APES Unit 1

The Living World: Ecosystems

levels of organization

1) Individual

2) Populations

3) Community

4) Ecosystems

5) Biosphere

types of interaction between species

1) competition

2) predation

3) symbiosis

Gause Law:

two species competing for the same limiting resource can not coexist

types of symbiosis

1) parasitism

2) mutualism

3) commensalism

tundra traits:

cold, treeless, low precipitation, cold + dark winters, low productivity, permafrost, nutrient poor soil, low biodiversity, specialized species, positive feedback, global warming

tundra location examples:

Alaska, Russia, Canada, Finland

boreal forest/tiaga traits

coniferous, cold + long winters, mild summers, moderate precipitation

boreal forest/tiaga location examples:

Maine, Minnesota, Mongolia, Russia, Norway, Canada

temperate rainforest traits

costal, ocean currents help moderate temperatures, 12 month growing season, abundant precipitation, coniferous trees

temperate rainforest location examples:

Oregon, Washington state, Northern California, Chile, Austria

temperate seasonal forest traits:

lots of precipitation, warm summers + cold/moderate winters, decidous trees, high nutrient soil, long growing season

temperate seasonal forest location examples:

Eastern US, Europe, China, Japan

temperate grassland/pampas/praires/steppes traits:

hot/dry summers + cold winters, lush grasses, fertile soil, dry/windy conditions cause fires that prevent tree growth, very productive

temperate grassland/pampas/praires/steppes location examples:

Kansas, Hungary, Ukraine, Brazil/Argentina

Woodland/Shrubland/Chapparal traits:

hot/dry summers + cool/moist winters, fire necessary for seeds and eliminating overgrowth, fire resistant plants, poor soil nutrients

Woodland/Shrubland/Chapparal location examples:

Southern California, Nevada, Austrailia, Spain, Chile, South Africa

Subtropical Desert traits:

very little vegetation, low precipitation, variable day/night temperatures, fragile soil, low diversity/resistance/resilience/productivity

Subtropical Desert location examples:

Arizona, Egypt, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Australia

Tropical Season Forest/Savanna traits:

warm temperatures, distinct wet + dry seasons, nutrient rich soil, tall grasses (drought tolerant + fire resistant), herds

Tropical Season Forest/Savanna location examples:

India, Tanzania, Namibia, Zimbabwe

Tropical Rainforest traits:

hot + wet year round, nutrient poor soil, most productive, broad leaved evergreen trees, climbing vines, orchards

Tropical Rainforest example locations:

Brazil, Congo, Indonesia, Peru, Madagascar

streams and rivers have ____ water

flowing fresh

rapids (rivers) have _____ oxygen levels and are good for fish like ______

high

salmon

slow moving rivers have _____ oxygen levels and are good for fish like ______

low

catfish

lakes and ponds have ____ water

standing

layers of lakes and ponds

1) littoral zone: shallow shore, plants soil, photosynthesis

2) limnetic zone: floating algae (photoplankton) are the only organism

3) profundal zone: no sunlight, bacteria can consume oxygen

4) benthic zone: muddy bottom

freshwater wetlands have ____ water

become land saturated/submerged by water for at least part of the year

What is happening to wetlands?

More than half have been drained for agriculture.

major carbon cycle sinks:

rocks, atmosphere, soil, trees, ocean, other organisms

Human Impact on the Carbon Cycle:

• extraction and combustion of fossil fuels

• concrete production

• deforestation

Nitrogen Fixation:

nitrogen gas into a solid producers can use

• Biotic: Nitrogen into Ammonia into Ammonium

• Abiotic: Nitrogen into Nitrate via lightning or fire

Nitrification:

bacteria convert Ammonium into Nitrate

Assimilation:

Consumers consume Ammonium or Nitrate into their tissues through their food (important for skeletal systems and muscles)

Ammonification:

Organisms die, and decomposers in the soil break down Nitrogen-containing-tissues into Ammonium

Denitrification:

Coverting Nitrate into Nitrogen Gas

Human Impact on the Nitrogen Cycle:

Synthetic fertilizers can .each or run off, affecting the balance of Nitrogen in natural systems

1) Nitrogen ends up in water, acting as a
“fertilizer” for algae

2) an algae bloom occurs across the body of water, with a thick film on top

3) Blocked sunlight, not enough space for fish to breathe Oxygen, fish die, eventually Nitrogen depletes again and the algae overshot, they all die too

The Phosphorous Cycle:

No gas phase!

Transpiration:

water evaporation off plant leaves

Gross Primary Productivity:

the total amount of solar energy that the producers in an ecosystem capture (rate)

Human Threats to Biodiveristy:

Habitat Destruction

Invasive Species

Pollution

Climate Change

Overharvesting

Species:

two individuals that can produce a fertile offspring

Species Diversity:

number of species in an area, have better resilience, and are able to recover from a disturbance faster

Genetic Diversity:

range of inherited traits in species, have a better repsonse to environmental changes (resistance)

Speciation:

new species every 1-3 years

Background Extinction Rate:

1-2 per year

2 Measures of Biodiversity:

1) Species Richness (number)

2) Species Evenness (abundance)

Provisioning Service:

physical material from nature

• food!
  aloe

• wood

• herbs

• fossil fuels

Cultural Services:

Aesthetic

• Baptism rivers

• Hutchison

• ecotourism

Regulating Services:

cycles/processes in nature (can technically be regulated)

• pollination

• decomposition

• air/water filtration

• pest control

Support Systems:

necessary, can never replicate on global scale

• photosynthesis

• soil formation

Island Biography Theory:

colonization rate: distance from the mainland

extinction rate: size of the island

Fundamental Niche:

ideal/perfect conditions

Fitness:

ability to survive and reproduce

Niche Generalists:

live under a wide range of conditions (raccoons)

Niche Specialists:

live under a narrow range of conditions (pandas)

exponential growth curve:

j, not limited by resources

Density Dependent Factors:

influence differently based on size

Density Independent:

influence regardless of size

Logistic Growth Model:

s, slows as reaches carrying capacity

Slow Population Growth

Pre-industrial, no country currently in, igh birth rate, high death rate

Rapid Population Growth:

death rates decline (medicine!), while birth rates remain high, remember - population momentum takes a generation for population to reflect change, Bangladesh

Stable Population Growth:

industrial phase, low birth rate (contraceptives, shifting gender roles), low death rate, typical of developed countries like the US and Canada

Declining Population Growth:

post-industrial phase, declining population size due to diseases of affluence, Japan/UK/Germany/Russia

Limitations of DTM:

• Eurocentric

• doesn’t account for… migration, wars, pandemics, climate change, natural disasters, or government policies

Divergent Plate Boundaries cause…

seafloor spreading, rift valleys, and earth quakes

• Mid-Atlantic Ridge (seafloor spreading)

Convergent Plate Boundaries cause…

mountains, islands, volcanoes, hotspots, and earthquakes

• Himalayas

Transform Plate Boundaries cause…

earthquakes

• San Andreas Fault (known for earthquakes)

soil horizons

O - organic surface

A - mixed organic and mineral

E - zone of leeching, not always present

B - subsoil, mostly mineral

C - least weathered, similar to parent material

Porosity:

how much space is found in between particles

• sand has a high porosity

• clay has a low porosity

Permeability:

how easily water can flow through

• sand has a high permeability

• clay has a low permeability

Water Holding Capacity:

amount of water soil can hold against gravity

• sand has a low water holding capacity

• clay has a high water holding capapcity

Cation Exchange Capacity:

the ability of soil to absorb and release cations

• based on the amount of clay, because it has a negative charge, which attracts positive ions

attracts positive nutrients

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