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Ecology Chapter 1 & 2
What is ecology? - correct answer Scientific study of the interactions of organisms with their environment Abiotic vs Biotic - correct answer Biotic= living Abiotic= non-living Life's Hierarchy of Organization - correct answer Biosphere Ecosystem Community Population Organism Organ Tissue Cell Organelle Molecule *(Increases in complexity from bottom to top) Ecologists focus on what levels of the hierarchy? - correct answer The upper. •Biosphere, ecosystem, community, population, and organism What do ecologists apply to study the natural world at multiple levels? - correct answer The scientific method
Population - correct answer All individuals of the same species living in one geographic location Community - correct answer The Biotic components: All living organisms of a specific location Ecosystem - correct answer Biotic + Abiotic in the same geographical area Biosphere - correct answer All environments supporting life on Earth... (Total available area with living organisms) Ecological Maxims: (8) - correct answer 1. Organisms never do just one thing
- Everything goes somewhere
- No population can increase in size forever
- There is no free lunch
- Evolution matters
- Time matters
- Space matters
- Life would be impossible without species interactions Expand on the ecological maxim 1. Organisms never do just one thing - correct answer • Living organisms are connected with each other directly and indirectly through the environment
- Events affecting one organism or
pool, dispersal, climate Global: ocean currents, wind, greenhouse gases Expand on the ecological maxim 8. Life would be impossible without species interactions - correct answer • Energy
- Nutrients
- Habitat
- Dispersal
- Reproduction What happens if one level is lost? - correct answer 1. Individual organisms removed by harvesting
- Decline in population
- Interactions with other species lost
- Community diversity declines
- Degradation/Loss of ecosystem
- Loss of ecosystem services Ecosystem Services - correct answer *Production of Goods *Production of Oxygen *Recycling of Nutrients *Water Filtration/Shoreline protection Real-world applications - correct answer *Conservation
*Human health *Restoration *Sustainability Ecological niche - correct answer Abiotic & biotic conditions needed by a species to survive, grow and reproduce Habitat - correct answer Physical environment Organisms interact with the physical environment - correct answer
- Energy Sources
- Gas Exchange
- Temperature
- Inorganic Nutrients
- Nitrogen and Phosphorus
- Water and Precipitation What is the dominant physical factor in distributions of organisms? - correct answer Climate Climate - correct answer Long-term trends in meteorological variables Major influences on ecosystems - correct answer Temperature, precipitation (WEATHER)
- Warm air expands and cools Terrain - correct answer topography of land affects climate Relationship between temperature and carbon dioxide - correct answer Both increase together Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have increased: - correct answer •Burning fossil fuel •Removal of forests and vegetation •Changes in land use and cover type •Agriculture What affects global climate? - correct answer Atmospheric Circulation Surface Wind Patterns Average Annual Precipitation over long span of years Water Cycle Water cycle - correct answer Evaporation/Transpiration/ Evapotransipiration Condensation Precipitation Runoff Infiltration Groundwater/soil moisture
Evapotranspiration - correct answer The process by which water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation from the soil and other surfaces and by transpiration from plants. Infiltration - correct answer Water soaks into the ground Transpiration - correct answer Process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves What affects regional climate? - correct answer Altitude Water bodies Ocean currents Terrain Vegetation coverage Deforestation Deforestation - correct answer Net loss of trees from a forested area -Net loss of forests globally every year •5-16 million hectares/yr over last decade How does deforestation affect regional climate? - correct answer *Removing trees increases the albedo of the land surface, lowering its absorption of solar radiation *Change in surface roughness increases sensible heat loss by convection (wind) *These cooling effects are more than offset by the warming effects of decreased latent heat loss by evapotranspiration *Reduced evapotranspiration also reduces the recycling of moisture from precipitation to the atmosphere and reduces precipitation rate
