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Definition
| the complete path a chemical takes through the four major components of Earth's system |
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| four major components of Earth's system |
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Definition
atmosphere
hydrosphere
lithosphere
biosphere |
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Definition
| the single requirement for growth available in the least supply in comparison to the need of an organism |
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Definition
| all the species found in an area, whether or not they interact |
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Definition
| an ecological community and its local nonbiological community; minimum system that includes and sustains life |
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Definition
a species that has a large effect on its community or ecosystem
ex: wolf, alligator |
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Definition
| refers to the variety of life forms in an area |
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Definition
biological evolution
-change in inherited characteristics of a population from generation to generation |
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Definition
| when cells divide; leads to evolution |
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Definition
| leads to evolution; a process by which organisms whose biological characteristics better fit them to the environment are represented by more descendants in future generations than those whose characteristics are less fit for the environment |
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Definition
| describes a relationship between two organisms |
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Definition
| the large scale geographic pattern in the distribution of species, and the causes and history of this distribution |
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Term
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Definition
-small islands tend to have fewer habitat types
-farther away, fewer species |
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Term
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Definition
chemical elements required in very small amounts by at least some forms of life
ex:boron
copper
molybdenium |
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Term
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Definition
elements required in large amounts by living things; "the big 6"
-carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur |
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Term
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Definition
| the area that contributes surgace water to a particular stream network |
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Definition
| consists of all those organisms in a food web that are the same number of feeding levels away from the original source of energy |
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Term
| how much energy is transferred from each trophic level? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
-organisms who make their own food and inorganic chemicals and a source of energy
-ex: green plants, algae |
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Term
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Definition
autotrophs
herbivores
carnivores
fourth level (carnivores eat carnivores)
decomposers
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Term
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Definition
| feed on waste and dead organisms of all trophic levels |
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Term
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Definition
the linkage of who feeds on whom
(basic) |
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Term
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Definition
a network of who feeds on whom or a diagram showing who feeds on whom
complex |
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Term
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Definition
-more trophic levels
-1st: planktonic algae, bacteria
-2nd: zoo plankton
-3rd: fish, intervertabraes
-4th: killer whales |
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Term
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Definition
ex: north american temperate woodland
1st: grass, trees
2nd: mice, deer
3rd: foxes, wolves
4th: humans |
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Term
| community level interactions |
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Definition
-indirect and more complicated community. wide influences species have on one another
ex: sea otters |
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Term
| how many elements are required for life? |
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Definition
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Term
| what happens to rocks during physical weathering? |
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Definition
-happens when rocks freeze and then thaw
-produces sediment such as gravel, sand and silt |
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Term
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Definition
-consists of numerous processes that produce rocks and soils
-depends on the tectonic cycle for energy ad hydrologic cycle for water
-igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary |
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Term
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Definition
| occurs when weak acids in water dissolve chemicals from rocks |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
how many of which species on earth?
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Definition
-1.5 million have been named
-insects, plants, few mammals |
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Term
why is the carbon cycle so important?
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Definition
| carbon is the element that anchors all organic substances |
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Term
| limiting factor to lake washington example |
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Definition
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Term
| migration and geographic isolation |
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Definition
| two populations become geographically isolated for a long time |
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Term
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Definition
| occurs when change in the frequency of a gene in a population are due not to mutation rejection or migration but simply to chance |
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Definition
| mutate and resistant to pesticides |
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Term
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Definition
| millions of tons of carbon are burned each year and end up somewhere unknown to science |
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Term
| why is understanding biogeochemical cycles so important? |
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Definition
| they are the major way in which elements important to earth processes and life are moved through the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere |
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Term
| competitive exclusion principle |
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Definition
two species that have exactly the same requirements cannot exist in exactly the same habitat
ex: brush red squirrel
american grey squirrel |
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Term
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Definition
-series of chemical reactions
-living green plants and sunlight energy source create carbon dioxide and water
-it makes the carbon dioxide into sugar and oxygen |
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Term
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Definition
| involves creation and destruction of the solid outer layer of earth (lithosphere) |
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Term
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Definition
-process of converting atmospheric nitrogen to nitrate or ammonium.
-almost all organisms depends on these
-some have formed sympiotic relationships in the roots of plants or stomach on animals |
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Term
| why is tectonic cycle important? |
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Definition
-change the location and size of continents
-altering climate
-create islands |
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Term
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Definition
-give off oxygen
-reverse of photosynthesis |
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Definition
| explains how so many species can coexist |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
-plates float on denser material and more
-driven by forces originating deep within earth |
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Term
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Definition
| total number of genetic characteristics of a specific species, sub species, or group of species |
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Term
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Definition
| the different kinds of habitat in a given unit area |
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Term
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Definition
-info contained in DNA is enourmous
-we now have ability to manipulate inherited characteristics
-new possibilities pose novel problems |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| a group of individuals capable of breeding |
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Definition
| E.O. wilson and others say that the influence of people are causing extinction currently |
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Term
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Definition
-organisms classified into taxa
-based on who is related to whom |
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Term
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Definition
-similar environments provide similar opportunities and similar constraints
-based on niches and habitat |
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Term
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Definition
| the process by which species evolve in different places or different times and develop similar external forms and structures because of adaption to similar environments |
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Term
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Definition
| organisms with the same genetic heritage migrate to different habitats and evolve into species with different external forms and structures, but set to same habitats |
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Term
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Definition
| permanantly frozen ground |
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Term
| relationship between climate and vegetation |
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Definition
climate: average or expected conditions over long periods of time
vegetation depends on climate |
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Term
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Definition
| an area that is biologically isolated so that a species occurring within the area cannot mix with any other population of the same species |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
-driest regions where rainfall is less than 50 cm/year
-soil has low organic matter, high nutrients |
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Term
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Definition
-fire, storms, insects
-largest remaining wilderness area |
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Term
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Definition
-somewhat dry and warm
-dominant vegetation (small trees)
-fire disturbance |
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