

what would be an animals niche?

consuming other animals

what would be bacteria and archaea's niche?

help animals digest, nutrient cycling, and help produce photosynthesis

an organisms role in the ecosystem depends on:

its body form, what it consumes, its size, whether or not it is a plant.

an organisms role LEAST depends on:

whether or not it is a protist. (because protists can perform several jobs, therefore its can be used for various things.

when iron reacts w oxygen

it rusts

O2 is produced by \________ using \__________.

produced by using CYANOBACTERIA using PHOTOSYNTHESIS.

in the great oxygen event, is it easier or harder to obtain Fe?

harder

If biochemical cycles change, for example when cyanobacteria created the O2 rich atmosphere 2.3 billion years ago that killed most anaerobic life, that would be an example of:

Ecological Filtering

what type of fungus is found in soil

mycorrhizae

what lives inside protists of soil

bacteria

"The predation of snakes on chipmunks will increase the abundance of mice because of release from competition." This is an example of a hypothesis from which perspective?

community

what are some examples of environmental gradients

light, temperature, oxygen levels, vegetation, salt concentration.

ecological systems of energy and matter follow the laws of \________ and \_________.

physics and chemistry

energy comes from \_______ and converted to \________.

the sun and converted to heat.

when systems are in balance and changing it is called:

dynamic equilibrium

What are trade-offs?

alternative choices

change over generations is called

evolution

proximate

how

ultimate

why

A budding ecologist thinks that sex expression in begonias is a trade-off between attracting bees (more male flowers) and reproducing reliably (more female flowers). This is an example of a(n)

ultimate hypothesis, because it does not describe HOW, it only describes his WHY.

what are the advantages of a lab experiment

High control over extraneous variables.

Replication is more possible

what are the advantages of a natural experiment

its all natural and real without man manipulations

A budding ecologist wants to measure the effect of light on sex expression in Begonia. He compares the gender of plants already growing in the forest under dense canopy with those growing under a light gap in the canopy. As described, this design is a(n):

Natural Experiment

- nothing is being manipulated by the ecologist

what does an experiment need:

- treatments (manipulations)

- replicates

- experimental units

surface tension

the force that acts on the surface of a liquid and that tends to minimize the area of the surface. its what allows flowers or insects to stay afloat.

Adhesion

An attraction between molecules of different substances

Cohesion

Attraction between molecules of the same substance

what does pH afffect

the shape and functions of protiens

Osmoregulators

organisms that maintain their internal water balance and solute concentration within narrow limits

Freshwater teleost fish tend to

gain water

marine teleost fish tend to

lose water

Marine(salt water) fish are

hypoosmotic

Freshwater fish are

hyperosmotic

adaptations for depth: what are the advantages?

Red: can conduct photosynthesis from very deep in the ocean because it absorbs green light the best. green light penetrates more than 150 meters.

Green: it takes in red light and blue light best meaning it can conduct photosynthesis either on the surface or very deep.

soil pH depends on:

-moisture

-parent rock

-organic matter

soil structure has:

- mineral particles

- organic matter

- pores (air & water)

- organisms

glomalin

A glycoprotein that is abundant in the hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; when hyphae decay, it is an important component of soil.

what is the advantage of glomalin

allows roots of plants to grow better

abiotic factors

Abiotic factors are the non-living parts of an organism's habitat.

biotic factors

All the living organisms that inhabit an environment

soil nutrient availability depends on:

-soil type

-abiotic factors

-biotic factors

why are animals different from plants (nitrogen related)

- ANIMALS: get nitrogen by eating. they have excess nitrogen that they gain from nucleic acids as amino groups.

- PLANTS: get nitrogen from the soil

what is the trade off of animals (nitrogen related):

the more complex the nitrogen waste is the longer it can be held within animals body but takes more energy to create more complex molecules.

when do organisms compete?

when organisms need to use the same resources

what is predation

when one organism kills another organism to eat it

Ecology is the study of

how organisms interact with each other and the nonliving environment

Symbiosis

A close relationship between two species that benefits at least one of the species.

what is the definition of hyperosmotic

when organisms with body fluids with a lower concentration of water and a higher solute concentration than the external environment. meaning water goes out of the fish.

- hypEr \= frEsh \= Exit

Photorespiration

A metabolic pathway that consumes oxygen, releases carbon dioxide, generates no ATP, and decreases photosynthetic output; ((generally occurs on hot, dry, bright days, when ((stomata close)) and the oxygen concentration in the leaf exceeds that of carbon dioxide)).

Photosynthesis

Conversion of light energy from the sun into chemical energy. ((stomates open)).

where would you expect photorespiration to be most severe in:

A. temperate forest

B. the everglades

C. tropical rainforest

D. tropical savanna

E. artic tundra

tropical savanna (its the driest place of all).

In photosynthesis, the O2 released as waste comes from \________ and the O in starch molecules in a potato comes from \___________.

H2O, and CO2

if a plant does not appear to be green, then what does it mean?

it does not contain chlorophyll

why dont all plants do C4?

- takes too much energy

- if you dont have cells, you cant do C4 so it would be considered a constraint

ecological filtering

occurs when biotic or abiotic factors limit the membership of species in a local community

tropic zone

23.5

temperate zone

above or below 23.5

energy is or is not limited

is limited

Soil Nutrient Availability depend on

- soil type

- abiotic factors

- biotic factors

what happens with CO2 and O2 in photosynthesis? is the stomate open or closed

CO2 leaves and O2 enters.

- stomate is closed

what happens with CO2 and O2 in photorespiration? is the stomate open or closed

CO2 enters and O2 leaves.

- stomate is open

why don't all plants do C4

too expensive

in the CAM cycle, when the stomata is closed, what is happening

transport of C4

in the CAM cycle, when the stomata is open, what is happening

fix CO2

to maximize heat transfer:

convection

to minimize absorption

absorbtion

how is the ability to store fat an adaptation?

able to use the stored fat as energy.

short gut are used for:

meat

long guts are used for:

plants

what is climate?

temperature and moisture