Ecology Vocabulary 3

Fauna (noun): The animal life in an area

Flora (noun): Plant life in an area

Food Web (noun): Many food chains put together to show how energy flows through  
ecosystem

Food Chain (noun): The order in which animals feed on plants and other animals (shows
how energy flows from producer to consumer)

Population (noun): All the members of one species that live in one area

Predator (noun): An animal that hunts, kills and eats other animals

Prey (noun): An animal that is hunter, killed and eaten by a predator

Producer (noun): An organism that can make its own food

Primary Consumer (noun): Animals that eat primary producers; they also called
herbivores

Secondary Consumer (noun): Animals that eat primary consumers. They are carnivores
and omnivores

Tertiary Consumers (noun): A carnivore at the top of the food chain that feeds on other
carnivores; an animal that feeds only on secondary consumers

Water Cycle Graphs and What They Display

"Biogeochemical cycles: Figure 3" by OpenStax College, Biology, CC BY 4.0

This graph depicts the amount of time it takes for certain water molecules to cycle through different environments. This is relevant, because basically every organism on Earth depends on water and many rely on fresh water. Knowing when the water molecules cycle through the environment helps humans better predict when water will again become available to the environment. 

 Biogeochemical cycles: Figure 1 by OpenStax College, Concepts of Biology, CC BY 4.0

This graph represents the amount of water compared to the mount of freshwater on Earth. It then proceeds to compare the amount of fresh water in glaciers compared to the amount of fresh water persisting in other sources around the world. This is relevant, because

Fossil Fuels 101 Notes

Fossil Fuels Origin 

.Fossil Fuels are made from ancient dead organisms, namely plants, from the Carboniferous Period about 362 to 286 years ago

.Most of the world was populated with swamps and oceans during the period


How Fossil Fuels are Formed in the Ground

.As organisms died they would sink into sand and muddle and decompose. Over millions of years they are covered with many mineral materials

.Different fossil fuels are formed depending on time, pressure conditions, temperature, and the type of organic matter

.There are three main types of fossil fuels: Coal, Oil, and Natural Gas

.Coal: Formed when trees and plants died then were exposed to lots of pressure and heat

.Natural Gas: Dead microorganisms combined with lots of heat and pressure

Oil: Formed when dead microorganisms were exposed to high amounts of pressure

Fossil Fuel Uses 

.It is the most sought after energy source in the world, due to the high density of energy

(Student Energy. Fossil Fuels 101. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.)

.Can be used for electricity production, transportation fuel, and can make a lot of common products (such as plastic, cosemetics, and medicines)

.In some areas of the world it is cheap, while in others it is a rarer resource that costs a lot

.Countries fight over areas containing these resources, due to how valuable they are

.Fossil fuels are considered non-renewable, due to the fact that it takes millions of years to have the resource form

.Fossil fuels can't be replenished during the time humans exist, from what we know

.Fossil fuels are the largest emitter of C02 and greenhouse gasses in the world

.This creates climate change, which can cause environmental and health issues