APES Ch. 3 Study Guides

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

  • Describe the basic levels of organization of life including organism, population, community and ecosystem
  • Identify the earth’s life support systems
  • Define trophic level and describe ecological efficiency within food chains
  • Describe the functions of food webs and the key players and their roles in nutrient cycling
  • Describe NPP and the differences among terrestrial and aquatic life zones
  • Explain the pyramid of energy flow within ecosystems
  • Identify the main components of the biogeochemical cycles (Water, Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sulfur) and discuss the human impacts on each
  • Identify the importance of soil and describe its formation, profiling, basic properties and texture
  • Define infiltration and summarize the process of leaching

Textbook References:(p4-64) (60 pages)

Miller, Living in the Environment, 15th edition: Chapter 3

Write a brief definition for each word.

  • Species
  • Biotic vs. abiotic
  • Limiting factor
  • Range of tolerance
  • Producer vs. consumer
  • Food chain vs. food web
  • Trophic level
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  • Herbivore
  • Carnivore
  • Detrivore
  • Decomposer
  • Closed vs. open system
  • Greenhouse effect
  • Percolation vs. infiltration
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  • Soil profile vs. horizon
  • Loam
  • Humus
  • GPP vs. NPP
  • Leaching
  • Scavenger
  • Autotroph vs. heterotrophy
  • HIPPO

Discussion Questions. Must answer each in complete sentences.
  1. Describe the following soil horizons. (O, A, B, C)
  2. Contrast sand, silt, and clay.
  3. Define ecology. List and distinguish among the five levels of organization of matter that are the focus of the realm of ecology.
  4. Describe how the sun and gravity power the water cycle.
  5. Why are food chains generally 10% efficient from one trophic level to the next?
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  1. Contrast the flow of matter and the flow of energy through the biosphere.
  2. Define abiotic component of an ecosystem. List one important physical factor and one important chemical factor that has a large effect on ecosystems.
  3. Compare limiting factors in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
  4. Which ecosystems show the highest average net primary productivity?

Math Problems: Show all work and circle your answers. Remember: NPP = GPP – Respiration
  1. The net annual primary productivity of a particular wetland ecosystem is found to be 8,000 kcal/m2. If respiration by the aquatic producers is 12,000 kcal/m2 per year, what is the gross annual primary productivity for this ecosystem, in kcal/m2 per year?
  2. If you measure the available biomass for a patch of forest as 10 kg C/ m2-year, and the amount of CO2 given off into the atmosphere as 5 kg C/ m2-year, what is the GPP?
  3. In the patch of forest in problem #2, how much energy is available in the primary producer level for herbivore consumption? Assume 1 kg of carbon produces 10,000 kJ.
  4. If the forest contains 200 kg of plant material, approximately how many kg of herbivore production can be supported? (assume the ecological rule of thumb or 10% rule)
  5. How many kg of carnivore production can be supported?