APES unit 1 test

Gpp

gross primary productivity

the total amount of energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis

Npp

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus what they use to generate biomass

productivity equation

Npp = Gpp - respiration by producers

used to compare productivity of diff ecosystems
kg C / M² / day

Where does lost energy go in photosynthesis?

• 99% of solar energy is reflected or passes through without being absorbed

• 1% is actually used for photosynthesis

• of that 1% 60% is lost to respiration and 40% is used for growth & reproduction

Photosynthesis & Cellular respiration

• plants take in sunlight, water & Co2, produces glucose and releases oxygen

• Co2 and oxygen are broken down to be turned into Atp (energy)

Productivity

amount of biomass ADDED

Standing crop

amount of biomass CURRENTLY PRESENT

Trophic level

an animals rank in the feeding hierarchy

Producers → Primary consumers → Secondary consumers → Tertiary consumers → Detritivores → Decomposers

Producers

organisms that make their own food via some type of synthesis

Primary consumers

consumer producers

Secondary consumers

prey on primary consumers

Teritary consumers

prey on secondary consumers, “top” of the food chain

Detritivores

Scavenge waste and dead bodies for food

Decomposers

organisms that break down non living matter into smaller molecules

cycle nutrients back into soil for plants and cycle repeats

Trophic levels only have about…

10% of the energy content, organisms, and biomass compared to the one below them

most energy used for maintenance or lost as heat

BioACCUMULATION

Increase in the concentration of a pollutant in an organism bc it it has been absorbed by organisms in their environment

BioMAGNIFICATION

increase in the concentration of a pollutant FROM ONE TROPHIC LEVEL TO THE NEXt

Niche

species roll in an ecosystem

• resource use

• food consumption

• etc

Tolerance range

range an organism can survive before injury or death

• temp, pH, sunlight etc

Fundamental Niche

a set of resources a population is THEORETICALLY able to use

Realized niche

the resources a population actually uses

(species may seem like they have a large fundamental niche overlap but their realized niches are yk.. more niche)

Competitive exclusion principle

States that two species competing for the same limited resource cannot coexist

Resource partitioning

When 2 species share a limited resource by using it in different places, at different times, or in different ways so they can avoid fighting and live together, leading to niche differentiation

Niche differentiation

the evolution in species to reduce a niche overlap

Character displacement

When competing species diverge and develop different characteristics to use the same resource without interfering (basically resource partitioning)

Predation / Herbivory

• animal consuming another animal

• animal consuming a producer

Parasitism

One organism benefits at the expense of another and lives off of it

Mutualism

Interaction between 2 species that increases the chances of survival and reproduction for both

Commensalism

One species benefits, the other is completely neutral

Keystone species

A species that has a very strong impact on its environment in comparison to its abundance

Trophic cascade

• Keystone species are lost

• primary consumers over consume producers

• alters ecosystem horribly

Periodic / Episodic / Random (disturbances)

• recur regularly

• recur but not regularly

• may or may not occur

Resistance

a community that resists change and remains stable

Resillience

A community that is changed by a disturbance but returns to its original state

Primary succession

when a disturbance removes all plant and soil life

lichens secrete acids that break down rock & begin soil transformation

Secondary succession

disturbance that alters the community but leaves the soil life intact

Pioneer species

• begin succession

• spread over long distances easily

• adapted to growing quickly

• grass, lichen, etc

Climax community species

longer living and more sustainable species like trees

Water cycle - cycle, reservoirs, & human impact

Evaporation → condensation → precipitation → runoff/infiltration → transpiration (plants release vapor into the atmosphere)

Reservoirs - bodies of water, glaciers/ice, groundwater

human impact - Deforestation (fewer trees for transpiration), pollution & climate change messing w/ evaporation

Carbon cycle - cycle, reservoirs, & human impact

Photosynthesis → consumption → respiration (animals break it down) → decomposition → ocean uptake

Reservoirs: Sedimentary rock, oceans, fossil fuels, plants & animals

human impact - Burning fossil fuels (releasing lots og Co2, also agriculture does this) & Deforestation (transpiration messed up)

Nitrogen cycle

Nitrogen fixation → nitrification (plants can use it now) → assimilation (they take it up their roots) → decomposition/ammonification (returned to soil as ammonium after animals die) → denitrification. (converts nitrate into nitrospheric oxygen)

I’m make this its own one cause its dense

Nitrogen cycle reservoir & human impact

ATMOSPHERE, plants & animals & soil


Agricultural runoffs introduce nitrogen into rivers & lakes which can promote algal, fertilizers add large amts of nitrogen to the soil & burning fossil fuels releases large amounts into the atmosphere

Phosphorus cycle, cycle reservoirs & human impacts

Weathering → uptake by plants → consumption → decomposition → sedimentation → rock formation/uplift.

Rocks, sediments, soil

Deforestation & runoffs carry phosphorus into water which is bad bc it also causes algal to bloom

Why we have seasons?

Earth is tilted @ 23.5 degrees, as the earth orbits some hemispheres spend time closer to the sun then others. If they’re tilted towards = summer and vice versa

3 cell model for circulation

Hadley = tropical
warm air @ equator rises and then moves towards 30 degrees, sinking. Creates hot / muggy climates

Ferrel = temperate

air moves between 30-60, rises @ 60, creates temp climates

Polar = cold

air moves towards 60 and rises, creates dry cold polar climates

Coriolis effect

Why moving air & water appear to curve instead of traveling in a straight line

- Caused by earths rotation

Moving air curves right in the Northern Hemisphere
Moving air curves left in the Southern Hemisphere

Trade winds

blow east → west
NE trade winds in NH (northern hemisphere)
SE trade winds in SH
0-30 degrees from equator

Westerlies

Blow west → east
mid latitiude weather
30-60 degrees from equator

Adiabatic heating & cooling

How air temp changes without exchanging heat w/ the atmosphere

Rising air: Pressure decreases → air expands → cools → may reach saturation → clouds/precipitation.

Sinking air: Pressure increases → air compresses → warms → becomes drier.

Latent heat

condensation releases heat into the atmosphere

Saturation point

temp where air holds the max amount of water vapor

How to use temp to predict biomes

Atmospheric circulation

Anything near the equator has increased evaporation

~30 degrees N/S air sinks and warms, dry → deserts

~60 air rises, more precipitation, forests & grasslands,

Poles → cold air sinks, no precipitation, tundra

Rain shadow

• Moist air hits a mountain

• Air is forced upward over it

• Rising air expands & cools

• Water vapor condenses and falls

on the other side

• Air crosses with less moisture

• sinks, warms, and dries

• creates a dry “rain shadow” region on the other side

ITCZ

Intertropical convergence zone

Converging trade winds + rising moist air - heavy rain @ the equator

things ITCZ causes

Gysers (circulating sys of ocean currents) causes

• Global wind patterns drag surface water

• Earth's rotation (Coriolis effect makes wind currents deflect right or left)

• Continental landmass deflection (land in the way, creates a loop back into the other bullet points

Upwelling

Cold, nutrient rich water from deeper ocean layers come up to the surface to replace water dragged after from coastal winds

Thermohaline circulation

Oceans conveyor belt that drags water globally to regulate the climate
Cold & salty water is denser

El Nino

Warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical pacific ocean

• reversed trade winds

• upwelling suppression

• increased rainfall

La Nina

unusually cold ocean temps in the eastern tropical pacific ocean

strengthened trade winds
more upwelling
increased rainfall

Boreal forest / taiga

• LOW temp

• MID precipitation

• Vegetation: Spruce, fir, pine, mosses, lichens

• Animals: Moose, wolves, lynx, snowshoe hares, bears
  logging . mining / oil and gas

Temperate seasonal forests

MID temp
MID precipitation
Vegetation: Oak, maple, beech, ferns, shrubs

Animals: White-tailed deer, foxes, squirrels, black bears, raccoons

logging and habitation

temperate rainforest

MID temp
second in precipitation only to a tropical rainforest
Vegetation: CONIFEROUS TREES. Redwoods, Douglas fir, giant cedar, ferns, mosses

Animals: Elk, cougars, black bears, spotted owls,

logging

tropical rainforest

HIGH temp
HIGH precipitation
Vegetation: Broadleaf evergreens, orchids, vines, ferns

Animals: Jaguars, monkeys, sloths, toucans, poison dart frogs

Logging, soybeans & grazing, palm oil

Shrubland / Chaparral

MID TO HOT TEMP

LOW PRECIPITATION

• Vegetation: Sagebrush, manzanita, drought-resistant shrubs, herbs

• Animals: Coyotes, jackrabbits, bobcats, rattlesnakes, lizards

invasive species, water diversion, habitation

Savannas

HIGH TEMP

VERY LOW PRECIPITATION

• Vegetation: Tall grasses, acacia trees, baobab trees

• Animals: Lions, zebras, giraffes, elephants, cheetahs

Poaching

Desert

HIGH TEMP

LOWEST PRECIPITATION
Vegetation: Cacti, succulents, creosote bush, thorny shrubs

Animals: Scorpions, rattlesnakes, fennec foxes, camels, meerkats

LOWEST TEMP

LOW PRECIPITATION

• Vegetation: Lichens, mosses, dwarf shrubs, sedges (no trees)

• Animals: Polar bears, arctic foxes, caribou, snowy owls, lemmings\

climate change & air pollution

Tundra

Salt marshes

• tides wash gently over sandy / silty substrates

• help w/ biodiversity, filtering pollutants and stabalizing shorelines

Mangroves

• salt tolerant trees w/ roots that grow up and down

• organisms thrive around the roots and in its foliage

Coral reefs

Mass of calcium carbonate

warm, shallow, nutrient poor waters,

provides shelter & a home to many animals

Open ocean

deep water located away from the sunlight where no sunlight can reach

Photic zone

Upper layer of the ocean water that receives enough sunlight for photosynthesis

Aphotic zone

deeper layer of the ocean in between photic and open that receives sunlight but not enough to photosynthesize