APES Vocab Quarter 2

A horizon

Frequently the top layer of soil, a zone of organic material and minerals that have been mixed together. Also known as topsoil.

Abiotic

nonliving

Adaptation

A trait that improves an individual’s fitness.

Albedo effect

the measure of how much sunlight (solar radiation) is reflected back into space by a surface

Asthenosphere

The layer of Earth located in the outer part of the mantle, composed of semi-molten rock.

Atmosphere

he layer of gases surrounding the Earth or another celestial body, the air in a specific location, a prevailing mood or feeling, or a standard unit of physical pressure

B Horizon

Commonly known as subsoil, a soil horizon is composed primarily of mineral material with very little organic matter.

Biogeography

the scientific study of the spatial distribution of species, biological communities, and ecosystems across geographic space and throughout geological time

Biological Oxygen Demand

The amount of oxygen a quantity of water uses over a period of time at specific temperatures

Biotic

living

C Horizon

The least-weathered soil horizon, which always occurs beneath the B horizon and is similar to the parent material.

Carnivore

A consumer that eats other consumers.

Cation Exchange Capacity

The ability of a particular soil to adsorb and release cations

Climax Community

Historically described as the final stage of succession.

Constant(s)

a control variable kept the same during an experiment, or a universal physical constant that remains fixed across nature

Control Group

In a scientific investigation, a group that experiences exactly the same conditions as the experimental group, except for the single variable under study.

Controlled Experiment

a scientific test where the researcher keeps all conditions identical between groups except for one single factor that they change

Convergent plate boundary

An area where one plate moves toward another plate and collides.

Coriolis effect

The deflection of an object’s path due to the rotation of Earth.

Cultural ecosystem service

a non-material benefit that humans freely obtain from nature, which contributes to their psychological well-being, social connections, cultural identity, and intellectual development

Decomposer

Fungi and bacteria that complete the breakdown process by converting organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystem

Dependent variable

A variable that is dependent on other factors.

Directional Selection

a mode of natural selection where a single extreme phenotype is favored over all other variations, causing the allele frequencies and the population's trait distribution to shift in one direction over time

Disruptive selection

a type of natural selection where organisms with extreme traits are favored, while organisms with average or intermediate traits are selected against

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

the amount of free, non-compound oxygen (O₂) gas mixed into water or other liquids

divergent plate boundary

An area below the ocean where tectonic plates move away from each other

downwelling

the process where surface water sinks into deeper layers of the ocean

E horizon

A zone of leaching, or eluviation, found in some acidic soils under the O horizon or, less often, the A horizon.

El Nino Southern Oscillations (ENSO)

A reversal of wind and water currents in the South Pacific

Early Successional Species

Pioneer and transitional plants or animals that appeal shortly after a natural or human disturbance

Ecological Tolerance

The suite of abiotic conditions under which a species can survive, grow, reproduce. (Aka fundamental niche)

Ecosystem Services

The processes by which life-supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops are produced

Eutrophication

Excess nutrients from human activities that make their way into waterbodies; it causes nutrient pollution that alters food webs and harms water quality

Experimental groups

The set of participants, items, or subjects in a scientific study that receives the specific interaction, condition, or independent variable being tested

Flood plain

A flat or low-lying area of land adjacent to a river, stream, or water body that is naturally prone to being covered by water during periods of high discharge or heavy rainfall

Generalist species

Species that can live under a wide range of biotic and abiotic conditions

Heterotroph

Consumer, cannot produce own energy

Hypothesis

A testable conjecture about how something works

Indicator species

A species that demonstrates a particular characteristic of an ecosystem

Independent variable

A variable that is not dependent on other factors

Late Successional Species

Organisms that dominate stable ecosystems toward final stages of ecological succession

Leaching

A process in which dissolved molecules are transported through soil via groundwater

Lithosphere

The outermost layer of Earth, including the solid upper mantle and crust

K-Selected Species

A species with a low intrinsic growth rate that cause population to increase slowly until it reaches the carrying capacity of the environment

Keystone species

A species that is not very abundant but has large effects on an ecological community

Mantle Convection Cell

Creeping motion of Earth’s solid silicate mantle as it carries heat from the deep interior to the surface

Mesopause

The temperature minimum boundary that separates the mesosphere from the overlying thermosphere in Earth’s atmosphere

Mesosphere

The layer of the atmosphere above the stratosphere, extending roughly 50 to 85 km above the surface of the Earth

O Horizon

The organic horizon at the surface of many soils, composed of organic detritus in various stages of decomposition

Oligotrophic

Describes a lake with a low level of phytoplankton due to low amounts of nutrients in the water

Permeability

The ability of water to move through soil

Physical weathering

The mechanical breakdown of rocks and minerals

Porosity

The size of the air spaces between particles

Pioneer species

In primary succession, species that can survive with little to no soil

Primary consumer

Organism that consumes plants for energy, second level of pyramid after producers

Primary Productivity

The rate of converting solar energy into organic compounds over a period of time

Primary Succession

Ecological succession occurring on surfaces with bare rock and no soil

Provisioning ecosystem service

Tangible products, materials, or energy outputs that humans directly obtain from natural ecosystems

Pycnocline

Layer in an ocean or lake where water density increases rapidly with depth

r-selected species

A species that has a high intrinsic growth rate, and their population typically increases rapidly

Rain Shadow Effect

A regional with dry conditions found on the leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from the ocean causing precipitation on the windward side

Regulating Ecosystem Service

The benefits people obtain through the natural moderation and control of environmental and ecological processes

Respiration

The continuous chemical process where plant cells break down sugars using oxygen to release energy for growth, repair, and daily functions

Riparian zones

The natural transition area between land and a river, stream, lake, or wetland

Secondary succession

The succession of plant life that occurs in areas that have been disturbed but have not lost their soil

Soil horizon

A parallel layer in the ground, each with unique physical, chemical, and biological features

soil profile

A vertical cross-section of the soil from the ground surface down to the underlying bedrock.

soil texture

The relative proportion of sand, silt, and clay mineral particles in the fine-earth fraction of the soil

soil triangle

A graphical tool used to classify the texture of a soil sample based on the relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay

specialist species

Species that only live under narrow range of biotic and abiotic factors

species diversity

The number of species in a region or in a particular ecosystem

species evenness

The relative proportion of individuals within the different species in a given area

species richness

The number of different species in a given area

stabilizing selection

A type of natural selection in biology where genetic diversity decreases and the population settles on a single, intermediate trait value rather than the extremes

stratopause

The atmospheric boundary layer that separates the stratosphere from the overlying mesosphere

stratosphere

The layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere, extending roughly 16 to 50 km above the surface of earth.

subduction zone

Area in which the edge of an oceanic plate moves downward beneath the continental plate and is pushed toward the center of Earth

supporting ecosystem service

Fundamental, underlying natural process that makes all other ecosystem services possible

sustainability

Living on earth in a way that allows humans to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources

thermosphere

The layer of the atmosphere above the mesosphere, extending 85 to 600 km above the surface of earth

threatened species

Any animal or plant group that is Kiley to become endangered or extinct in the near future because its numbers are declining or it habitat is shrinking

transform fault

Area where tectonic plates move sideways past each other

tropopause

The tropopause is the atmospheric boundary that separates the troposphere from the stratosphere

troposphere

A layer of the atmosphere closest to the surface of Earthm extending up to approximately 16 km

upwelling

The upward movement of ocean water toward the surface as a result of diverging currents