Exam 57: Ecosystems

Relationships between temperature and rainfall are important in determining levels of primary production.In region A, both temperature and rainfall remain high throughout the year.In region B, temperature is high but rainfall remains low.What latitudes and biomes are represented by these relationships?

Some people have suggested that fertilizing the oceans with iron would help combat the effects of global warming on oceans.However, it is unlikely that this method will be used extensively, because iron fertilization

At the surface of the oceans, NPP is most often limited by nutrients, particularly nitrogen and iron.Moving downward through the ocean, the major limiting factor is usually

Compare and contrast, with examples, the production efficiencies of ectotherms and endotherms.How does size affect production efficiency?

The overharvesting of cod on Georges Bank, which resulted in the collapse of the cod fishery there, is an example of _______ use of an ecosystem.

In an ocean ecosystem that has bottom-up control and occurs in an upwelling area, the amount of NPP in the system is likely controlled by the amount of _______.

About half of the excess CO₂ released into the atmosphere is dissolved into the oceans.What effect(s) does this added CO₂ have on the oceans?

An upwelling zone off the coast of Peru, in South America, has a very high net productivity.The factor that probably contributes most to the region's high NPP is its

The relationship between ecosystem type and NPP

In the ocean, why would there be a smaller biomass of large predators (for example, sharks and tuna) than of herbivorous animals (for example, some small fish and zooplankton)?

In the 1990s, oceanographic researchers added iron sulfite to the surface waters around the Galápagos Islands.The result of this experiment showed that iron

Humans make many alterations to natural ecosystems.They turn natural areas into agricultural areas, build canals to transport offshore oil, cut down forests for lumber, build cities and highways, and more.How do these changes affect human societies?

A soil ecosystem has very low plant growth and is found to be deficient in nitrogen.To obtain the nitrogen it needs using natural processes (as opposed to fertilizers added by humans), this ecosystem would need more _______ bacteria.

The FACE experiments were designed to determine whether primary production could offset rising atmospheric CO₂ levels caused by the burning of _______.

As a result of human agriculture and urbanization, and more recently large-scale phosphorus mining, the amount of phosphorus in Earth's freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems has nearly quadrupled.This suggests that recent increases in algal blooms in many lakes might be occurring because phosphorus

Which of these animals would likely have the highest production efficiency?

Refer to the figure. In an ecosystem, nutrients are highly limiting and prevent NPP from increasing above a certain level.This represents which type of control of energy flow?

Addition of artificial nitrogen fertilizers to agricultural lands causes an increase in nitrification and denitrification by bacteria.These processes in turn release nitrous oxide (N₂O) into the atmosphere.What are the implications of additional nitrous oxide in the atmosphere?

Bacteria, fungi, and larger organisms attack dead leaves, breaking them into smaller fragments.Soil and fecal material of larger organisms, such as earthworms, contain bacteria that continue the decomposition.Bacteria ultimately mineralize the leaf material into inorganic substances that are used by primary producers and bacteria.These activities describe the process of decomposition as it relates to

Refer to the graph. The FACE experiment conducted in a North Carolina pine forest analyzed the effects of two factors on forest NPP.These two factors were