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| branch of science that focuses on natural living systems; study of matter and energy of whole natural systems |
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| all different kinds of living things in an area ("the community") plus the physical surroundings of these living things; can be of many scales (sizes) |
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| obtain atoms and energy from ecosystems and make organic molecules |
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| sustained by consuming producers |
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| bacteria, fungi, and others who renew the raw materials of life |
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| living parts of the ecosystems that interact |
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| non living parts of ecosystems that interact |
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| ecological community (all interacting organisms that work together to maintain life) |
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| order of consumption of one organism by another |
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| grouping of community members |
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1) Plant (photosynthetic)
2) herbivores
3) carnivores
4) decomposers |
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| what are the trophic levels: |
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| False; 10% of energy moves |
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| True or False: only 15% of energy moves between tropic levels |
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| passage of carbon from surroundings to members of the community and back |
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| mode of survival, a particular way of obtaining matter and energy with an ecosystem |
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| a balance reflecting the fact that matter and energy are limited resources that must be shared by all individuals |
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1) Biotic and Abiotic parts
2) Energy flows through ecosystems
3) Matter is recycled by ecosystems
4) Ecologic niches
5) Stable ecosystems achieve balance among their populations
6) Ecosystems change over time |
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| 6 Community characteristics: |
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| climate change, plate tectonic movement, species evolution, migration, extinction |
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| Examples of change in ecosystems over time: |
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| Law of Unintended Consequences |
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| Law that says it is virtually impossible to change one aspect or variable of a complex system without affecting other aspects or variables in the system |
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| dump in pit, compact the trash in pit, cover with soil, repeat until landfill space is exhausted , look for another landfill area |
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| what is the modern method of solid waste disposal |
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| burial inhibits natural C and N recycling |
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| Problems with Solid Waste disposal: |
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| forms a layer in the upper atmosphere that blocks harmful UV radiation from the Sun |
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| 2O3 + Cl +sunlight= 3O2 + Cl |
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| chemical formula for Ozone hole: |
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| man-made chemicals (called chlorofluorocarbons, or "freon") that are used in pressure spray cans, air-conditioning systems, and other man-made products |
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| chlorofluorocarbons or "freon" |
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Definition
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| Government restrictions on Freon and similar chemicals that accumulate in the upper atmosphere |
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| Solution to Ozone depletion: |
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| oxidation(burning) produces CO2, H2O, and pollutants (N-oxides, S-compounds, and hydrocarbons) |
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| how is acid rain produced: |
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| NO (nitrogen oxide), NO2 (nitrogen dioxide), NO3, etc. |
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| examples of Nitrogen oxides |
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| by burning petroleum and coal |
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| how are sulfur compounds released |
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| long chain molecules that are not burned completely in modern energy-consuming devices (e.g. automobiles) |
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sunlight striking N-compounds and hydrocarbons produces O3, a caustic gas when breathed
water droplets and sunlight plus chemicals in the air = droplets of nitric and sulfuric acid |
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| brown air that contains O3, N-compounds, and hydrocarbon molecules |
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| True or False: Acid rain is particularly stressful and can be lethal to some plants, the base of the food chain |
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Carbon dioxide (CO2) released by burning fossil fuels accumulates in the atmosphere over time (if contributed faster than it can be removed naturally)
CO2 absorbs UV photons and thus heat is added to the atmosphere |
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| rapid melting of glacial ice at high altitudes and high latitudes will cause rapid sea level rise and inundation of shoreline areas where a high percentage of the Earth's human population lives |
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| if global heating continues what will happen? |
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| Global heating will continue to accelerate the rate of species loss and turn more and more of Earth's surface into warm regions |
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| one per day in the tropics which is ten times the estimated extinction rate at the time of the death of all dinosaur species (65 million years ago) |
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| what is the present rate of species loss |
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1) Ordovician-Silurian 75% 438 million years old
2) Permian-Triassic 90% 245 m.y. old
3) Triassic-Jurassic 45% 208 m.y. old
4) Cretaceous-Tertiary 70% 65 m.y. old |
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1) destruction of tropical ecosystems: always the well spring of life on Earth during times of extinction, the tropics are being decimated by human activity and climate change on a scale unprecedented in the history of the Earth
2) Climate change due to the recent end of the Wisconsinian glacial stage and human activities, which have contributed greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere.
3) Widespread volcanic activity, which pollutes Earth's atmosphere with gas and dust, associated with the modern effects of rapid plate tectonic movement
4.) The "human footprint" due to overpopulation of Earth by one species. Human population already exceeds Earth's ecological carrying capacity for our species by ~20%. The problem gets worse each year with growing population numbers. Human activities like farming, grazing, foresting, and engineering projects collectively make more changes on the Earth than nearly all natural processes combined. No species has ever had such an impact on Earth. |
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| 4 main causes of modern mass extinction: |
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