AP Environmental Science Unit 1: Ecosystems & Terrestrial Biomes Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Topic 1.1 (Species Interactions & Ecosystems) and Topic 1.2 (Terrestrial Biomes) based on the AP Environmental Science study guide.

Biotic Factors

Living or once-living components of an ecosystem, such as plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria.

Abiotic Factors

Non-living physical and chemical elements of an environment, such as temperature, precipitation, sunlight, soil pH, and salinity.

Symbiosis

A close, long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms.

Interspecific Competition

Competition between individuals of different species for limited resources such as food, space, or nesting sites.

Intraspecific Competition

Competition between individuals of the same species for limited resources, such as territory or mates.

Mutualism

A species interaction where both species benefit from the relationship, such as coral polyps providing structure/$CO_2$ and zooxanthellae algae providing glucose/oxygen via photosynthesis.

Commensalism

A species interaction where one species benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed, such as epiphytes growing on high tree branches to access sunlight.

True Predation

An interaction in which a predator hunts, kills, and consumes prey immediately.

Parasitism

An interaction where a parasite lives on or in a host, deriving nutrients from it, and rarely kills the host immediately.

Parasitoidism

An interaction where an organism lays eggs inside or on a host, and the larvae consume the host from the inside out, always killing it.

Gause's Competitive Exclusion Principle

The principle stating that two species competing for the exact same limited resource cannot coexist indefinitely in the same realized niche; one will inevitably outcompete and exclude the other.

Resource Partitioning

Evolutionary or behavioral shifts that allow competing species to divide a niche in order to reduce direct competition.

Morphological Partitioning

A form of resource partitioning involving differences in body structure or physical adaptations, such as finch beak shapes adapted for different seed sizes.

Spatial Partitioning

A form of resource partitioning where competing species use different physical spaces or microhabitats within an ecosystem.

Temporal Partitioning

A form of resource partitioning where competing species use the same resource at different times of day or season.

Terrestrial Biome

A large geographic land region defined by its long-term climate patterns and the specific plant and animal communities adapted to those conditions.

Climax Community

A stable, mature biological community that has reached the end stage of ecological succession under local climate constraints.

Insolation

The amount of solar radiation reaching a given area, which directly dictates local temperature and drives rates of photosynthesis.

Rain Shadow Effect

An area having relatively little precipitation due to the effect of a topographic barrier (such as a mountain range) that causes prevailing winds to lose moisture on the windward side, leaving the leeward side dry.

Tropical Rainforest

An equatorial biome characterized by constant warm temperatures (~$25\text{-}27^\circ\text{C}$), continuous high precipitation (>$200\text{-}270\,\text{cm}$), nutrient-poor acidic soil, and the world's highest terrestrial biodiversity.

Temperate Seasonal (Deciduous) Forest

A mid-latitude biome with four distinct seasons, warm summers, subfreezing winter temperatures, moderate precipitation ($75\text{-}150\,\text{cm}$), and deep, nutrient-rich soil from annual leaf fall.

Taiga (Boreal Forest)

A subarctic forest biome featuring subfreezing winters, short cool summers, low overall soil fertility due to slow decomposition of acidic conifer needles, and dominance by coniferous evergreen trees.

Tundra

A cold, dry, wind-swept biome near the poles or above the treeline, characterized by a very short growing season ($2\text{-}3$ months), low annual precipitation, low-growing vegetation, and permafrost.

Permafrost

A thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year, limiting deep root growth in the tundra.

Woodland / Shrubland (Chaparral)

A coastal biome featuring a Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, dominated by thick, fire-adapted shrubs.

Temperate Grassland (Prairie)

A mid-latitude biome with hot summers, cold winters, seasonal precipitation too low for large trees, and extremely deep, fertile topsoil (humus) maintained by grass roots, fire, and grazing.

Temperate Rainforest

A coastal biome featuring mild temperatures and high, year-round rainfall, heavily dominated by massive conifers.

Savanna (Tropical Seasonal Grassland)

A tropical grassland biome with warm temperatures year-round, characterized by a prolonged dry season and scattered, drought-resistant trees.

Subtropical Desert

A hyper-arid biome located around $15^\circ \text{-} 30^\circ$ latitude with high temperatures, extreme day/night temperature swings, scarce moisture, and plants adapted with succulence.

Elevation vs. Latitude Convergence

The environmental pattern where ascending elevation on a mountain drops temperature and mirrors traveling from the equator toward polar latitudes (Tropical $\rightarrow$ Temperate $\rightarrow$ Coniferous/Taiga $\rightarrow$ Tundra/Alpine).

Arctic Permafrost Positive Feedback Loop

A climate process where global warming thaws tundra permafrost, prompting anaerobic microbial decomposition of organic matter and releasing greenhouse gases ($CH_4$ and $CO_2$) that trap heat and drive further warming.