Units 1-5 EXAM study guide apes |182 Q’s and A’s
predator-prey relationship - -the predator is an organism that eats another organism (the
prey).
-Symbiosis - -a close and long-term interaction between two species in an ecosystem.
Types of symbiosis include mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
-Mutualism - -symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the relationship
-commensalism - -A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits
and the other is unaffected
-parasitism - -A relationship between two organisms of different species where one
benefits and the other is harmed
-competition - -can occur within or between species in an ecosystem where there are
limited resources.
-resource partitioning
-resource partitioning - -using resources in different ways, places, or at different times-
can reduce the negative impact of competition or survival
-Biome - -contains characteristic communities of plants and animals that result from, and
are adapted to, its climate
-Major terrestrial biomes - -taiga, temperate rainforests, temperate seasonal forests,
tropical rainforests, shrubland, temperate grassland, savanna, desert, and tundra
-global distribution of non mineral terrestrial resources - -(ex: water and trees for lumber)
varies because of some combination of climate, geography, latitude and altitude, nutrient
availability, and soil
-worldwide distribution of biomes - -[distribution of biomes is dynamic]
the distribution has changed in the past and may again shift as a result of global climate
changes.
-Freshwater biomes - -streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. These freshwater biomes are a
vital resource for drinking water.
-Marine biomes - -include oceans, coral reefs, marshland, and estuaries. Algae in marine
biomes supply a large portion of the Earth's oxygen, and also take in carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere.
-The global distribution of nonmineral marine natural resources - -[different types of fish]
,varies because of some combination of salinity, depth, turbidity, nutrient availability, and
temperature.
-Carbon cycle - --movement of atoms and molecules containing the element carbon
between sources and sinks.
-Some of the reservoirs in which carbon compounds occur in the carbon cycle hold those
compounds for long periods of time, while some hold them for relatively short periods of
time.
-Carbon cycles between photosynthesis and cellular respiration in living things.
-Plant and animal decomposition have led to the storage of carbon over millions of years.
The burning of fossil fuels quickly moves that stored carbon into atmospheric carbon, in
the form of carbon dioxide.
-Carbon sinks/reservoirs - -Anything that absorbs more carbon than it releases; examples:
rocks, forests, soils, oceans and the atmosphere
largest carbon sink = rocks (limestone is calcium carbonate)
-Nitrogen cycle - --the movement of atoms and molecules containing the element nitrogen
between sources and sinks.
-Most of the reservoirs in which nitrogen compounds occur in the nitrogen cycle hold those
compounds for relatively short periods of time.
-Nitrogen fixation is the process in which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into a form of
nitrogen (primarily ammonia) that is available for uptake by plants and that can be
synthesized into plant tissue.
*The atmosphere is the major reservoir of nitrogen.*
-Nitrogen fixation - -atmospheric nitrogen is converted into a form of nitrogen (primarily
ammonia) that is available for uptake by plants and can be synthesized into plant tissue
-phosphorus cycle - --the movement of atoms and molecules containing the element
phosphorus between sources and sinks.
- There is no atmospheric component in the phosphorus cycle, and the limitations this
imposes on the return of phosphorus from the ocean to land make phosphorus naturally
scarce in aquatic and many terrestrial ecosystems.
- In undisturbed ecosystems, phosphorus is the limiting factor in biological systems.
-phosphorus reservoirs - -sedimentary rocks of marine origin, the oceans, and organisms
-Water cycle - --powered by the sun, the movement of water in its various solid, liquid, and
gaseous phases between sources and sinks.
-The oceans are the primary reservoir of water at the Earth's surface, with ice caps and
groundwater acting as much smaller reservoirs.
, -Primary productivity - -the rate at which solar energy (sunlight) is converted into organic
compounds via photosynthesis over a unit of time.
-Gross primary productivity - -the total rate of photosynthesis in a given area.
-Net primary productivity - -the rate of energy storage by photosynthesizers in a given
area, after subtracting the energy lost to respiration.
how to calculate
Gross primary productivity - Respiration
(how much energy created) - (energy used by plants)
-How is productivity measured - -measured in units of energy per unit area per unit time
(e.g., kcal/m2/yr)
-Light absorption - --Most red light is absorbed in the upper 1m of water, -blue light only
penetrates deeper than 100m in the clearest water
This affects photosynthesis in aquatic ecosystems, whose photosynthesizers have adapted
mechanisms to address the lack of visible light
-Trophic Levels - --All ecosystems depend on a continuous inflow of high-quality energy in
order to maintain their structure and function of transferring matter between the
environment and organisms via biogeochemical cycles.
-Biogeochemical cycles are essential for life and each cycle demonstrates the conservation
of matter.
-In terrestrial and near-surface marine communities, energy flows from the sun to
producers in the lowest trophic levels and then upward to higher trophic levels.
-Energy Flow and the 10% rule - -- The 10% rule approximates that in the transfer of
energy from one trophic level to the next, only about 10% of the energy is passed on.
- The loss of energy that occurs when energy moves from lower to higher trophic levels can
be explained through the laws of thermodynamics.
-Food chains and Food webs - --A food web is a model of an interlocking pattern of food
chains that depicts the flow of energy and nutrients in two or more food chains.
-Positive and negative feedback loops can each play a role in food webs. When one species
is removed from or added to a specific food web, the rest of the food web can be affected.
-Nitrogen cycle steps - -N2 (atmospheric nitrogen) *nitrogen fixation* → NH3
*Ammonification* → NH4+ (Ammonium) [viable by plants] *Nitrification*→ NO2- and NO3-
[most readily available] *Denitrification*→ N2
-what causes nitrogen fixation - -bacteria soil
lightning
legumes roots
predator-prey relationship - -the predator is an organism that eats another organism (the
prey).
-Symbiosis - -a close and long-term interaction between two species in an ecosystem.
Types of symbiosis include mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
-Mutualism - -symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the relationship
-commensalism - -A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits
and the other is unaffected
-parasitism - -A relationship between two organisms of different species where one
benefits and the other is harmed
-competition - -can occur within or between species in an ecosystem where there are
limited resources.
-resource partitioning
-resource partitioning - -using resources in different ways, places, or at different times-
can reduce the negative impact of competition or survival
-Biome - -contains characteristic communities of plants and animals that result from, and
are adapted to, its climate
-Major terrestrial biomes - -taiga, temperate rainforests, temperate seasonal forests,
tropical rainforests, shrubland, temperate grassland, savanna, desert, and tundra
-global distribution of non mineral terrestrial resources - -(ex: water and trees for lumber)
varies because of some combination of climate, geography, latitude and altitude, nutrient
availability, and soil
-worldwide distribution of biomes - -[distribution of biomes is dynamic]
the distribution has changed in the past and may again shift as a result of global climate
changes.
-Freshwater biomes - -streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. These freshwater biomes are a
vital resource for drinking water.
-Marine biomes - -include oceans, coral reefs, marshland, and estuaries. Algae in marine
biomes supply a large portion of the Earth's oxygen, and also take in carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere.
-The global distribution of nonmineral marine natural resources - -[different types of fish]
,varies because of some combination of salinity, depth, turbidity, nutrient availability, and
temperature.
-Carbon cycle - --movement of atoms and molecules containing the element carbon
between sources and sinks.
-Some of the reservoirs in which carbon compounds occur in the carbon cycle hold those
compounds for long periods of time, while some hold them for relatively short periods of
time.
-Carbon cycles between photosynthesis and cellular respiration in living things.
-Plant and animal decomposition have led to the storage of carbon over millions of years.
The burning of fossil fuels quickly moves that stored carbon into atmospheric carbon, in
the form of carbon dioxide.
-Carbon sinks/reservoirs - -Anything that absorbs more carbon than it releases; examples:
rocks, forests, soils, oceans and the atmosphere
largest carbon sink = rocks (limestone is calcium carbonate)
-Nitrogen cycle - --the movement of atoms and molecules containing the element nitrogen
between sources and sinks.
-Most of the reservoirs in which nitrogen compounds occur in the nitrogen cycle hold those
compounds for relatively short periods of time.
-Nitrogen fixation is the process in which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into a form of
nitrogen (primarily ammonia) that is available for uptake by plants and that can be
synthesized into plant tissue.
*The atmosphere is the major reservoir of nitrogen.*
-Nitrogen fixation - -atmospheric nitrogen is converted into a form of nitrogen (primarily
ammonia) that is available for uptake by plants and can be synthesized into plant tissue
-phosphorus cycle - --the movement of atoms and molecules containing the element
phosphorus between sources and sinks.
- There is no atmospheric component in the phosphorus cycle, and the limitations this
imposes on the return of phosphorus from the ocean to land make phosphorus naturally
scarce in aquatic and many terrestrial ecosystems.
- In undisturbed ecosystems, phosphorus is the limiting factor in biological systems.
-phosphorus reservoirs - -sedimentary rocks of marine origin, the oceans, and organisms
-Water cycle - --powered by the sun, the movement of water in its various solid, liquid, and
gaseous phases between sources and sinks.
-The oceans are the primary reservoir of water at the Earth's surface, with ice caps and
groundwater acting as much smaller reservoirs.
, -Primary productivity - -the rate at which solar energy (sunlight) is converted into organic
compounds via photosynthesis over a unit of time.
-Gross primary productivity - -the total rate of photosynthesis in a given area.
-Net primary productivity - -the rate of energy storage by photosynthesizers in a given
area, after subtracting the energy lost to respiration.
how to calculate
Gross primary productivity - Respiration
(how much energy created) - (energy used by plants)
-How is productivity measured - -measured in units of energy per unit area per unit time
(e.g., kcal/m2/yr)
-Light absorption - --Most red light is absorbed in the upper 1m of water, -blue light only
penetrates deeper than 100m in the clearest water
This affects photosynthesis in aquatic ecosystems, whose photosynthesizers have adapted
mechanisms to address the lack of visible light
-Trophic Levels - --All ecosystems depend on a continuous inflow of high-quality energy in
order to maintain their structure and function of transferring matter between the
environment and organisms via biogeochemical cycles.
-Biogeochemical cycles are essential for life and each cycle demonstrates the conservation
of matter.
-In terrestrial and near-surface marine communities, energy flows from the sun to
producers in the lowest trophic levels and then upward to higher trophic levels.
-Energy Flow and the 10% rule - -- The 10% rule approximates that in the transfer of
energy from one trophic level to the next, only about 10% of the energy is passed on.
- The loss of energy that occurs when energy moves from lower to higher trophic levels can
be explained through the laws of thermodynamics.
-Food chains and Food webs - --A food web is a model of an interlocking pattern of food
chains that depicts the flow of energy and nutrients in two or more food chains.
-Positive and negative feedback loops can each play a role in food webs. When one species
is removed from or added to a specific food web, the rest of the food web can be affected.
-Nitrogen cycle steps - -N2 (atmospheric nitrogen) *nitrogen fixation* → NH3
*Ammonification* → NH4+ (Ammonium) [viable by plants] *Nitrification*→ NO2- and NO3-
[most readily available] *Denitrification*→ N2
-what causes nitrogen fixation - -bacteria soil
lightning
legumes roots
