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BIO 395: Exam 1

  1. Biosphere
    "The Sphere of Life"- Thin layer of life on the surface of the Earth
  2. Perpetual Resources
    From a source which is essentially inexhaustible
  3. Renewable Resources
    Can be replaced by the environment, as long as it is not used up faster than it can be replaced
  4. Nonrenewable Resources
    Exist in finite supply or is renewed by the environment so slowly that the supply can be considered finite
  5. Ecology
    Study of the structure, function, and behavior of natural systems including biotic and abiotic factors
  6. Scientific Method
    Observation, hypothesis development, and experimentation
  7. Why do we say that all living organisms live at the expense of their environment?
    All organisms exploit their environment because they need sources of energy, habitat (place of live), and produces waste
  8. Describe the 3 root causes of environmental problems
    • Growth of the Human Population - Exponential growth curve
    • Abuse of Resources and Natural Systems - All humans extract, adapt, and use resources from all over the world; use perpetual, renewable, and nonrenewable resources
    • Pollution - Substance or form of energy that adversely alters the physical, chemical, or biological quality of natural systems
  9. Scientific Hypothesis
    • A testable statement - potentially falsifiable
    • Based on observations
  10. Scientific Fact
    An observation that has been repeatedly confirmed and for all practical purposes is accepted as "true."
  11. Scientific Law
    A descriptive generalization about how some aspect of the natural world behaves under stated circumstances
  12. Scientific Theory
    A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural that can incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypothesis
  13. Strengths and Weaknesses of Scientific Inquiry
    • Strengths
    • Scientists strive to be free of bias or coercion
    • Controlled experiments when possible
    • Findings reported in peer-reviewed journals with methods and results
    • Weaknesses
    • Isn't always possible or desirable to do controlled experiments
    • Science is reductive
    • The objective, value-free approach of good science cannot determine if something is good/bad, ethical/unethical, etc.
  14. Worldview
    • The overall perspective from which one see and interprets the world
    • A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group
  15. Anthropocentric World View
    • Way of perceiving reality that places humans in the preeminent position that is both above, and separate from, the rest of nature
    • Species are here for our benefit
  16. Biocentric Worldview
    • Way of perceiving reality that recognizes an inherent worth in all life and maintains that humans are no more or less valuable than other parts of creation
    • Sense of care and concern for the natural world
  17. Stewardship Worldview
    • Way of perceiving reality that maintains that we have a responsibility to care for the Earth
    • Fosters a sense of nurturing and care for creation
  18. Ethics
    Branch of philosophy concerned with standards of conduct and with distinguishing between right and wrong behavior - based on morals
  19. Morals
    Principles that help to distinguish between good and evil
  20. Sustainability
    Relationship between dynamic human systems and larger dynamic, but normally slower-changing, ecological systems
  21. Sustainable Resource Use
    Use of renewable resources at rates that do not exceed their capacity for renewal
  22. Sustainable Argiculture
    Farming methods that protects the soil and restores its fertility - Crop rotation and no-till farming
  23. Sustainable Development
    Managing the economy and renewable resources of an area for the common good of the entire community and the environment
  24. Common Good
    Sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily
  25. Cradle to Cradle
    Products are recycled over and over again
  26. Cradle to Grave
    Products are used only one time and then left to deteriate
  27. Frontier Ethics
    • Code of conduct based on the premises that:
    • Resources are essentially unlimited
    • Humans will discover new resources to replace those being depleted
    • Technology will solve any problem arising from human use of resources
  28. Environmental Ethics
    Caring about the planet and all its inhabitants and living each day to leave the lightest possible footprints on the planet
  29. Land Ethic
    Biocentric code of conduct based on the premise that nonhuman nature has intrinsic value
  30. Stewardship Ethic
    Anthropocentric code of conduct based on the premise that humans are to act as stewards of nature, with the responsibility of caring for and nurturing our planet
  31. Producers
    Are autotrophs are self-nourishing organisms
  32. Phototrophs
    Contain chlorophyll and converts solar energy to chemical energy in the bonds of glucose through the process of photosynthesis
  33. Chemotrophs
    Use energy found in inorganic chemical compounds for their energy needs
  34. Consumers
    Heterotrophs that meet their energy needs by eating products of other organisms
  35. Primary Consumer
    Eat producers
  36. Secondary Consumers
    Eat primary consumers (that have eaten producers)
  37. Tertiary Consumers
    Eat other consumers (that have eaten other animals that have eaten producers)
  38. Herbivores
    Eat producers
  39. Carnivores
    Eat animals
  40. Omnivores
    Eat producers and animals
  41. Detritivores
    Eat dead material from both terrestrial and aquatic
  42. Abiotic Limiting Factors
    Sunlight, precipitation, temperature, available phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon
  43. Law of Tolerances
    Living organisms, population and communities have a range of tolerance for each of the abiotic factors
  44. Predator-Prey Relationships
    • Predator - Organisms that obtain their food by eating other organisms
    • Prey - The food (animal, plants, etc)
  45. Keystone Species
    • A species that has a critical role to play in the maintenance of specific ecosystems, due to its impact on other species
    • Beavers, bison
  46. Biotic Components
    Living organisms (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria)
  47. Abiotic Components
    Non-living (abiotic) components - Energy, matter (chemicals), and other factors (sunlight, water, temperature, wind, soil)
  48. Why is energy? Why does it have to be continually added to a system?
    • The ability to do work.
    • Can't be reused, so it flows in and out of a system
  49. What is matter?
    • Anything that has mass and takes up space
    • Recycled - used over and over again
  50. Describe the 5 factors of other non-living factors (abiotic component)
    • Sunlight - Powers nearly all surface terrestrial and shallow water ecosystems
    • Water - About of rain
    • Temperature - Effect on an organism's chemical reactions (below 32F - metabolism slows down, above 122F - destroys enzymes)
    • Wind - Used for pollination, seed dispersal
    • Soil - Nutrients available in the soil, water retention
  51. Tropical Rainforest
    • Sunlight - Abundant
    • Rain - Abundant
    • Temperature - Warm year around
    • Biodiversity - Very high
  52. Savanna
    • Sunlight - Abundant
    • Rain - Seasonal
    • Temperature - Warm to hot year around
    • Biodiversity - Moderate
  53. Desert
    • Sunlight - Abundant
    • Rain - Less than 10 inches/year
    • Temperature - Hot days and cold nights
    • Biodiversity - Low
  54. Temperate Grassland
    • Sunlight - Moderate
    • Rain - Seasonal
    • Temperature - Seasonal
    • Biodiversity - Moderate
  55. Temperate Deciduous Forest
    • Sunlight - Moderate
    • Rain - Moderate, spread out throughout the year
    • Temperature - Seasonal
    • Biodiversity - Moderate
  56. Coniferous Forest
    • Sunlight - Moderate to low
    • Rain - Moderate
    • Temperature - Cold winters
    • Biodiversity - Low to moderate
  57. Tundra
    • Sunlight - Low
    • Rain - Low, mostly snow
    • Temperature - Very cold to warm
    • Biodiversity - Low
  58. Biomass
    • The inorganic material in the ecosystem
    • Plant bodies, animal bodies
  59. Gross Primary Productivity
    The total amount of energy fixed by autotrophs over a given period of time
  60. Net Primary Productivity
    The amount of energy available after the producer's own energy needs are me
  61. Pyramid of Energy
    • 90% of the available energy is used or lost as heat before members of one trophic level are consumed by members of another
    • 10% Rule - Only 10% of the energy is actually passed up to the next level and is stored in the biomass
  62. Pyramid of Biomass
    More biomass on the bottom than on top with producers at the bottom
  63. Pyramid of Numbers
    More producers at the bottom than tertiary consumers at the top
  64. How much of the Sun's energy is absorbed in the biosphere? How much is used for photosynthesis?
    • 66% is absorbed in the biosphere
    • 0.1-0.3% actually captured by phototrophs and used to make biomass
  65. How are food chains and food webs similar? What is the main thing that they show? How are they different?
    • Food webs are a network of inter-connecting food chains
    • Food chains show how energy moves through a system where as food webs show the complexity of how energy moves in a real life situation
  66. Hydrologic Cycle and 3 Ways Water is Added to the Atmosphere
    • The processes that account for the circulation of water
    • 3 Ways - Evaporation (caused by solar energy), Transpiration (plants release water into the atmosphere through leaves), precipitation (rain, snow)
  67. Describe the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles? Why is it important that these elements are recycled in the ecosystem? Which one is a limiting nutrient for land plants? Which one is a limiting nutrient for aquatic plants and algae?
    • Carbon - When living organisms break down organic matter for energy and return carbon dioxide and water to the atmosphere
    • Nitrogen - Important element in living organisms; used in chlorophyll, proteins, nucleic acids, and ATP; Limiting nutrient for plants
    • Phosphorus - Plants and animals need phosphorus for DNA, RNA, and ATP; Limiting nutrient in aquatic plans and algae
  68. 7 Ecosystem Services
    • Production of goods (wood, fiber, fish)
    • Pollination of crops (insects, bees)
    • Natural pest control (species eat insects)
    • Mitigation of floods and drought (wetlands slow down water runoff and filter the water)
    • Decomposers (essential for plants to keep growing)
    • Maintenance of biological diversity
    • Aesthetic beauty and intellectual and spiritual simulation
  69. Ecological Sussession
    Process by which ecosystems mature and recover from disturbances
  70. Eutrophication
    Maturation or natural aging of a lake or pond
  71. Dynamic Equilibrium
    Ecosystems are constantly adjusting to change, trying to maintain equilibrium
  72. Ecological Niche
    An organism's role in its habitat (its "job")
  73. Habitat
    Where a species lives (its "address")
  74. Symbiosis - Mutualism
    Both species benefit
  75. Symbiotic - Commensalism
    One benefits and the other neither benefits or is harmed
  76. Symbiosis - Parasitism
    One species benefits (parasite) and the other is harmed (host)
  77. Exponential Growth
    Period where many organisms are capable of reproducing
  78. Carrying Capacity
    The number of members of a species that an ecosystem can support ("carry") at a particular time
  79. 6 Stages of Primary Succession
    • Lichen Pioneer Community
    • Moss Community
    • Herbaceous Community
    • Shrub Community
    • Tree Community
    • Climax Communities
  80. Why does secondary succession begin at stage 3 of primary succession?
    The soil is not destroyed (flood, hurricane, fire, drought), so the process does not have to re-establish the soil
  81. 5 Stages of Secondary Succession
    • Annual Weed Community
    • Perennial Weed Community
    • Shrub or Young Tree Community
    • Young Forest Community
    • Climax Forest Community
  82. How does succession take place in a lake or pond?
    • It needs nutrients that encourage plant growth (phosphates)
    • May pass through marsh or swamp condition before dry land succession begins
  83. Intraspecies Cooperation
    Members of a species work together
  84. Intraspecific Competition
    Competition between the members of the same species for these resources
  85. Interspecific Competition
    Competition between members of different species
  86. Why is a community and ecosystem affected when any species is removed or added?
    Every species in a community has a niche in its habitat, so when a species is added/removed it affects the entire community
  87. Population Dynamics - What phase does a population grow most rapidly? Levels off?
    • Phase 3 - Exponential Growth
    • Phase 1 - Lag period
  88. Density Dependent Limiting Factors
    • Exert a greater effect when the population density is high
    • Competition for resources, waste buildup, disease, predation
  89. Density Independent Limiting Factors
    • Tend to set the upper limits on population size
    • Climate, weather, availability of nutrients, water, space)
  90. Acute Pollution
    Effects occur immediately upon or shortly after the introduction of the pollutant and they are readily detected
  91. Chronic Pollution
    Effects act in the long term; they may not be noticed for years or decades after the introduction of the pollutant
  92. Persistent Pollutant
    Pollutant that accumulates in natural systems over time and are very slow to degrade
  93. Bioaccumulation
    The storage of chemicals in an organism in higher concentrations than are normally found in the environment
  94. Biomagnification
    Accumulation of chemicals in organisms in increasingly higher concentrations at higher trophic levels (as it goes up the food chain or web)
  95. Point-Source Pollution
    Emitted from an identifiable, specific source or point
  96. Non-Point Source Pollution
    Cannot be traced to a specific source, but rather comes from multiple generalized sources
  97. Biodegradable
    Materials that can be broken down and rendered harmless by living systems
  98. Non-Biodegradable
    Materials that enter the system in a form unusable by organisms present in the system
  99. Introduced Species
    • Species that is introduced into an area in which it is not native
    • Also called "exotic species"
  100. Invasive Species
    Introduced species that out-competes native species
  101. Damage - Effects of pollution
    • An adverse alteration of a natural system's integrity, diversity or productivity
    • Producing very large quantities of pollutants
  102. Disruption - Examples
    • Rapid change in the species composition of a community that can be traced directly to a specific human activity
    • Chemical use (herbicides, pesticides), introduced species, human construction (dams, oil and gas pipelines), and overexploiting resources (overgrazing, over-harvesting species)
  103. Destruction - Examples
    • Conversion of a natural system, such as a wetland or forest, to a less complex human system, such as a farm
    • Habitat loss (land and wetlands)
  104. Desertification - Causes? Consequences of losing farm to desertification? Improper irrigation contribute to this?
    • Land degradation in arid, semi-arid, or dry sub-humid regions mainly from adverse human impact
    • Overgrazing, over-cultivation, deforestation, poor irrigation practices
    • Too many animals on too little land
    • Lead to salinization of the soil, the build up of salts
  105. Crypto-Biotic Soils
    Stabilize the soil, increase the soil's water absorption, aid in nutrient availability (nitrogen) for vascular plants, and enhance seedling establishment
  106. Deforestation - Primary reason? Intact forests called "lungs of the planet"?
    • Cutting down and clearing away of forests
    • Primary cause - Conversion to agricultural use
    • Lungs - Help regulate the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen cycles, temperature, and rainfall
  107. Demography
    Science of vital (birth, death) and social statistics of population
  108. Growth Rates
    • Rate a which a population is increasing or decreasing
    • GR = birth rate/1000 - death rate/1000
  109. Doubling Times
    • Number of years it will take a population to double
    • Rule of 70 - 70/annual growth rate
  110. Zero Population Rate
    Birth and deaths are equal
  111. Negative Population Growth
    Deaths outnumber the number of births
  112. Fertility
    Ability to bear offspring (ages 15-49)
  113. Total Fertility Rate
    Average number of children a woman will bear during her life
  114. Why is it hard to determine the carrying capacity for humans?
    • Bring resources from outside the local environment
    • Use technology to exploit resources
    • Non-human species - Resources needed for survival
Author
marekj1
ID
236034
Card Set
BIO 395: Exam 1
Description
Biology
Updated

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