APES Unit 1 Test Review

temperate seasonal forest

A biome with warmer summers and colder winters than temperate rainforests and dominated by deciduous trees.

negative feedback loop

A feedback loop in which a system responds to a change by returning to its original state, or by decreasing the rate at which the change is occurring.

Estuary

A habitat in which the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of the ocean.

Salinity

A measure of the amount of dissolved salts in a given amount of liquid

food chain

A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten

Tundra

An extremely cold, dry biome.

desert

An extremely dry area with little water and few plants

Taiga

Biome in which the winters are cold but summers are mild enough to allow the ground to thaw

biomass pyramid

Diagram representing the biomass in each trophic level of an ecosystem

1st law of thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created or destroyed

2nd law of thermodynamics

Every energy transfer or transformation increases the entropy of the universe.

Niche

Full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions

10% rule

Only 10% of the total energy produced at each trophic level is available to the next level. The amount of energy passed up to the levels of the food pyramid reduces as you go up.

resource partitioning

The division of environmental resources by coexisting species such that the niche of each species differs by one or more significant factors from the niches of all coexisting species

fundamental niche

The niche species could potentially occupy.

Shrubland (Chaparral)

a biome; is characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters

tropical rainforest

a broadleaf evergreen forest found in wet and hot regions near the equator.

Symbiosis

a close and long term interaction between two species in an ecosystem

temperate rainforest

a coastal biome typified by moderate temperatures and high precipitation

Savannah

a flat grassland in tropical or subtropical regions

food web

a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.

Climatographs

a visual representation of a region's average monthly temperature and precipitation

dimmensional analysis

allows conversion between units

temperate grassland

biome characterized by deep, nutrient-rich soil that supports many grass species

100m is the clearest water

blue light only penetrates

validity and accuracy

controlled experiments increase

open ocean

deep ocean water, located away from the shoreline where sunlight can no longer reach the ocean bottom

aquatic producers

diatoms, phytoplankton, algae, bacteria

positive and negative feedback loops

every aspect of nature is maintained through

sunlight, temperature, precipitation, nutrient availability, carbon dioxide levels

factors affecting primary productivity

positive feedback loop

feedback loop that causes a system to change further in the same direction

streams, rivers, ponds, open ocean, estuaries, coral reefs, freshwater lakes, wetlands

major aquatic biomes

tundra, desert, taiga, temperate rainforests, shrubland, temperate grassland, savannah

major terrestrial biomes

temperate

mild, moderate

upper 1m of water

most red light is absorbed in

biogeochemical cycle

process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another

NPP=GPP-R

productivity equation

Units of Energy Per Unit Area Per Unit Time

productivity is measured in

numbers pyramid

shows how many organisms are needed at each trophic level

tragedy of the commons

suggests that individuals will use shared resources in their own self-interest rather than in keeping with the common good, thereby depleting the resources

conservation of matter

the principle stating that matter is not created or destroyed during a chemical reaction

realized niche

the range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species actually lives

primary productivity

the rate at which solar energy (sunlight) is converted into organic compounds via photosynthesis over a unit of time

respiration rate

the rate of carbon dioxide production from a given amount of produce over a certain unit of time (R)

gross primary productivity

the total rate of photosynthesis in a given area

net primary productivity

the total rate of photosynthesis in a given area, after subtracting the energy lost to respiration

Biomass

total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level