12. Ecosystem Dynamics and Conservation Free Online FlashCards

What is an ecosystem?

An ecosystem includes a biological community and the abiotic environment with which it interacts, including factors such as light, temperature, water, soil, and minerals.

Define ecosystem resilience.

Resilience is an ecosystem’s capacity to absorb disturbance while retaining its basic structure and functions.

How do energy and matter behave differently?

Energy flows through ecosystems and is eventually released largely as heat, whereas matter cycles repeatedly between organisms and the physical environment.

How does urban paving alter the water cycle?

Urban surfaces increase runoff and reduce infiltration, which can increase flooding and carry pollutants into waterways.

What is one consequence of ocean carbon dioxide uptake?

Ocean uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide contributes to ocean acidification, a long-term reduction in ocean pH that can hinder shell and skeleton formation.

What does denitrification do?

Denitrification is the bacterial conversion of nitrate back into nitrogen gas, returning nitrogen to the atmosphere.

What distinguishes the phosphorus cycle from nitrogen and carbon cycles?

Phosphorus has no major atmospheric gas phase; its primary reservoirs are rocks, minerals, sediments, and soil.

How is net primary productivity calculated?

NPP is the carbon remaining after producers use some fixed carbon for respiration: NPP = GPP − Rp.

What does net ecosystem productivity measure?

NEP is GPP minus respiration by producers, consumers, and decomposers: NEP = GPP − (Rp + Rc + Rd).

What is a limiting factor?

A limiting factor is a condition that restricts a process because it is in short supply or outside an organism’s tolerance range.

Define biomagnification.

Biomagnification is the increase in concentration of a persistent substance at higher trophic levels.

What is habitat fragmentation?

Habitat fragmentation divides remaining habitat into smaller, isolated patches, which can interrupt movement and increase genetic isolation and edge effects.