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56 Cards in this Set
- Front
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ecology
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the science of the relationship between organisms and their environment
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organism
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an idividual form of life, such as a plant, animal, bacterium, protist or fungus
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species
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a fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus and consiting of related organisms capable of interbreeding
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natural capital
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indispensable resources and benefits, essential for human survival and economic activity, provided by the ecosystem (renewable/non-renewable)
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population
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all the organisms that consitute a specific group or occur in a specified habitat
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habitat
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the area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs
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community
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an assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area
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ecosystem
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an ecological community together with its environment, functioning as a unit
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biosphere
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the part of the earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life
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atmosphere
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the gaseous mass or envelope surrounding a celestial body, especially the one surrounding the earth, and retained by the celestial body's gravitational field
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lithosphere
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the outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, approximately 100 km thick
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hydrosphere
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the waters of the earth's surface as distinguished from those of the lithosphere and the atmosphere
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solar capital
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solar energy from the sun reaching the earth
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natural greenhouse effect
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keeps the earth's climate warm and inhabitable
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biomes
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major regional or global biotic communities, such as grasslands or deserts, characterized chiefly by the dominant forms of life and the prevailing climate (temperature and precipitation)
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abiotic/biotic
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non-living/living components of an ecosystem
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range of tolerance
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how much an organism can take and still exist (temperature extremes, pressure changes, rainfall, pH, light levels); conditions for survival
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limiting factor principal
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one variable that can destroy an organism or population no matter how well the other variables are going
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producers/autotrophs
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create their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis; plants, some bacteria
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photosynthesis
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the process of creating food (glucose) and oxygen out of solar energy, water and carbon dioxidet
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chemosynthesis
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synthesis or carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water using energy obtained from the chemical oxidation of simple inorganic compounds (bacteria/fungi)
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consumers/heterotrophs
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organisms that cannot synthesize their own food and are dependent on complex organic substances for nutrition (omnivores/carnivores/herbivores/detritovores)
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omnivores
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eat what is available, plants and animals
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detritovores
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eat exclusively dead things, scavengers (feed on detritus or organic waste)
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aerobic/anaerobic respiration
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in the presence of oxygen/needless of the presence of oxygen
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biodiversity
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variability among living organisms on the earth or specified geographic region
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trophic level
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group of organisms that occupy the same position in a food chain
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ecological efficiency
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the ability of organisms at one trophic level to convert to their own use the potential energy supplied by their foodstuff at the trophic level directly beneath them
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gross primary productivity
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rate at which an ecosystem's producers capture and store a given amount of chemical energy as biomass in a given length of time
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net primary productivity
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GPP minus respiration (the rate at which all the plants in an ecosystem produce net useful chemical energy)
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weathering
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any of the chemical or mechanical processes by which rocks exposed to the weather undergo changes in character and break down
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soil horizons
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layers of soil
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soil profile
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cross-section of soil, diagram
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humus
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mineral-rich soil, darkens soil, highly nutritious, organic material
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infiltration
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the action of water entering soil
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leaching
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natural process by which water soluble substances (such as calcium, fertilizers, pesticides) are washed out from soil or wastes, causing pollution
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soil texture
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measurement of the proportion of mineral particles of different sizes that are found in the same sample of soil (sand, silt, clay)
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loam
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soil composed of a mixture of sand, clay, silt and organic matter
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porosity
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the volume of water that can be held in a soil; also refers to the ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume of the soil
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permeability
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the rate of flow of a liquid or gas through a porous material
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What are nutrient cycles called?
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biogeochemical cycles
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What are the five most common kinds?
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hydrologic, nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur, carbon
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What are the four most important elements?
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carbon, phosphorous, sulfur, nitrogen
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C-Atmosphere, CO2
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hydrologic, dissolved carbonates; sedimentary, fossil fuels
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N2-Atmosphere
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hydrologic, dissolved ammonium and nitrates
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P-Sedimentary, PO4
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hydrologic, dissolved phosphates
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S-Sedimentary, SO4
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atmospheric, sulfates, sulfur oxides, sulfuric acid; hydrologic, dissolved sulfates and sulfuric acid
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What is the energy flow through trophic levels?
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producers (autotrophs)-->primary consumers (herbivores)-->secondary consumers (carnivores/omnivores)-->tertiary consumers (top carnivores/omnivores)
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How can organisms move from one trophic level to another?
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by eating different types of things
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What will cause plants and animals to exist and thrive?
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the more sunlight and water
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How much energy is lost to the environment in energy flow?
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90%
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What are the three interconnected parts of the biosphere?
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hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere
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What are the three parts of matter or nutrient recycling?
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plant growth (photosynthesis), animal consumption (respiration), nutrient recycling (decomposition)
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What are the levels of organization?
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organisms-->populations-->communities-->ecosystems-->biospheres
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What are the differences between a prokaryotic and a eukaryotic cell?
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prokaryotic has flagellum, nucleoid, more basic; eukaryotic has mitochondria, nucleus, nucleolis, etc.
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What are the two main things that determine biome type?
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temperature and precipitation
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