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