APES Vocab Fast Track Chapter 3
Riparian Zone
Thin strips and patches of vegetation that surround streams
Euphotic
Upper layer of a body of water through which sunlight can penetrate and support photosynthesis
Limnetic
Upper layer of lake that receives a large amount sunlight
Old Growth Forest
Virgin and old, second growth forests containing trees that are often hundreds years old
Habitat Fragmentation
When large adjacent ecosystems are divided into smaller, more isolated areas by adding housing, cities, roads, or creating agricultural fields
Upwelling
When winds blowing along the coast push warmer surface water away from land and draw up deep cold, nutrient-rich water from the bottom to the top
El Nino
A disruption of the ocean atmosphere system; pushes warmer water toward the Coast of South America
Prevailing
A wind from the direction that is predominant at a particular place or season
Dissolved Oxygen
Amount of oxygen gas dissolved in a given volume of water at a particular temperature and pressure, often expressed as a concentration in parts of oxygen per million parts of water
Benthos
Bottom-welling organisms that live on marine sediments found on the ocean floor
Mass Extinction
Catastrophic, widespread, often global event in which major groups of species are wiped ot over a short time compared with normal extinctions
Source Zone
Contains rivers and streams that are directly fed by mountain snowmelt
Selective Cutting
Cutting of intermediate aged, mature, or diseased in an uneven aged forest stand, either singly or in small groups
Thermocline
Differences in water temperature
La Nina
Follows an El Nino, cools coastal surface water and restores upwelling events
Runoff
Freshwater from precipitation and melting ice that flows on the Earth's surface into streams, lakes, wetlands, and resevoirs
Permafrost
Frozen layer of the soil that forms when the water there freezes
Transition Zone
Has streams and rivers that move turbid waters due to the increase in sediments flowing into them
Strip Cutting
Involves removing an entire strip of trees along the contour of the land in a narrow corridor that allows for quick regeneration of trees
Oligo Trophic
Lake with a low supply of plant nutrients
Inland Wetlands
Land away from the coast such as swamp, marsh, or bog, that is covered all or part of the time with freshwater
Rangelands
Land that supplies forage or vegetation for grazing and browsing animals and is not intensely managed
Bathyl
Little Sunlight
Rain Shadow Effect
Low precipitation on the leeward side of a mountain when prevailing wind flow up and were a high mountain or range of high mountains, creating semi-arid and arid conditions on the leeward side of a high mountain range
Pastures
Managed grasslands or enclosed meadow that usually is planted with domesticated grasses or other footage to be grazed by lifestock
Currents
Mass movements of surface water produced by prevailing winds blowing over the oceans
Abyssal
No sunlight
Background Extinction
Normal extinction of various species as a result of changes in local environment conditions
Eutrophic
Once lakes have accumulated a high concentration of nutrients that support high levels of NPP by producers
Marine vs Freshwater Biomes
Open Oceanic water vs Lentic
Threatened Species
Organisms whose population are declining due to human activity and could become endangered in the future
Endangered Species
Organisms whose population size has decreased to such a low level that they are at extreme risk of becoming extinct over most or all their natural habitat
Cultural Eutrophication
Overnourishment of aquatic ecosystems with plant nutrients because of human activities
Estuaries
Partially enclosed coastal area at the mouth river where it's freshwater, carrying fertile silt and runoff from the land, mixes with salty seawater
Clear Cutting
Removal of all trees in one area at one time
Littoral
Shallow zone that is closest to shore and receives plenty of sun and nutrients and supports a wide variety of life
Plankton
Small plant organisms that float in aquatic ecosystems
Second Growth Forest
Stands of trees resulting from secondary ecological succession
Nekton
Strongly swimming organisms found in aquatic systems
Intertidal Zone
The area of shoreline between low and high tides
Climate
The area's general pattern of atmospheric or weather conditions over long periods of time
Greenhouse Effect
The difference between the natural atmospheric temperature and temperature we actually experience is accounted for by the warming properties of the Earth's atmosphere
Watershed
The drainage basin
Coriolis Effect
The earth's rotation causes winds to be deflected to the right of the northern hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere
Weather
The local areas short term temperature, precipitation, and other physical conditions of the troposphere measured over hours or days
Turbidity
The measure of how cloudy the water is due to suspended sediments or solids and greatly reduces sunlight reaching photosynthetic organisms