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Botkin & Keller: Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet- 8th Ed.

Chapter #5- Ecosystems: Concepts and Fundamentals Guided Reading Assignment Name:____Chau Vu_________________________________ Case Study: Sea Otters, Sea Urchins, and Kelp: Indirect Effects of Species on One Another 1: Define: Community Effect -> When species within an ecosystem affects another without ever being directly connected 2: Explain WHY the Sea Otter is considered the Keystone Species in this ecosystem. (Hint: Explain the food chain) -> While sea otters affect the abundance of kelp, their influence is indirect they neither feed on kelp nor protect individual kelp plants from attack by sea urchins. But sea otters reduce the number of sea urchins. With fewer sea urchins, less kelp is destroyed. With more kelp, there are more habitats for many other species; so sea otters indirectly increase the diversity of species. 3: Why were Sea Otters endangered and how did their numbers rebound? -> Sea Otters were endangered because they were hunted for their fur. Their numbers rebound when it had legal protection in 1911 5.1- The Ecosystem: Sustaining Life on Earth 1: Define Ecosystem Structure -> Two major parts: nonliving and living. The nonliving part is the physical chemical environment, including the local atmosphere, water, and mineral soil (on land) or other substrate (in water). The living part, called the ecological community, is the set of species interacting within the ecosystem. 2: What two main processes must occur to maintain an ecosystem? -> Two main processes must occur to maintain an ecosystem: a cycling of chemical elements and a flow of energy. 5.2- Ecological Communities and Food Chains

1: What is the difference between a food chain and a food web? -> Food chain The linkage of who feed on whom. -> Food web The more complex linkage. 2: Define: Trophic Level -> Trophic Level Consists of all organisms in food webs that are the same number of feeding levels away from the original energy source. 3: Define: Autotrophs, Heterotrophs, Carnivores, Herbivores, Decomposers -> Autotrophs Green plants, algae, and certain bacteria produce sugars through the process of photosynthesis, using only energy from the sun and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. Auto (self) and trephein (to nourish), are grouped into the first trophic level.

-> Heterotrophs All other organisms -> Carnivores Meat-eaters, that feed directly on herbivores make up the third trophic level. -> Herbivores Organisms that feed on plants, algae, or photosynthetic bacteria are members of the second trophic level. -> Decomposers Those that feed on dead organic material are classified in the highest trophic level in an ecosystem. 4: Explain the food web of Yellowstone Hot Springs. Explain each trophic level (include a photo). -> Photosynthetic bacteria and algae make up the springs first trophic level. Ephydrid flies make up the second (herbivore) trophic level. The third (carnivore) trophic level is made up of a dolichopodid fly, which feeds on the eggs and larvae of the herbivorous flies, and dragonflies, wasps, spiders, tiger beetles, and one species of birds, the killdeer, that feeds on the ephydrid flies. 5: Explain a pelagic ecosystem. Explain each trophic level (include photos). -> In oceans, food webs involve more species and tend to have more trophic levels than they do in a terrestrial ecosystem. In a typical pelagic (open-ocean) ecosystem, microscopic single-cell planktonic algae and planktonic photosynthetic bacteria are in the first trophic level. Small invertebrates called zooplankton and some fish feed on the algae and photosynthetic bacteria, forming the second trophic level. Other fish and invertebrates feed on these herbivores and form the third trophic level. The great baleen whales filter seawater for food, feeding primarily on small herbivorous zooplankton, and thus the baleen whales are also in the third level. Some fish and marine mammals, such as killer whales, feed on the predatory fish and form higher trophic levels.

A Closer Look- Land and Marine Food Webs 1: Look at the terrestrial food web. Should we include people within this ecosystem's food web? That would place us within nature. OR should we place people outside of the ecosystem, thus separate from nature? -> We should include humans in the food web, because we feed on other trophic levels which can be put as a 5th trophic level.

5.3- Ecosystems as Systems 1: Why are ecosystems considered to be OPEN systems? -> Ecosystems are considered to be OPEN systems because energy and matter flow into and out of them. 2: Define: Watershed -> A commonly used practical delineation of the boundary of an ecosystem on land is the watershed.

5.4- Biological Production and Ecosystem Energy Flow 1: Define: Energy -> Energy is the ability to do work, to move matter. 2: Explain: Ecosystem Energy Flow- What two ways does energy enter an ecosystem? -> Ecosystem energy flow is the movement of energy through an ecosystem from the external environment through a series of organisms and back to the external environment.

The Laws of Thermodynamics and the Ultimate Limit on the Abundance of Life 1: The First Law of Thermodynamics is also known as what? Define it. -> The first law of thermodynamics, known as the law of conservation of energy states that in any physical or chemical change, energy is neither created nor destroyed but merely changed from one form to another. 2: What is the Second Law of Thermodynamics say? -> No use of energy can ever be 100% efficient. 3: Define Entropy (give an example). -> The measure of the decrease in order (the disorganization of energy) is called entropy. The engineer did produce some furniture, converting a pile of lumber into nicely ordered tables and chairs. The system had a local increase of order at the cost of a general increase in disorder. 4: What is an intermediate system? -> An intermediate system is ecosystem which lies between a source of usable energy and the energy sin) 5.5- Biological Production and Biomass 1: What is biomass? -> The total amount of organic matter in any ecosystem is called its biomass. 2: Define the following: * Biological Production The capture of usable energy from the environment to produce organic matter. * Gross Production The increase in stored energy before any is used

* Net Production The amount of newly acquired energy stored after some energy has been used. 3: What are the 3 measures that are used for biomass and biological production? -> Quantity of organic material, energy stored and carbon stored. 4: What is primary production- who carries this out? -> The production carried out by autotrophs is called primary production. 5: What is secondary production- who is involved? -> Production carried out by heterotrophs is called secondary production. 6: Who are chemoautotrophs? Explain- where are they usually found? -> Some autotrophic bacteria can derive energy from inorganic sulfur coumpounds.

5.6- Energy Efficiency and Transfer Efficiency 1: What is energy efficiency? -> The ratio of output to input, and it is usually further defined as the amount of useful work obtained from some amount of available energy. 2: How would energy efficiency look with a wolf and moose population? Explain. -> Wolf needs energy to travel and hunt. Its efficiency is based on how well it will do based on the energy used to eat the moose. 3: What is food-chain or trophic level efficiency? -> A common ecological measure of energy efficiency. 4: Generally, how much energy is lost to heat when being transferred between trophic levels? -> Generally, more than 90% energy is lost to heat when being transferred between trophic levels. 5.7- Ecological Stability and Succession 1: What is ecological succession? -> When an ecosystem is able to recover after being disturbed 2: Compare and contrast primary and secondary succession- give an example of each. -> Primary succession is the establishment and development of an ecosystem where one did not exist previously. Coral reefs that form on lava emitted from a volcano and cooled in shallow ocean waters are examples of primary succession. -> Secondary succession is reestablishment of an ecosystem after disturbances. A coral reef that has been killed by poor fishing practices, pollution, climate change, or predation, and then recovers, is an example of secondary succession. 3: Explain how succession would look in a Dune. -> Dune is formed, and then dune grass invades. The stems carry out photosynthesis and grasses grow. When dune grass is established, it stabilizes sand and seeds have a better chance to germinate. New plants begin to grow, and then species begin to develop. Larger plants are able to grow, and then a forest will develop. 4: Explain how succession would look in a Bog. -> They form a complex matlike network similar to that formed by dune grass. The mat becomes thicker as small shrubs and trees grow because of wind blowing particles onto it. 5: Explain how succession would look in an old-field. -> The first plants to enter are small plants adapted to harsh conditions. Other larger plants eventually grow. Over time trees will grow 6: Explain how succession would look in a coral reef. -> Corals settle on solid surfaces and produce a hard polyp of calcium carbonate. As they die, the material becomes the surface which new individuals can establish on them. Algae, coral, snails and urchins live and die on the reef also. Eventually, complex structures result involving many other species.

5.9- How Species Change Succession

1: Explain facilitation in succession and where is it most common? -> In facilitation, an earlier-successional species changes the local environment in ways that make it suitable for another species that is characteristic of a later successional stage. It is common in tropical rain forests, where early-successional species speed the reappearance of the microclimatic conditions that occur in a mature forest. 2: Explain interference in succession and what it can lead to. -> In contrast to facilitation, interference refers to situations where an earlier-successional species changes the local environment so it is unsuitable to another species character. 3: What is chronic patchiness? When does this occur? -> In cases where no species interact through succession, the result is termed chronic patchiness. Chronic patchiness also describes planktonic ecological communities and their ecosystems, which occur in the constantly moving waters of the upper ocean and the upper waters of ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams.

Critical Thinking Issue: Should People Eat Lower on the Food Chain? 1: Why does the energy content decrease at each higher level of a food chain? What happens to the energy lost at each level? -> Energy content decreases at each higher level of a food chain because the transfer of energy requires some of the energy to become heat. The energy lost becomes heat energy. 2: Why it is appropriate to use mass to represent energy content? -> It shows how much is needed to fulfill an organisms energy needs.

3: Using the average of 21 kilojoules of energy to equal 1g of completely dried vegetation and assuming that wheat is 80% water, what is the energy content of the 333,000 kg of wheat shown in the pyramid? (Show your work). -> 333,000kg/21=15857g*.80=12686 Joules. 4: Make a list of environmental arguments for and against an entirely vegetarian diet for people. What might be the consequences for the United States agriculture if everyone in the country began to eat lower on the food chain? -> Pros: More energy, healthier lifestyles Cons: Limit of foods you can eat, less nutrients given only by meat. Increase of a cattle, which means a decrease in grasses and vegetation. 5: How low do you eat on the food chain? Would you be willing to eat lower? Explain. -> I eat as low as the herbivores. I am willing to eat lower if it comes to the point where there are fewer animals in our world, and the populations need to go back to normal.

Study Questions: 1: Farming has been described as managing land to keep it in an early stage of succession. What does this mean, and how is it achieved? -> If a piece of land was left alone for many, many, many years...It would evolve though natural selection....starting from grasses to shrubs to trees.... 2: Keep track of the food you eat during one day and make a food chain linking yourself with the sources of those foods. Determine the biomass (grams) and energy (kilocalories) you have eaten. Using an average of 5Kcal/g, and then using the information on food packaging or assuming that your net production is 10% efficient in terms of energy intake, how much additional energy might you have stored during the day? (What is your weight gain from the food you have eaten?)

Me

Fish

Beef

Pork

5 * 0.1 = 0.5 0.5 * 2 = 1 kg

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