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

What is one major way in which humans harmfully impact the water cycle?

Use the accompanying figure to answer the following question(s). Why would there be fewer organisms at level A than at any level below it?

Ecologists assign every type of organism in an ecosystem to a feeding level or ____________________.

What is an end product of anaerobic respiration?

All physical forms of water (solid, liquid, and gas)on or near the earth's surface make up the ____.

Although tropical rain forests are only about 2% of the earth's land surface, they contain about 50% of the world's land plant and animal species.

What term describes organisms that complete the final breakdown and recycling of organic materials from the remains of all organisms?

What is the innermost layer of the atmosphere, extending 17 kilometers above sea level at the tropics and about 7 kilometers above the earth's north and south poles?

Which statement about water is true ?

Temporary oceanic, atmospheric, and terrestrial storage sites for nutrients are called ____________________.

A group of different species living in a particular place, and potentially interacting with each other is called a population.

Ecology is the study of ____.

Use the accompanying figure to answer the following question(s). How many kilocalories have been lost between level A and level D?

In the accompanying figure, notice that heat is lost by each component of the ecosystem, and that the sun is shown entering at only one point in the system. Explain how this is representative of the two laws of energy (two laws of thermodynamics).

Thanks to concentrated efforts, nearly half of the waste produced by humans is now recycled.

Scientists have less than ____ percent of the ecological data they need to evaluate the ecosystems in the United States.

Ammonia that is not taken up by plants may undergo ____.

The use of transmitters and GPS systems are very important in the study of ____.

Most precipitation falling on terrestrial ecosystems becomes ____.

High quality energy is constantly ____.