Ecosystem Ecology
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| Ecosystem | a particular location on Earth distinguished by its particular mix of interacting biotic and abiotic components
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| Ecosystem boundaries | the different biotic and abiotic components that distinguish between neighboring ecosystems; they may/may not be well-defined
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| Herbivore | organisms that eat plants
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| Carnivore | organisms that eat other animals
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| Producer | organism that makes its own food
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| Autotroph | an organism that makes its own food
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| Photosynthesis | the process whereby solar energy is converted into chemical energy
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| Photosynthesis equation | energy + 6 CO2 + 6 H2O yields 1 C6H12O6 + 6 O2
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| Cellular Respiration | the opposite reaction to photosynthesis whereby organisms convert chemical energy into energy they can use for cellular processes
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| Cellular Respiration equation | 1 C6H12O6 + 6 O2 yields energy + 6 CO2 + 6 H2O
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| Consumers | organisms that must consume other organisms for energy
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| Heterotrophs | organisms that must consume other organisms for energy
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| Primary Consumers | herbivores; consumers that eat producers
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| Secondary Consumers | carnivores that eat primary consumers
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| Tertiary Consumers | carnivores that eat secondary consumers
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| Trophic Level | the successive levels of organisms that consume one another; producers eaten by primary consumer eaten by secondary consumer, etc. Each is a different energy level in a food chain
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| Food Chain | the sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers
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| Food Web | a series of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem
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| Omnivores | operate at several trophic levels because they consume both autotrophs and heterotrophs
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| Trophe | Greek word meaning nourishment; foundation for words such as autotrophs, heterotrophs, and trophic levels
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| Scavengers | carnivores that eat dead animals
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| Detritivores | organisms that break down dead tissue and waste products
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| Decomposers | the fungi and bacteria that complete the breakdown process by recycling the nutrients from dead tissues and wastes back into the ecosystem
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| Ecosystem Productivity | the amount of energy available in an ecosystem determines how much life the ecosystem can support
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| GPP (Gross Primary Productivity) | the total amount of solar energy the producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time; unit is kg Carbon taken up per square meter per day
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| NPP (Net Primary Productivity) | the total energy captured minus the energy used by the producers in an ecosystem; measures the rate at which biomass is produced over a given time
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| GPP Efficiency | 1% of sunlight is captured and turned into chemical energy; 99% is lost as heat
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| NPP Efficiency | 25 – 50% of GPP; 60% of GPP is lost due to cellular respiration & 40% of GPP is used for growth and reproduction
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| Biomass | the total mass of all living matter in a specific area; used to measure the energy in an ecosystem
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| Standing Crop | the amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time
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| Ecological Efficiency | the portion of consumed energy that can be passed from one tophic level to the next; average is 10% with it ranging from 5 – 20%
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| Trophic Pyramid | A graphical representation of the biomass (measured in Joules) for each trophic level in an ecosystem; looks like stacked bar graphs
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| Biosphere | the region of our planet where life resides; 12-mile thick shell from the deepest part of the ocean to the highest mountain peak
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| Biogeochemical cycles | the movement of matter within and between ecosystems that involve biological, geological, and chemical processes
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| The Major Biogeochemical Cycles | hydrologic (water),Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and other macronutrients (calcium, magnesium, potassium and sulfur)
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| Pools | the components that contain matter in a biogeochemical cycle; example: air, water, organisms
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| Flows | the processes that move matter between pools
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| Hydrologic Cycle | the movement of water through the biosphere; the water cycle; evaporation from surface water to condensation in clouds to precipitation from clouds
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| Transpiration | the process where plants lose water from their leaves
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| Evaportranspiration | the combined amount of evaporation and transpiration
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| Runoff | after a rain, water move across the land surface and into streams and lakes
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| Carbon Cycle | the movement of carbon from the atmosphere to producers to consumers to decomposers and back
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| Six Processes that drive the carbon cycle | photosynthesis, respiration, exchange, sedimentation and burial, extraction, and combustion
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| Carbon Exchange | CO2 in atmosphere is dissolved in the water
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| Carbon Sedimentation | CO2 that is dissolved in water combines with calcium to form calcium carbonate (CaCO3); this precipitates out, settles to the ocean floor and forms a sedimentary rock called limestone
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| Carbon Extraction | when humans extract carbon substances like oil and coal from the ground
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| Combustion | the burning of hydrocarbons that releases CO2 and H2O into the air
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| Macronutrients | six key elements needed in relatively large quantities by living organisms; nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur
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| Limiting Nutrient | a nutrient that can limit the growth of an organism if there isn’t enough (nitrogen & phosphorus)
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| Nitrogen Cycle | the movement of nitrogen from the atmosphere to through several changes in the soil, then into a plant and then into the atmosphere
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| Nitrogen Fixation | the process by which atmospheric N2 gas is converted into a form that plants can use; biotic process make NH3 and abiotic process make NO3 ions
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| Assimilation | producers take up NH4 ions or NO3 ions from the soil
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| Ammonification | decomposers in soil and water break down nitrogen compounds into ammonium, NH4+
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| Nitrification | bacteria convert ammonium (NH4+) into nitrite (NO2-) then into nitrate (NO3-)
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| Denitrification | bacteria in oxygen-poor environments convert nitrate (NO3-) into N2O then into N2
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| Leaching | water moving through the soil takes the nitrates with it
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| Algal Bloom | A rapid growth of algae when excess phosphorus is introduced into an aquatic system
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| Hypoxic Condition | a low oxygen condition in water that happens after an algal bloom dies and initiates a massive amount of decomposition which uses up all available oxygen; creates a hypoxic dead-zone in water
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| Disturbance | An event caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents that results in changes in population size or community composition
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| Watershed | all of the land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake or wetland
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| Resistance of an Ecosystem | a measure of how much a disturbance can affect the flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem; stated in terms of high or low resistance
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| Resilience of an Ecosystem | the rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance
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| Restoration Ecology | the study of restoring damaged ecosystems
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| Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis | ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels
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| Instrumental Value | a species that has worth to humans because it can be used to accomplish a goal
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| Intrinsic Value | A species or ecosystem that has worth independent of any benefit it may have for humans
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| The Five Categories of Ecosystem Services | provisions, regulating services, support systems, resilience, and cultural services
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| Provisions | an ecosystem service that humans can use directly (lumber, good, medicinal plants, etc.)
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| Regulating Services | an ecosystem service where a natural ecosystem helps to regulate environmental conditions
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| Support Services | an ecosystem service that supports a human activity (bees pollinate our crops)
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| Resilience | an ecosystem service that ensures an ecosystem will continue to provide benefits to humans
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| Cultural Services | an ecosystem service that provides cultural or aesthetic benefits to many people
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