Ecosystem Components

Components of an Ecosystem

• An ecosystem requires organisms to interact with each other and their environment.
• Ecosystems are composed of both biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors.
• Biotic factors are living organisms.
• Abiotic factors are non-living factors.
• Energy is transferred through an ecosystem.
• Energy from autotrophs is passed to primary consumers in a linear, one-way flow, dissipating as heat.
• Producers, consumers, and decomposers are some key components of an ecosystem.
• Energy is lost as heat at each trophic level, with only about 10% being transferred.
• Examples of energy transfer include food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids.
• Biochemical cycling involves the movement of chemical elements/compounds through biotic and abiotic components.
• The source of these elements is Earth’s reservoirs: atmosphere, water, soil, and organisms.
• Key elements include nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, and phosphorus
• Examples of biochemical cycles include the water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles.
• The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.
• The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that every exchange of energy increases the entropy of the universe.
• The Law of Conservation states that matter cannot be created or destroyed.

Trophic Levels and Energy Flow

• Autotrophs produce their own food through photosynthesis/chemosynthesis.
• Autotrophs convert light energy into chemical energy, storing it as food.
• Autotrophs directly or indirectly affect other organisms by providing energy and oxygen.
• Heterotrophs consume other organisms for energy.
• The types of heterotrophs: herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and scavengers
• Herbivores consume plants or algae, such as insects on land and zooplankton in aquatic habitats.
• Carnivores eat other animals; for instance, rats eat insects, and snakes eat rats.
• Omnivores consume both plants and animals.
• Scavengers consume dead organisms.
• Energy pyramids show energy loss at each trophic level.
• Food webs illustrate complex feeding relationships in ecosystems.
• Decomposers break down organic material, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.
• Scavengers consume dead organisms.
• Decomposers, like bacteria and fungi, break down dead organic matter into simpler substances, enriching the soil and recycling nutrients.

Population Dynamics

• Biotic potential is the maximum reproductive capacity under ideal conditions.
• Biotic potential represents a living species' capacity to increase under ideal environmental conditions.
• Factors influencing biotic potential include sufficient food supply, lack of predators/disease, age of first reproduction, frequency of reproduction, offspring number, reproductive lifespan, and death rate.
• Exponential growth is a sudden increase in population numbers at a constant rate, indicating ideal conditions.
• Environmental resistance limits population growth through factors like food scarcity, predation, and disease.
• Environmental resistance is the sum of factors restricting biotic potential, determining the number of individuals an ecosystem can sustain.

Limiting Factors

• Abiotic limiting factors include too much/little sunlight, extreme temperatures, and unfavorable chemical environments.
• Biotic limiting factors include low reproductive rate, specialized niche, inadequate food supply, unsuitable habitat, too many competitors, inability to hide/defend, disease susceptibility, and inability to migrate.

Ecological Limits and Laws

• The Law of Minimum states that the scarcest resource limits growth.
• Nutrients/resources in least supply limit growth; for example, limited sunlight, nitrogen, or phosphorus can restrict seaweed growth.
• Adding more of a non-scarce factor will not increase biomass if a resource is scarce.
• The Law of Tolerance states organisms survive within a specific environmental range.
• Organisms can only tolerate/survive within a particular range of abiotic factors.
• Coral reefs are sensitive to changes in water temperature, salinity, acidity, and light.

Terrestrial Biomes

• Terrestrial biomes include tropical rainforests, temperate forests, grasslands, deserts, taigas, and tundras.
• Tropical rainforests have high rainfall (200-400cm), a warm climate (25-29°C), and diverse species near the equator.
• Tropical rainforests provides many habitats and supports diversity.
• Temperate forests are halfway between the equator and poles, having moderate temperatures/rainfall (70-200 cm per year).
• Grasslands are halfway between the equator and poles, with seasonal rainfall (30-100 cm per year), dry winters, and wet summers.
• Deserts are the driest biomes, with low rainfall (less than 30 cm/year), and can be very hot or cold, with nocturnal animals.
• Taigas are the largest biome, with coniferous plants, warm summers (20°C), cold winters (-30°C), and moderate rainfall (30-70 cm).
• Tundras are northernmost/southernmost, lack rainfall, and are found on mountaintops, with winter temperatures of -30°C and summer temperatures of 10°C.
• Key biome characteristics include climate, average temperature/rainfall, dominant plant/animal life, and geographic location/distribution.
• Biomes are characterized by rainfall, temperature patterns, location, plant adaptations, and terrestrial extent.

Terrestrial Biomes Questions

• Terrestrial biomes are defined by factors that determine their characteristics.
• Tropical rainforests have specific plant and animal species.
• Savannas differ from other biomes, influencing plant/animal adaptations.
• Deserts have defining features that impact animal survival.
• Grasslands (prairies) differ, playing a key role to plants.
• Deciduous forests have typical characteristics in specific locations.
• Taigas and northern coniferous forests display northern coniferous forests, with species.
• Tundra biome. How do plants and animals in the tundra adapt to its extreme environment?

Aquatic Biomes

• Freshwater biomes include rivers, lakes, ponds, and wetlands.
• Lakes are stratified standing bodies of water, exhibiting warm/shallow and cold/deep zones.
• Lake characteristics (Eutrophication, nitrogen and phosphorus, algae blooms, affecting life) vary among seasons.
• Rivers and streams are flowing bodies of water that begin at a higher, cooler source and descend into larger bodies.
• Wetlands saturated with water filter water pollution.
• Marine biomes are oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries.
• Estuaries are river transition zones where mangrove trees and blue crabs thrive.
• Nutrients in rivers contribute high productivity to the Estuary with Grasses, phytoplankton, invertebrates, fish, and birds.
• The intertidal zone acts as a transition between land and sea, featuring air and direct sun, with certain species and urban development/pollution.
• The upper portions of the intertidal zone experiences air, while lower portions experience water.
• Common species in the intertidal zone include algae and sea glass.

Aquatic Biome Questions

• Terrestrial biomes are differentiated by terrestrial biomes.
• Aquatic biomes do not correlate with latitude, indicating single ocean biome significance.
• Aquatic biomes (physical and chemical factors) are differentiated based on physical/chemical.
• Marine algae is important to carbon dioxide absorption.
• Freshwater biomes vary by stratification, freshwater biomes, salinity, and oxygen levels.
• Ecological functions are important to improving water quality in ecological functions and significance.
• Estuaries have unique environmental water quality and organisms.
• The intertidal zone has function/organisms.
• Open oceans have characteristics, with the open oceans significantly impacted.

Rocks and Minerals

• Rocks (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks) are distinguished based on formation.
• Igneous rocks form from cooling magma.
• Intrusive rocks cool slowly with large crystals.
• Extrusive rocks cool quickly with small or no crystals.
• Sedimentary rocks form through compaction/cementation.
• Clastic rocks are composed of pre-existing minerals and rock fragments.
• Crystalline rocks form from precipitation of dissolved minerals.
• Organic rocks accumulate from lithification of organic debris
• Metamorphic rocks are changed under heat/pressure through regional/contact metamorphism.
• Metamorphism increases from shale to slate to phyllite to schist to gneiss.
• Mineral color has certain identification.
• The Mohs scale is used to measure hardness.
• The mineral reactions identify reactions to mineral reactions. Layered structures are not typical of Igneous rocks.
• Fossils are not typical of Igneous rocks as they form from molten lava or magma, which destroys any organic material.
• Igneous rocks do not have well-sorted, rounded grains and their texture is crystalline.
• Igneous rocks are usually hard and dense, not soft or easily broken apart.
• Most igneous rocks do not react strongly to acid, unlike limestone (a sedimentary rock).
• Igneous rocks form from cooling lava or magma, not from the compression of sediments.
• Some metamorphic rocks show visible mineral bands (foliation), but igneous rocks do not typically have this pattern..

Rock Cycle and Processes

• Igneous rocks are identified based on specific characteristics.
• Clastic sedimentary rocks are defined by defining clastic.
• Primary processes forming metamorphic rocks include heat, pressure, and chemical reactions.
• Heat changes a mineral's structure without melting it.
• Pressure compresses minerals, causing realignment or foliation.
• Fluids can introduce new minerals or change existing ones through chemical reactions.
• Metamorphic rocks form when existing rocks are subjected to heat, pressure, and/or chemical changes deep inside the Earth.
• Limestone becomes marble.
• Shale becomes slate.
• Granite becomes gneiss.
• Metamorphic rocks form by are defined by a primary metamorphic.
• The rock cycle traces through transformations.
• The rock cycle is a continuous process, rocks change from I→ S→ M.
• Volcanoes send magma to Earth's surface, forming igneous rocks through cooling.
• Weathering breaks down the igneous rock to sediment.
• Over time, sediment builds up, and sedimentary rock is formed.
• Pressure and heat can cause pressure and heat in the earth, leading sedimentary rock metamorphoses.

Geological Processes

• Plutonism and volcanism are differentiated by differentiation and geological features.
• Plutonism identifies key geological and plutonism is discussed.
• Seafloor spreading involves describing Describe the process mechanism.
• Evidence supporting is discussed.

Geological Time and Dating Methods

• Relative dating uses the Law of Superposition to date rock layers.
• Absolute dating involves radiometric absolute dating, which includes isotopes.
• Radioactive isotopes identify radioactive material, with organic materials used and identify.
• Dendrochronology is applied.
• Carbon-14 has a half-life, defined as radioactive decay.
• Half-life measures radioactive decay rate.

Natural Hazards and Mitigation

• Natural hazards are hazards that are are natural.
• Impact mitigation has a specific goal, with strategies.
• Specific hazards, flooding may occur.
• Hazard preparedness involves Reviewing actions .