Exam 3: Ecosystems: What Are They and How Do They Work

Plants, but not animals, carry out photosynthesis while animals, but not plants, carry out aerobic respiration.

Explain how cellular respiration and photosynthesis are interrelated in the carbon cycle.

Living organisms can be classified into ____________________, or feeding levels, based on their source of nutrients.

An organism that consumes living plant-eating animals is a(n) ___.

A grassy meadow high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California is known to support a variety of organisms. During the summers when grass is thick and lush, and wildflowers abound, butterflies take advantage of this abundant nectar source.  Bears graze on the berries in shrubs at the edge of the meadow. Deer also forage at the edge of the meadow.  In the early mornings, coyotes are known to prey on the squirrel and mouse populations that burrow into the meadow soil.  A variety of birds prey on the butterflies and other flying insects, such as bees and wasps. If the biomass of flowers that support the butterflies was known to contain 100,000 units of energy, and certain bird species were eating the butterflies that foraged on the flowers, what amount of energy, on average, could be expected to be transferred to the birds?

The two major processes through which carbon cycles through the biosphere are ____.

Human activities affect the phosphorus cycle by greatly increasing the amount of phosphorus stored in the earth, reducing the amount available for plant growth.

Phytoplankton in the open ocean are ____.

Most precipitation falling on terrestrial ecosystems becomes ____________________, which ultimately flows into streams, lakes, wetlands, and oceans.

The ozone layer, which helps to filter out harmful UV sunlight, is found in the troposphere.

If the earth were an apple, the biosphere would be no thicker than the apple's skin.

As solar energy interacts with carbon dioxide, water vapor, and several other gases in the troposphere, it warms the troposphere-a process known as the ____________________.

A grassy meadow high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California is known to support a variety of organisms. During the summers when grass is thick and lush, and wildflowers abound, butterflies take advantage of this abundant nectar source.  Bears graze on the berries in shrubs at the edge of the meadow. Deer also forage at the edge of the meadow.  In the early mornings, coyotes are known to prey on the squirrel and mouse populations that burrow into the meadow soil.  A variety of birds prey on the butterflies and other flying insects, such as bees and wasps. Coyotes typically forage on mice and squirrels. However, as members of the canine family, Canidae, they also eat berries and parts of plants. As such, coyotes are classified as ____.

Detritivores, such as earthworms, consume wastes and dead organisms to obtain nutrients.

An example of a detritus feeder is a(n) ____.

____________________ is the rate at which an ecosystem's producers (usually plants) convert solar energy into chemical energy stored in compounds found in their tissues, without including the use of chemical energy through aerobic respiration.

Clearly explain the difference between ultraviolet (UV) and infrared radiation and how this relates to the greenhouse effect.

A highly poisonous gas that smells like rotten eggs and can be a product of fermentation _______________.

An orca is an example of a(n) ____.

Ecologists primarily focus on studying interactions from the level of ____ to the level of ____.