LIFE 320: Modules 12-15 Quizzes

What process ensures oceans are an effective sink for atmospheric carbon?

The absorption of carbon dioxide and conversion to calcium carbonate.

How are energy and matter different?

Energy flows through an ecosystem. Matter cycles within an ecosystem.

Individuals get less food, and the population growth rate declines. What type of feedback is this?

Negative feedback

What are the forms of nitrogen most easily assimilated by plants?

Ammonium and nitrates

Why might managers install large aerators in lakes that cause bubbles to rise?

It mixes the water and prevents stratification.

What scale can an ecosystem be?

Any, from the microscopic to the scale of the Earth.

How are resilience and resistance different?

Resilience is the ability of an ecosystem to return to its previous state. Resistance is the tendency for an ecosystem to remain unchanged.

What has the Haber-Bosch process contributed to?

Large contributions of human-produced nitrogen through fertilization.

What does a food system include?

All elements of food production.

Where are the processes of the carbon and nitrogen cycles happening in a plant?

In the same tissues.

Net primary production in an area is gross primary production minus what?

Respiration

An influx of nutrients causing algae to reproduce quickly is an example of what?

An effect

A buildup of algal mass depleting the dissolved oxygen in water and killing fish is an example of what?

An effect

Fish decomposing and adding nutrients to the water that promote algae growth and more fish death is an example of what?

A positive feedback

Why does methane have a much higher warming potential than carbon dioxide?

Methane has more methods of vibration and storing energy for later release

How are weather and climate different?

Weather is a short-term pattern. Climate is a long-term pattern.

Emily measured carbon dioxide absorbed by a leaf in a chamber with the lights on and off. Why?

The plant is photosynthesizing and respiring in the light. It is only respiring at night. This technique helps partition these processes.

Why does the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increase in winter?

Photosynthesis is minimal. Cellular respiration and decomposition are not. The latter processes release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

In semi-arid and arid parts of the world, what is the main concern of climate change?

More frequent droughts

What will excess transpiration in a plant cause?

Wilting

What is a harmful product or event from an ecosystem called?

An ecosystem disservice

What is the first thing a payment for an ecosystem service can entail?

Providing funds to those whose activities help produce ecosystem services.

What is the second thing a payment for an ecosystem service can entail?

Providing funds to prevent an individual or organization from reducing ecosystem services.

Corn is a major crop commodity. It is an example of what type of ecosystem service?

Provisioning

Some plants that do not follow the typical C3 pathway can photosynthesize with little water loss. How?

They gather carbon at night when gas exchange includes less water loss.

What is the main reason the concentration of carbon dioxide is increasing in our atmosphere?

Fossil fuels

In response to warming temperatures, where are many plant and animal ranges in the United States shifting?

Northward or to higher elevations

Wetlands can reduce the risk of flooding as they take up and store short-term water flows. This is an example of what kind of ecosystem service?

Regulating

Why do tropical forests typically have soils that are low in nutrients?

Vegetation growth and decomposition are both rapid.

What is the general pattern of species richness observed on Earth?

The highest richness is in the tropics, with fewer species at the poles.

About how many species have been described on Earth?

1,500,000

About how many species are still predicted to occur on Earth?

9,000,000

What is a planetary boundary?

A quantitative estimate of the capacity of Earth to regulate the stability and resilience of one of its systems.

What is a good estimate for the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of alfalfa sprouts?

20:1

In terrestrial ecosystems, nitrogen and phosphorus are important macronutrients. In marine systems, what is an additional important macronutrient?

Silicon

Why are mountain passes higher in the tropics?

Tropical animals are adapted to fairly consistent conditions. Cold mountain passes are more difficult for them than Arctic animals.

What does the species richness and energy relationship hypothesize?

Species richness is high in the tropics due to high energy input from solar insolation.

Why are the surface waters of deep oceans not very productive?

Nutrients fall to the ocean floor far from the surface algae.

Salinity can increase in topsoil to the point where crops will not grow using water with low concentrations of what compound?

Sodium chloride

What is a common cause for societal collapse?

A climate that becomes drier.

What makes eating forage fish instead of predatory fish unsustainable?

Harvesting too many forage fish can remove a foundational layer of the trophic pyramid.

What happened for some harvested fish populations to be composed of individuals that grow more slowly than in the past?

Harvest methods selectively remove the individuals with genes for faster growth.

What does the tragedy of the commons refer to?

Degradation of a common resource

Why does Scotland have rolling green grassy hills?

Forests were cleared for livestock. Herbivores keep forests from regrowing.

Global fisheries have been harvesting lower in the trophic structure as stocks are depleted. What is this pattern known as?

Fishing down the food chain

What is the typical procedure for aquaculture?

Raising and harvesting fish in a confined setting.

Why are small streams typically low in nutrients?

A large fraction of their energy is derived from nutrient-poor leaf litter.

How does historical disturbance impact the species richness gradient?

Areas frequently disturbed have more frequent extinctions with insufficient time for other species to recolonize.

How do varying rates of evolution impact the species richness gradient?

Evolution in the tropics may happen faster. This leads to more new species than extinctions.

How does climatic variation impact the species richness gradient?

A consistent climate may lead to more specialists and more species with tighter niche packing.

How do climatic extremes impact the species richness gradient?

Extreme climates may limit the number of species that have evolved the capacity to deal with those extremes.

How does the species-area relationship impact the species richness gradient?

Areas in the tropics are larger. These areas support more species.

How do area limitations impact the species richness gradient?

Fewer ranges can be supported in polar areas. Populations grow diminishingly small.

Why are there so few species in the Arctic?

There is low energy and productivity. Extreme climates promote generalists.

How does interspecific competition impact the species richness gradient?

More species beget more species and promote specialization and speciation.

How does a varying grain of habitat impact the species richness gradient?

Fine-grained habitat may lead to more finely divided niches and specialization.

How do energy differentials impact the species richness gradient?

Areas with more energy allow more productivity and support more species.