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Ecosystem Ecology (((:!: Chapter 3 Notes :!: (Quaternary consumers…

- - - - Quaternary consumers (Carnivores) -eat tertiary consumers Gross Primary Productivity -the total amount of solar energy that the producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time.
        Net Primary Productivity -the energy captured (GPP) minus the energy respired by producers.
        Standing Crops -the amount of biomass presented in an ecosystem at a particular time
        Ecological Efficiency -The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one tropic level to the other
        Tropic Pyramid -the representation of of the distribution of biomass among trophic level
        Evapotranspiration -the combined amount of evaporation and transpiration
      - Ecosystem- A particular location on Earth distinguished by its particular mix of interacting biotic and abiotic components.
      - The Hydrologic Cycle -Transpiration- The process where plants release water from their leaves into the atmosphere.
        Evapotranspiration- The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration.
        Runoff- When water moves across the land surface into streams and rivers, eventually reaching the ocean.
        Know also: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, percolation, leaching.
      - The Carbon Cycle -Six processes that drive the carbon cycle:
        Photosynthesis
        Respiration
        Exchange
        Sedimentation and burial
        Extraction (not the problem, combustion is)
        combustion
      - The Nitrogen Cycle -Nitrogen: the most abundant element in the atmosphere.
        Often a limiting nutrient for producers.
        Used to form amino acids >proteins. And nucleic acids > DNA and RNA.
        3% total body weight comes from nitrogen.
      - Sulfur Cycle -low cycling and scarcely available
        Sulfur is important for the functioning of proteins and enzymes in plants, and in animals that depend upon plants for sulfur.
        Most of the earth's sulfur is tied up in rocks and salts or buried deep in the ocean in oceanic sediments
        Causes acid precipitation by combustion of fossil fuels which will release SO2 into the atmosphere to act as a pollutant.
      - Resistance- A measure of how much a disturbance can affect its flows of energy and matter.
        High resistance means disturbance has little to no effect.
        Resilience- The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance.
        High resilience means the ecosystem recovers quickly.
        Restoration ecology- A new scientific discipline that is interested in restoring damaged ecosystems.
      - Provisions- Goods that humans can use directly.
        Regulating services- The service provided by natural systems that helps regulate environmental conditions.
        Support systems- The support services that natural ecosystems provide such as pollination, natural filters and pest control.
        Resilience- Resilience of an ecosystem ensures that it will continue to provide benefits to humans. This greatly depends on species diversity.
        Cultural services- Ecosystems provide cultural or aesthetic benefits to many people.
    - - :!:Chapter 4 Notes:!:
        
        Weather- the short term conditions of the atmosphere in a local area. These include temperature, humidity, clouds, precipitation, wind speed and atmospheric pressure.
        Climate- The average weather that occurs in a given region over a long period- typically several decades.
        Albedo - the % of incoming light that is reflected from the surface.
        Density- less dense air rises, denser air sinks.
        Water vapor capacity- warm air has a higher capacity for water vapor than cold air.
        Hadley cells- the convection currents that cycle between the equator and 30˚ north and south.
        Intertropical convergence- the area of Earth that receives the most intense sunlight and where the ascending branches of the two Hadley cells converge.
        Polar cells- the convection currents that are formed by air that rises at 60˚ north and south and sinks at the poles (90˚ north and south)
        Gyres- the large-scale patterns of water circulation
        Upwelling- as the surface currents separate from one another, deeper waters rise and replace the water that has moved away.
        Thermohaline circulation- another oceanic circulation that drives the mixing of surface water and deep water.
        
        Biomes- The presence of similar plant growth forms in areas possessing similar temperature and precipitation patterns
        Latent heat release- when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into liquid water and energy is released.
      - :!: Chapter 5 Notes :!:
        
        Ecosystem diversity- the variety of ecosystems within a given region.
        Species diversity- the variety of species in a given ecosystem.
        Genetic diversity- the variety of genes within a given species.
        Evolution- a change in the genetic composition of a population over time.
        Microevolution- evolution below the species level.
        Gives rise to diversity within a species.
        Macroevolution- Evolution which gives rise to new species or new genera, family, class or phyla.
        Gives rise to new species, genus, class, family, etc.
        Genes- physical locations on chromosomes within each cell of an organism.
        Genotype- the complete set of genes in an individual.
        Mutation- a random change in the genetic code.
        Phenotype- the actual set of traits expressed in an individual.
        Recombination-occurs as chromosomes are duplicated during meiosis and mitosis.
        
        Evolution by artificial selection- when humans determine which individuals breed.
        Evolution by natural selection- the environment determines which individuals are most likely to survive and reproduce.
        Fitness: Ability to survive and reproduce.
        Adaptation: Traits that improve an individual’s fitness.
        Mutation- occur randomly and can add to the genetic variation of a population.
        Genetic drift- change in the genetic composition of a population over time as a result of random mating.
        Bottleneck effect- a reduction in the genetic diversity of a population caused by a reduction in its size.
        Founder effect- a change in a population descended from a small number of colonizing individuals.
        Allopatric speciation- when new species are created by geographic or reproductive isolation.
        Sympatric speciation- the evolution of one species into two species in the absence of geographic isolation, usually through the process of polyploidy, an increase in the number of sets of chromosomes.
        
        Range of tolerance- all species have an optimal environment in which it performs well. The limit to the abiotic conditions they can tolerate is known as the range of tolerance.
        Fundamental niche- the ideal conditions for a species.
        Realized niche- the range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species lives. This determines the species distribution, or areas of the world where it lives.
        Niche generalist- species that live under a wide range of conditions.
        Niche specialist- species that live only in specific habitats.
        Fossils- remains of organisms that have been preserved in rock. Much of what we know about evolution comes from the fossil record.