AP Environmental Science Unit 1 Vocab

Biosphere

 all the biomes and species that are in the world and part of the greater environment

Biome

large area with similar climate conditions that determine plant and animal species there (ex. Tropical rainforest)

an area that shares a combination of average yearly temperature and precipitation (together=climate)

Ecosystem

all living and nonliving things in an area (plants, animals, rocks, oxygen, soil, water, etc)

Community

all living organisms in an area

Population

a group of individuals of the same species (ex. A group of elk)

Individual

a single organism of a specific species (ex. One elk)

Symbiosis

any close and long-term interaction between two organisms of different species (any of below)

Mutualism

relationship between organisms of different species that benefits both (ex. Coral and algae)

Commensalism

relationship that benefits one organism and doesn’t impact the other (ex. birds nest in trees)

Parasitism

an interaction in which one organism benefits and lives on or in another organism, referred to as the host, which gets harmed in the relationship

Predator

an organism that eats another organism, the prey (almost always the prey dies)

Parasite

 use a host organism for energy, often without killing the host and often live inside the host (ex. Mosquitos, tape worms)

Parasitoids

 lay eggs inside a host organism; eggs hatch and larvae eat host for energy 

Competition

organisms fighting over a resource like food or shelter; limits population size

Resource Partitoning

different species using the same resource in different ways to reduce competition

Temporal (time) Partitioning

using a resource at different times, such as wolves and coyotes hunting at different times of day (night vs day)

Spatial Partitoning

using different areas of a shared habitat (different lengths of roots for plants)

Morphological Partitioning

using different resources based on different evolved body features (live in same area, but bodily differences such as size determine what resources/prey they consume)

Shifting Biomes

 biomes shift in location on Earth as climate changes (ex. Warming climate will shift boreal forests further north as tundra permafrost melts and lower latitudes become too warm for aspen and spruce)

Terrestrial Biomes

 defined by annual temperature and precipitation, which are represented by a climatogram 

Aquatic Biomes

defined by salinity, flow, depth, and temperature

Salinity

how much salt there is in a body of water. Determines which species can survive and usability for drinking (fresh water vs estuary vs ocean)

Flow

Determines which plants and organisms can survive and how much oxygen can dissolve into water

Depth

 influences how much sunlight can penetrate and reach plants below the surface for photosynthesis

Temperature

warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen so it can support fewer aquatic organisms

Rivers

have high dissolved oxygen due to flow mixing water and air. Also carry nutrient-rich sediments (deltas and flood plains=fertile soil)

Lakes

standing bodies of fresh water (key drinking water source

Littoral

shallow water with emergent plants

Limnetic

here light can reach (photosynthesis). No rooted plants, only phytoplankton

Profundal

 too deep for sunlight (no photosynthesis)

Benthic

murky bottom where inverts (bugs) live, nutrient-rich sediments

Wetland

 area with soil submerged/saturated in water for at least part of the year, but shallow enough for emergent plants 

Estuary

area where rivers empty into the ocean 

Salt Marsh

Estuary habitat along coast in temperate climates

Mangrove Swamp

Estuary habitat along coast of tropical climates

Intertidal Zones

Narrow band of coastline between high and low tide

Photic Zone

area where sunlight can reach (photosynthesis can be done)

Aphotic (abyssal) Zone

• area too deep for sunlight (photosynthesis can’t be done. Where glowing animals are found)

Carbon Cycle

 includes the movement of molecules that contain carbon (CO₂, glucose, CH₄) between sources and sinks

Carbon Sink

a carbon reservoir that stores more carbon than it releases (ex. ocean, soil, etc)

Carbon Source

processes that add carbon to the atmosphere (ex. combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation, etc)

Photosynthesis

removes CO₂ from the atmosphere and converts it to glucose

Cellular Respiration

uses O₂ to break glucose down and release energy 

Direct Exchange

CO₂ moves directly between atmosphere and the ocean by dissolving into and out of surface ocean water 

Algae and Phytoplankton

 take CO₂ out of the ocean and atmosphere through photosynthesis

Coral Reef and Marine Organisms with Shells (function)

take CO₂ out of the ocean and atmosphere to make calcium carbonate exoskeleton 

Sedimentation

when marine organisms die, their bodies sink to the ocean floor where they’re broken down into sediments that contain carbon

Burial

Over a long period of time, pressure of water compresses carbon-containing sediments on ocean floor into sedimentary stone (limestone, sandstone)—long-term carbon reservoir

 slow, geological process that stores carbon underground sinks like sedimentary rocks or fossil fuels

Fossil Fuels

 (coal, oil, natural gas) are formed from fossilized remains of organic matter (ex. Dead ferns→coal or marine algae/plankton→oil)

Extraction and Combustion

 digging up or mining of fossil fuels and burning them as an energy source; releases CO₂  into the atmosphere

Nitrogen Cycle

 includes the movement of molecules that contain nitrogen

Nitrogen Sources

release nitrogen into the atmosphere

Nitrogen Sinks

take nitrogen out of the atmosphere in increasing amounts

Reservoirs

hold nitrogen for relatively short periods of time compared to the carbon cycle (ex. plants, soil, atmosphere)

Nitrogen Fixation

Process of N₂ gas being converted into biologically available (useable by plants) NH₃ (ammonia) or NO₃ (nitrate)

Bacterial Fixation

Certain bacteria that live in the soil, or in a symbiotic relationship with plant root nodules convert N₂ into ammonia NH₃ 

Synthetic Fixation

humans combust fossil fuels to convert N₂ gas into nitrate NO₃^-1

Assimilation

plants and animals taking nitrogen in and incorporating it into their body 

Ammonification

soil bacteria, microbes, and decomposers converting waste and dead biomass back into NH₃ and returning it to soil

Nitrification

 conversion of NH₄ into nitrite (NO₂^-1) and then nitrate (NO₃) by soil bacteria

Denitrification

conversion of soil nitrogen (NO₃)into nitrous oxide (N₂O) gas which returns to atmosphere

Phosphorus Cycle

movement of phosphorus atoms and molecules between sources and sinks/reservoirs

Geological Uplift

tectonic plate forcing up rock layers that can form mountains; phosphorus cycle can start over again with weathering and release of phosphate from rock

Water Cycle

movement of water (H₂O) between sources and sinks

Transpiration

process plants use to draw groundwater from roots up to their leaves

Evapotranspiration

amount of water that enters the atmosphere from transpiration and evaporation combined

Runoff

water flowing over Earth’s surface into a body of water

Infiltration

Water trickling through soil down into groundwater aquifers

Primary Productivity

 the rate at which photosynthetic organisms can convert sunlight into energy over a particular unit of time (measured in kcal/m^2/year or energy/area/time)

Respiration Loss (RL)

plants use up some of the energy they generate via photosynthesis by doing cellular respiration (movement, internal transportation, etc)

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

the total amount of sun energy (light) that plants capture and convert to energy (glucose) through photosynthesis

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

the amount of energy (biomass) leftover for consumers after plants have used some for respiration 

Ecological Efficiency

The portion of incoming solar energy that is captured by plants and converted into biomass (NPP or food available for consumers)

1st Law of Thermodynamics

energy is never created or destroyed

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

each time energy is transferred, some of it is lost as heat

10% Rule

in trophic (energy) pyramids, only about 10% of the energy from one level makes it to the next level; the other 90% is used by the organism and lost as heat

Tertiary Consumers

animals that eat secondary consumers or carnivores and omnivores (aka-top/apex predators, top of pyramid)

Secondary Consumers

animals that eat primary consumers or herbivores (aka-carnivores and omnivores, second top part of pyramid)

Primary Consumers

animals that eat plants (herbivores, second level from bottom of pyramid)

Producers (plants)

"produce" (convert) sun’s light energy into chemical energy (glucose)

Decomposers

fungi and bacteria that complete the breakdown process by converting organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystem

Food Web

shows how matter and energy flow through an ecosystem, from organism to organism 

Food Chain

show one, linear path of energy and matter

Trophic Cascade

the removal or addition of a top predator that has a ripple effect through lower trophic levels