apes unit 1

community

all living organisms in one area

population

group of individuals of same species (elk herd)

ecosystem

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

biome

the plants and animals found in a given region (determined by climate); determining factors are precipitation, temp, and latitude

competition

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

predation

one organism using another for energy source (hunters, parasites)

mutualism

relationship that benefits both organisms

commensalism

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

symbiosis

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

resource partitioning

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

tropical rainforest

closer to equator, nutrient-poor soil (high temp and rainfall - rapid decomp of org matter; acidic soil + high rainfall - nutrient leaching)

temperial

using different times- wolves/coyotes, night/day

boreal forest

higher lat (60°+), nutrient-poor soil (low temp & low decomp rate of dead org matter)

morphological partitioning

using different resources based on different evolved body features

spatial partitioning

using different areas of a shared habitat (different length roots)

temperate forest

mid lat (30°-60°), nutrient-rich soil (lots of dead org matter - leaves & warm temp/moisture for decomposition)

salinity

how much salt there is in a body of water, determines which species can survive & usability for drinking

littoral

shallow water w emergent plants

limnetic

where 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 w soil submerged/saturated in water for at least part of the yr but shallow enough for emergent plants

estuaries

areas where rivers empty into ocean, mix of fresh n salt, high productivity (mangrove swamp, salt marsh)

intertidal zone

narrow band of coastline bw high and low tide, diff organisms adapt to living in diff zones

photic zone

area where sunlight can reach

carbon sink

reservoir that takes in more carbon than it releases (ocean, plants, soil)

carbon source

reservoir that releases more carbon than it takes in (fossil fuel combustion, animal agriculture, deforestation)

combustion

digging up or mining FFs and burning them as energy source, released CO2 into atm

sedimentation

calcium carbonate precipitates out as sediments and settles on ocean floor

burial of carbon

over long periods of time, pressure of water compresses C-containing sediments on ocean floor into sedimentary rock (limestone, sandstone, long-term C reservoir)

nitrogen reservoir

holds N for shorter period of time compared to C cycle; plants, soil, atm

nitrogen fixation

process of N2 gas being converted into biologically available NH3 (ammonia) or NO3- (nitrate)

assimilation

plants and animals taking N in and incorporating it into their biomass

ammonification

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

nitrification

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

denitrification

conversion of soil N (NO3-) into nitrous oxide (N2O) gas which returns to the atm

leaching

being carried out of soil by water

eutrophication

synthetic fertilizer use leads to nitrates leaching

phosphorus sinks

rocks, soil, sediments, ocean

phosphorus reservoirs

rocks, phosphorus-containing sediments

assimilation (phosphorus)

plants and animals taking in P and incorporating it into their biomass (plants through roots, animals through consumption)

sedimentation (phosphorus)

phosphate doesn’t dissolve well into water; much of it forms solid bits of phosphate that fall to the bottom as sediment

geological uplift

tectonic plate collision forcing up rock layers that form mountains (allows for weathering, phosphorus cycle restarts)

evaporation

water gains enough energy to go from the liquid to gaseous state

transpiration

process by which plants lose water vapor through tiny holes called stomata on the underside of their leaves

evapotranspiration

sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from earth’s surface to the atm

precipitation

rain, sleet, snow, hail, and other forms of water falling from the sky

infiltration

process of water on the ground surface entering the soil

permeable

the ability of a material to allow the passage of a liquid, such as water

primary productivity

rate that solar energy is converted into organic compounds via photosynthesis over a unit of time (kcal/m²/yr)

gross primary productivity

the total amount of sun energy that plants capture and convert to energy through photosynthesis

net primary productivity

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

respiration loss

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

ecological efficiency

the portion of incoming solar energy that is captured by plants and converted into biomass, only 1% of incoming sunlight is captured and converted into GPP and 40% of the 1% remains as NPP

1st law of thermodynamics

energy is never created or destroyed

2nd law of thermodynamics

each time energy is transferred, some is lost as heat

10% rule

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

producers

(plants) “produce” - convert sun’s light energy into chemical energy (glucose)

primary consumers

animals that eat plants (herbivores)

secondary consumers

animals that eat primary consumers or herbivores (aka carnivores and omnivores)

tertiary consumers

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

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

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

water reservoir

oceans, ice caps, groundwater reserves