Unit 1 - AP Environmental Science

Trophic Level

also referred to as feeding level

Temperate Grassland/Cold Desert

A biome characterized by cold, harsh winters, and hot, dry summers.

Subtropical Desert

A biome prevailing at approximately 30° N and 30° S, with hot temperatures, extremely dry conditions, and sparse vegetation.

Temperate Seasonal Forest

A biome with warm summers and cold winters with over 1 m (39 inches) of precipitation annually.

Tundra

A cold and treeless biome with low-growing vegetation. (permafrost)

Boreal Forest

A forest biome made up primarily of coniferous evergreen trees that can tolerate cold winters and short growing seasons

Terrestrial Biome

A geographic region categorized by a particular combination of average annual temperature, annual precipitation, and distinctive plant growth forms on land

Permafrost

an impermeable, permanently frozen layer of soil

Aquatic Biome

an aquatic region characterized by a particular combination of salinity, depth, and water flow

nitrogen fixation

A process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia

Relationship that is Exemplified by moss growing on a tree trunk in a forest

Commensalism

Relationship that is Exemplified by starlings displacing bluebirds from nesting sites

Competition

Transpiration

Evaporation of water from the leaves of a plant

Which of the following best describes a symbiotic relationship?

Intestinal bacteria inhabit the gut of humans.

Relationship that is exemplified by bees consuming nectar and carrying pollen from one flower to another

Mutualism

Primary Productivity Formula

NPP=GPP-R

Relationship that is exemplified by ticks feeding on a deer

Parasitism

In a fish species, the number of eggs that hatch and survive for one year varies depending on the number of eggs that were produced. As the number of eggs produced increases past a threshold number, the survival rate of the offspring decreases. Which of the following statements best explains why only a limited number of offspring can survive in a fish population?

The chance of survival decreases when there is intraspecific competition for resources among surviving yearlings.

Evapotranspiration

The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration

nitrification

The conversion of ammonia (NH4+) into nitrite (NO2-) and then into nitrate (NO3-)

Denitrification

The conversion of nitrate (NO3-) in a series of steps into the gases nitrous oxide (N2O) and, eventually, nitrogen gas (N2), which is emitted into the atmosphere.

mineralization

The process by which fungal and bacterial decomposers break down the organic matter found in dead bodies and waste products and convert it into inorganic compounds

Ammonification

The process by which fungal and bacterial decomposers break down the organic nitrogen found in dead bodies and waste products and convert it into inorganic ammonium

assimilation

The process by which producers incorporate elements into their tissues

Macronutrients

The six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.

Woodland/Shrubland

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

Tropical Seasonal Forest/Savanna

a biome marked by warm temperatures and distinct wet and dry seasons

Temperate Rainforest

a coastal biome typified by moderate temperatures and high precipitation

limiting nutrient

a nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients

Pathogen

a parasite that causes disease in another organism.

Chemosynthesis

a process used by some bacteria in the ocean to generate energy with methane and hydrogen sulfide.

Commensalism

a relationship between species in which one species benefits and the other species is neither harmed/helped.

Parasitoid

a specialized type of predator that lays eggs inside another organism - host.

Tropical Rainforest

a warm and wet biome found between 20 degrees N and 20 degrees S of the equator, with little seasonal temperature variation and high precipitation

Mutualism

an interaction between 2 species that increases the chances of survival/reproduction for both species.

Predation

an interaction in which one animal typically kills and consumes another animal.

Parisitism

an interaction in which one organism lives on or in another organism.

Cyanobacteria

blue-green algae

Light Where Plants Grow Best

blue-green light

Confined Aquifer

bounded above and blow by less permeable beds of rock where the water is confined under pressure.

carbon returns to the atmosphere and water by

chemosynthesis, cellular respiration, burning, and decay

Most Productive Ecosystems have...

high temperatures, lots of water, light, and nutrients

Positive Feedback Loop

increases the effect, gets further from starting point/norm

Biotic

living

Conservation of Matter

matter cannot be created/destroyed, but it can be transformed

Negative Feedback Loop

minimizes effect, serves to return system to set point

Chemosynthesizing Archaebacteria

no light needed

Abiotic

non-living

The world's largest carbon sinks

ocean, forest, atmosphere, and soil

10% Rule

on average, 10% of available energy is converted into energy at next feeding level. (ecological efficiency)

3 factors that sustain life on earth

one way flow of high quality energy, cycling of matter, gravity.

No atmospheric component, sediment, released from volcanoes

phosphorus cycle

Groundwater

precipitation infiltrates the ground and is stored in soil and rock

Artesian Well

pressure from confined aquifer pushes water up at a location without a pump.

Net Primary Productivty (NPP)

rate of production of biomass potentially available to consumers (herbivores), rate of energy storage.

Carbon Sink

removed from environment; stored

Trophic Pyramid

representation of distribution of biomass, #s, or energy among trophic levels

Factors that Affect Primary Productivity

solar radiation, temperature, CO2, H2o, nutrients, herbivory

Released by volcanoes, decomposition, and biological processes

sulfur cycle

Carbon

the element of life, the concentration in living matter is 100 times greater than in the earth

Watershed (drainage basin)

the land area that delievers runoff, sediment, and any dissolved substances to streams

Water Table

the level below which the ground is saturated with water.

Biogeochemical Cycle

the movement of matter within an environment

fertilizes plants and can cause algae bloom

the nitrogen cycle

Competitive Exclusion Principle

the principle stating that 2 species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist. - species will be excluded from niches they may otherwise inhabit.

Symbiosis

the relationship between 2 species that live in close association with each other.

Competition

the struggle of individuals to obtain a shared limiting resource.

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

the total amount of production of biomass, total rate of photosynthesis in a given area

Leaching

the transportation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater

Aquifer

underground caverns and porous layers of sand, gravel, or bedrock through groundwater flows.

Surface Runoff

water that does not sink into the ground/evaporate into the air, runs off into bodies of water

Resource Partitioning

when 2 species divide a resource based on differences in their behavior or morphology. Avoid competition by dividing use of resources (spatial/temporal).

Unconfined Aquifer

with a permeable water table