APES Review Flashcards

Flashcards for APES exam review covering key concepts from the lecture notes.

What is symbiosis?

A close and long-term interaction between two species in an ecosystem.

Name three types of symbiosis and their interactions.

Mutualism (+/+), Commensalism (+/0), and Parasitism (+/-)

What is resource partitioning?

Using resources in different ways, places, or at different times to reduce competition.

What are the key differences between biotic and abiotic factors?

Biotic factors are living, while abiotic factors are nonliving.

List the major terrestrial biomes.

Taiga, temperate rainforests, temperate seasonal forests, tropical rainforests, shrubland, temperate grassland, savanna, desert, and tundra.

Name some factors that contribute to the global distribution of terrestrial natural resources.

Climate, geography, latitude and altitude, nutrient availability, and soil.

What is the difference between climate and weather?

Climate is average weather conditions over 30 years, while weather is the current conditions.

What are some freshwater biomes?

Streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes.

What are some marine biomes?

Oceans, coral reefs, marshland, and estuaries.

What is the role of algae in marine biomes?

Supplies a large portion of Earth’s oxygen and takes in carbon dioxide.

What factors influence the distribution of marine natural resources?

Salinity, depth, turbidity, nutrient availability, and temperature.

Define a wetland.

An area with soil submerged/saturated in water for at least part of the year, but shallow enough for emergent plants.

What is an estuary?

Where a river empties into the ocean.

What are carbon sources?

Fossil fuel combustion, animal agriculture, deforestation.

What is nitrogen fixation?

Atmospheric nitrogen converted into a form of nitrogen available for plant uptake.

What are major reservoirs of phosphorus?

Rock and sediments containing phosphorus-bearing minerals.

What powers the hydrologic cycle?

The sun.

What is gross primary productivity?

The total rate of photosynthesis in a given area.

What is net primary productivity?

The rate of energy storage by photosynthesizers after subtracting energy lost to respiration.

What is the 10% rule in energy flow?

Approximately 10% of the energy is passed on from one trophic level to the next.

What does a food web model?

An interlocking pattern of food chains depicting energy and nutrient flow.

What are the three types of biodiversity?

Genetic, species, and habitat diversity.

What does species richness refer to?

The number of different species found in an ecosystem.

What is island biogeography?

The study of ecological relationships and distribution of organisms on islands, and of these organisms’ community structures.

What are provisioning ecosystem services?

Goods taken directly from ecosystems or made from natural resources.

Give an example of regulating ecosystem services.

Ecosystems regulate climate/air quality, water, storm damage, lowering healthcare costs

What is ecological tolerance?

The range of conditions an organism can endure before injury or death.

What is primary succession?

Starts from bare rock with no previous soil formation.

Tell me about secondary succession.

Starts from already established soil but had some sort of disturbance.

What is a keystone species?

A species whose activities significantly determine community structure.

What is an indicator species?

A plant or animal that demonstrates some aspect of an ecosystem is present.

Compare and contrast generalist and specialist species.

Specialist species tend to be advantaged in habitats that remain constant, while generalist species tend to be advantaged in habitats that are changing.

Describe some characteristics of K-selected species.

Large, few offspring, stable environments, significant energy for offspring, long life spans, reproduce more than once.

Describe some characteristics of r-selected species

Small, many offspring, minimal energy for offspring, mature early, short life spans, may reproduce only once.

What is biotic potential?

The maximum reproductive rate of a population in ideal conditions.

Describe a Type I survivorship curve.

High survivorship early in life, high parental care, large size, mostly K-selected.

Describe a Type II survivorship curve.

Steadily decreasing survivorship throughout life.

Describe a Type III survivorship curve.

Low survivorship early in life, little or no parental care, mostly r-selected.

What is overshoot?

When a population briefly exceeds carrying capacity.

Define TFR

Total fertility rate.

What happens when TFR is at replacement levels?

A population is considered relatively stable.

What is the rule of 70?

Dividing 70 by the percentage population growth rate approximates the population’s doubling time.

What is demographic transition?

The transition from high to lower birth and death rates in a country as development occurs.

Name the four stages of the demographic transition model.

Pre-industrialized, Industrializing/Developing, Developed/Industrialized, Post-industrialized/Highly developed.

What occurs at convergent plate boundaries?

Creation of mountains, island arcs, earthquakes, and volcanoes.

What occurs at divergent plate boundaries?

Seafloor spreading, rift valleys, volcanoes, and earthquakes.

What occurs at transform plate boundaries?

Earthquakes.

Name the soil horizons.

O, A, B, C, R

What is the A horizon?

topsoil, most biological activity/nutrients

List the soil particle sizes from biggest to smallest.

Sand > silt > clay

List the gasses that make up the Earth's atmosphere and their percentages.

N2 = 78%, O2 = 21%, CO2 = >0.1%, others: argon (.93%), water vapor (0-4%)

List the layers of the atmosphere.

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere

What is the Coriolis effect?

Apparent deflection of objects traveling through atmosphere due to spin of earth

What factors affect global winds?

Sunlight, density properties of air, rotation of the earth (Coriollis effect)

What is insolation?

Incoming solar radiation

What is albedo?

Proportion of light that is reflected by a surface.

How does albedo affect temperature?

Lower albedo = higher temp

Explain rain shadow.

A region of land that has become drier because a higher elevation area blocks precipitation from reaching the land.

Tell me about ENSO.

Pattern of shifting atmospheric pressure and ocean currents in the south Pacific

What is the tragedy of the commons?

Individuals will use shared resources in their own self-interest rather than in keeping with the common good, thereby depleting the resources.

List some negative consequences of clearcutting.

Soil erosion, increased soil and stream temperatures, & flooding.

What was the Green Revolution?

A shift to new agricultural strategies and practices in order to increase food production.

List some agricultural practices that can cause environmental damage.

Tilling, slash-and-burn farming, monocropping, and the use of fertilizers

What is the largest human use of freshwater?

Irrigation (70%).

Describe furrow irrigation.

This involves cutting furrows between crop rows and filling them with water. About 1/3 of the water is lost to evaporation and runoff.

Describe flood irrigation.

This involves flooding an agricultural field with water, which loses about 20% of the water through evaporation and runoff.

Describe spray irrigation.

This involves pumping ground water into spray nozzles across an agricultural field, losing about a 1/4 of the water to evaporation or runoff.

Describe drip irrigation.

This uses perforated hoses to release small amounts of water to plant roots, losing only about 5% of water to evaporation and runoff.

What is salinization?

When the salts in groundwater remain in the soil after the water evaporates.

What are Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)?

A way to quickly get livestock ready for slaughter.

What are some consequences of overgrazing?

Loss of vegetation, which leads to soil erosion.

What can overfishing lead to?

Extreme scarcity of some fish species, which can lessen biodiversity in aquatic systems and harm people who depend on fishing for food and commerce.

What is overburden?

Soil, vegetation, rock that are removed to get to ore below

List some impacts of urbanization.

Depletion of resources, saltwater intrusion, increased carbon dioxide, impervious surfaces, urban sprawl

What is an ecological footprint?

Compares resource demands and waste production required for an individual or a society.

What is sustainable yield?

The amount of a renewable resource that can be taken without reducing the available supply.

Describe integrated pest management (IPM).

A combination of methods that are used to effectively control pest species while minimizing the disruption to the environment.

What is the goal of soil conservation?

To prevent soil erosion.

What is rotational grazing?

The regular rotation of livestock between different pastures in order to avoid overgrazing in a particular area.

What are some pros to aquaculuture?

Highly efficient, requires only small areas of water, and requires little fuel

List some methods for mitigating deforestation.

Reforestation, using and buying wood harvested by ecologically sustainable forestry techniques, and reusing wood.

Distinguish between renewable and nonrenewable resources.

Nonrenewable exists in a fixed amount while renewable can be replenished naturally.

How does industrialization affect reliance on fossil fuels?

As the world becomes more industrialized, the demand for energy increases which increases the reliance on fossil fuels.

How does cogeneration work?

A fuel source is used to generate both useful heat and electricity.

What products are yielded from combustion of fossil fuels?

Carbon dioxide and water.

How is nuclear power generated?

Through fission, where atoms of Uranium-235 are split into smaller parts after being struck by a neutron, releasing heat.

What are some cons of biomass burning?

Produces carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates, and volatile organic compounds.

What are passive and active solar energy systems?

Active solar energy systems use solar energy to heat a liquid through mechanical/electric equipment, while passive solar energy systems absorb heat directly from the sun without the use of mechanical and electric equipment.

List some cons of using hydroelectric power.

Construction is expensive and there may be a loss of/change in habitats following the construction of dams.

What is true geothermal energy?

It involves piping water deep into the ground to be heated by magma & then transferring heat from the water to the building.

What products are emitted from hydrogen fuel cell?

Water.

What does a wind turbine do?

Use the kinetic energy of moving air to spin a turbine, which in turn converts the mechanical energy of the turbine into electricity.

When is peak demand?

Time of day or year (often early nighttime hours or very hot weather events) that electricity demand is highest.

List examples of air pollutants from coal combustion.

Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, toxic metals, and particulates.

How does the EPA regulate lead?

The Clean Air Act.

Describe formation photochemical smog.

Nitrogen oxides and volatile organic hydrocarbons react with heat and sunlight to produce pollutants.

What are VOCs?

Volatile Organic Compounds that evaporate or sublimate at room temperature.

What can thermal inversion cause?

It traps pollution close to the ground, especially smog and particulates.

List the indoor air pollutants that come from natural sources.

Radon, mold, and dust.

What is radon-222, and what can it induce?

A naturally occurring radioactive gas produced by the decay of uranium and can induce radon-induced lung cancer.