APES UNIT 1

Name all the types of interaction/symbiotic relationships and describe them:

Competition: organisms fight over resources

Predation: one organism uses another for energy

Mutualism: two organisms benefit

Commensalism: one organism benefits while the other is unaffected

Paratism: one organism benefits while the other is harmed

Name all the types of competition and describe them:

Resource Partitioning: organism use the same resource in different ways to REDUCE competition

Spatial Partitioning: organism using different areas of the same habitat

Temporal Partitioning: (DAY V. NIGHT) some organisms use resources in the day while some use them at night

Morphological Partitioning: organisms use resources based on their features

Symbiosis:

Two organisms have a close, long-term relationship

What classifies a biome?

Climate and precipitation

Latitude:

Distance from equator

Horizontal lines

Tundra:

• very cold temps

• low precipitation

• low plant growth

• nutrient-poor soil

• permafrost = frozen layer of soil

• slow decomposition

• further away from the equator

• Animals include polar bears and Arctic foxes

Boreal Forest (Taiga):

• nutrient-poor soil

• cold temps

• low rain

• evergreen trees

• brown bears

• short summers, long, dry winters

Temperate Rainforest:

• slow decomposition

• rainy winters

• nutrient poor soil

• moderate temps

• high rain

• high plant growth

Temperate Seasonal Forest:

• Cold winters and warm summers

• fast decomposition = nutrient rich soil

• long growing seasons

• red foxes and squirrles

Woodland/Shrubland:

• hot, dry summers

• rainy winters

• low nutrient soil

• frequent wildfires

• low rain in summer and high in winter

• coyotes and snakes

Grasslands/Cold Deserts:

• more grass than trees and shrubs

• hot summers and cold winters

• many wildfires

• nutrient rich soil

• great plains

Tropical Rainforest:

• humid

• high temps

• high precipitation

• low fertile soil due to a high rate of decomposition

• very diverse

• jaguars, treefrogs

• high plant growth

Savanna:

• Wet and dry seasons

• Open landscapes

• lion king

• nutrient poor soil

• high rain in summer

• zebreas, gazelles, lions, cheetahs

• shrubs

Desert:

• shrubs and cacti

• camels and roadrunners

• high temps

• hot and dry summers

Name and describe the characteristics of aquatic biomes:

Salinity- how much salt is present

Flow- how much O2 can dissolve in the water

Turbidity- how cloudy the water is

Depth- deeper depths prevent less light from passing through, which means no photosynthesis

Temperature- warm temperatures can support fewer organisms because the water holds less DO(dissolved oxygen)

Name some characteristics of Freshwater Biomes:

• Includes rivers and lakes

• High DO

• Rivers carry nutrients rich settlement

• Lakes contain fresh H2O

Name and describe the lake zones:

Littoral Zone- shallow zone with emergent plants

Limnetic Zone- light can still reach this zone, where phytoplankton live (phytoplankton are floating algae)

Profundal Zone- deepest, darkest zone where nutrients are low and large organisms can’t survive

Benthic Zone- the muddy floor at the very bottom

Name the types of lakes based off fertility(amount of nutrients):

Oligotrophic Lakes: clear, newer lakes that have no phytoplankton because they are not fertile

Mesotrophic Lakes: have a moderate fertikity, middle-aged lake

Eutrophic Lakes: most cloudy because of high fertility and high amounts of algae

Name the characteristics of a wetland:

• wetlands are areas where soil has been saturated in water for atleast a year

• wetlands are shallow but deep enough to support emergent plants

• filter pollutants

• hold excess water during storms and release it slowly into groundwater (therefore reducing floods and droughts)

• high plant growth rate because of nutrients in the sediment

Name the characteristics of estuaries:

• area where river flows into the ocean

• area where river freshwater and ocean saltwater mix (blackish water)

• high plant activity because of nutrients from river

• high plant activity helps filter contaiminants

What is the Intertidal Zone?

The narrow band of coastline between high tide and low tide

Name the characteristics of Coral Reefs:

• located in warm shallow waters with low nutrients

• Coral provides CO2 for algae during photosynthesis and in return, algae provide sugar to the coral. This is a symbiotic relationship where both are benefiting.

• corals are tiny animals that make a layer of limestone(calcium carbonate) to create an external skeleton

Name the characteristics of the Open Ocean:

• low productivity because only algae and phytoplankton can survive

• Photic Zone: the upper layer of ocean water that receives sunlight that plants use for photosynthesis

• Aphotic Zone: the lower layer of ocean water where sunlight can not reach. Organisms in this zone use chemosynthesis to survive

• Benthic Zone: ocean floor

What organisms produces much of the earth and ocean’s oxygen?

Phytoplqankton

What is the difference between a reservoirs/sources and sinks?

Sources/reservoirs release more of that element than it takes in

Sinks take in more of that element than it releases

Name the processes of the Carbon Cycle and describe them:

• Photosynthesis- CO2 is used by plants to produce glucose and O2

• Respiration- CO2 is released during cellular respiration

• Exchange- CO2 in the atmosphere and CO2 dissolved in the ocean are exchanged

• Sedimentration- CO2 combined with calcium ions and settles at the bottom

• Burial- water pressure compresses sediments on ocean floor into sedimentary rock

• Extraction- extraction of fossil fuels

• Combustion- burning fossil fuels for energy releases CO2 in the atmosphere

Name some major Carbon sources and sinks:

Sources: Ocean

Sinks: Fossil fuels and deforestation

Greenhouse Gases:

Gases that trap heat near the surface and makes earth’s climate warmer

Name the processes of the Nitrogen Cycle and describe them:

• Nitrogen Fixation: nitrogen gas is converted into forms of nitrogen that plants and algae can use (NH3 is converted to NH4^+). There are both biotic and abiotic processes in nitrogen fixation. In the biotic process, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, such as cyanobacteria, convert N2 into NH3. In the abiotic process, lightining converts NH3 into NO3^- and fossil fuel combustion convert N2 gas into NH3.

• Nitrification: conversion of ammonium(NH4^+) into nitrite(NO2^-)

• Assimilation: herbivores eat some of the plants containing nitrogen therfore assimilating nitrogen into their tissues.

• Ammonification: decomposers break down organic matter and convert it to ammonium (NH4^+)

• Denitrification: Nitrate is converted to nitrous oxide and then finally converted to N2 gas.

Name some major nitrogen reservoirs and sinks:

Sources: Earth’s atmosphere

Sinks: soils and forests

Nitrogen Leaching:

Dissolved molecules are transported through the soil via groundwater

Name the processes of the Phosphorus Cycle and describe them:

• Assimilation: P is absorbed by plants through their roots, and animals assimilate phosphorus by eating the plants

• Mineralization: decomposition of phosphate returns it to the soil

• Sedimentation: Phosphorus settles at the bottom of the ocean, as it does not dissolve well in water

• Geological Uplift: tectonic plates collide, forcing phosphate rocks up into mountains

• Weathering: mining phosphate rocks

What is a major reservoir for phosphorus?

Rocks and sediments containing phosporus

Name a human impact on the phosphorus cycle:

The use of phosphate fertilisers have increased phosphorus in bodies of water which has lead to eutrophication. Eutrophication has increased the presence of algae bloom which is located at the surface and can block sunlight and kill off the other plants. This whole process also leads to decomposers using an excess amount of oxygen due to so many plants dieing.

What are some major phosporus sources?

• Laundry detergent

• Fertilizers

What is the largest water reservoir in the water cycle?

Ocean

Name and describe the processes of the Water Cycle:

• Transpiration- evaporation where water comes from plants

• Evaporation- water turns to gas

• Evapotranspiration- the total amount of water from transpiration and evaporation

• Condensation: water vapor cools, forming clouds

• Infiltration: rain is soaked in the soil

What is Primary Productivity?

The rate of converting solar energy into organic compounds (basically the rate of photosynthesis)

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP):

The total amount of solar energy plants use during photosynthesis over a certain amount of time

Respiration Loss (RL):

Plants only use some of the energy during cellular respiration

Net Primary Productivity (NPP):

• energy leftover for consumers after plants used some of ir

• NPP= GPP-RL

What are the laws of Thermodynamics?

1. energy is never created nor destroyed

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

10% Rule:

Only 10% of energy from one levels makes it to the next

• to calculate energy available in the next level divide or multiply by 10