AP Environmental Science Final Exam

Succession

-recovery after disaster

Photosynthesis

-the process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose

Cellular Respiration

-the process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy (ATP), carbon dioxide, and water

Food Chain

-the sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers

Food Web

-a complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels

Detrivores

-organisms that specialize in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles

Decomposers

-fungi or bacteria that recycle nutrients from dead tissues and wastes back into an ecosystem

Gross Primary Productivity

-the total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time

Net Primary Productivity

-the energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire

Standing Crop

-the amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time

Ecological Efficiency

-the proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another

Biogeochemical Cycles

-the movement of matter within and between ecosystems

Macronutrients

-the six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur

Limiting Nutrient

-a nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in lower quantity than other nutrients

Nitrogen Fixation

-a process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia

Leaching

-the transportation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater

Resistance

-a measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem

Resilience

-the rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance

Restoration Ecology

-the study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems

Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis

-the hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse

Instrumental Value

-something that has worth as an instrument or a tool that can be used to accomplish a goal

Intrinsic Value

-something that has worth independent of any benefit it may provide to humans

Provisions

-goods that humans can use directly

Population Ecology

-the study of factors that cause populations to increase or decrease

Carrying Capacity

-the limit of how many individuals in a population the food supply can sustain

Intrinsic Growth Rate

-the maximum potential for growth of a population under ideal conditions with unlimited resources

Exponential Growth Model

a growth model that estimates a population's future size after a period of time, based on the intrinsic growth rate and the number of reproducing individuals currently in a population (J-shaped curve)

Logistic Growth Model

-a growth model that describes a population whose growth is initially exponential, but slows as the population approaches the carrying capacity of the environment (S-shaped curve)

Corridors

-strips of natural habitat that connect separated populations

Metapopulation

-groups of spatially distinct populations that are connected by occasional movements of individuals between them

Community Ecology

-the study of interactions between species

Competitive Exclusion Principle

-the principle stating that two species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist

Resources Partitioning

-a situation in which two species divide a resource, based on differences in their behavior or morphology

Keystone Species

-species that are far more important in their community than their relative abundance might suggest

Predator-Mediated Competition

-competition in which a predator is instrumental in reducing the abundance of a superior competitor, allowing inferior competitors to persist

Ecosystem Engineers

-keystone species that create or maintain habitat for other species

Ecological Succession

-the replacement of one group of species by another group of species over time

Pioneer Species

-a species that can colonize new areas rapidly

Subsistence Energy Sources

-energy sources gathered by individuals for their own immediate needs

Energy Carrier

-something than can move and deliver energy in a convenient, usable form to end users

Combined Cycle

-a power plant that uses both exhaust gases and steam, turbines to generate electricity

Capacity Factor

-the fraction of time a power plant operates in a year

Coal

-solid fuel formed primarily from the remains of trees, ferns, and other plant materials preserved 280 million to 360 million years ago

Petroleum

-a fossil fuel that occurs in underground deposits, composed of a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, water, and sulfur

Crude Oil

-liquid petroleum removed from the ground

Oil Sands

-slow flowing, viscous deposits of bitumen mixed with sand, water, and clay

Bitumen

-a degraded petroleum that forms when petroleum migrates to the surface of Earth and is modified by bacteria; also called tar or pitch

Fission

-a nuclear reaction in which a neutron strikes a relatively large atomic nucleus, which then splits into two or more parts, releasing additional neutrons and energy in the form of heat

Control Rods

-cylindrical devices inserted between the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor to absorb excess neutrons and slow or stop the fission reaction

Becquerel (Bq)

-unit that measures the rate at which a sample of radioactive material decays; 1 Bq=decay of one atom or nucleus per second

Curie

-a unit of measure for radiation: one curie=37 billion decays per second

Species Richness

-the number of species in a given area

Species Evenness

-the relative proportion of different species in a given area

Phylogeny

-the branching patterns of evolutionary relationships

Microevolution

-evolution occurring below the species level

Genes

-physical locations on the chromosomes within each cell of an organism

Genotype

-the complete set of genes in an individual

Phenotype

-a set of traits expressed by an individual

Fitness

-an individuals ability to survive and reproduce

Genetic Drift

-a change in the genetic composition of a population over time as a result of random mating

Bottleneck Effect

-a reduction in the genetic diversity of a population caused by a reduction in its size

Founder Effect

-a change in a population descended from a small number of colonizing individuals

Allopatric Speciation

-the process of speciation that occurs with geographic isolation

Sympatric Speciation

-the evolution of one species into two, without geographic isolation

Genetic Engineering

-when scientists copy genes from a species with desirable traits

Range Of Tolerance

-the limits to the abiotic conditions that a species can tolerate

Distribution

-areas of the world in which a species lives

Stratosphere

-the layers of the atmosphere above the troposphere, extending roughly 16-50 km above the surface of the Earth

Albedo

the percentage of incoming sunlight reflected from a surface

Saturation Point

-the maximum amount of water vapor that can b in the air at a given temperature

Adiabatic Cooling

-the cooling effect of reduced pressure on air as it rises higher in the atmosphere and expands

Adiabatic Heating

-the heating effect of increased pressure on air as it sinks toward the surface of Earth and decreases in volume

Laent Heat Release

-the release of energy when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into liquid water

Hadley Cells

-convection currents in the atmosphere that cycle between the equator and 30 degrees N and S

Intertropical Convergence Zone

-an area of Earth that receives the most intense sunlight; where the ascending branches of the two Hadley cells converge

Polar Cells

-convection cells in the atmosphere, formed by air that rises at 60 degrees N and S and sinks at the poles

Coriolis Effect

-the deflection of an object's path due to the rotation of Earth

Gyres

-large scale patterns of water circulation that moves clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere

Tundra

-a cold, treeless biome with low growing vegetation

Boreal Forest

-a forest made up primarily of coniferous evergreen trees that can tolerate cold winters and short growing seasons

Temperate Rainforest

-a coastal biome typified by moderate temperatures and high precipitation

Temperate Seasonal Forest

-a biome with warmer summers and colder winters than temperate rainforests and dominated by deciduous trees

Tropical Rainforest

-a warm and wet biome found between 20 degrees N and S of the equator, with little season temperature variation and high precipitation

Savannas

-a biome marked by warm temperatures and distinct wet and dry seasons

Subtropical Desert

-a biome prevailing at approximately 30 degrees N and S, with hot temperatures, extremely dry conditions, and sparse vegetation

Freshwater Wetlands

-aquatic biomes that are submerged or saturated by water for at least part of each year, but shallow enough to support emergent vegetation

Saltmarshes

-marshes containing nonwoody emergent vegetation, found along the coast in temperate zones

Intertidal Zone

-the narrow band of coastline between the levels of high tide and low tide

Coral Reefs

-the most diverse marine biomes on earth, found in warm, shallow waters beyond the shoreline

Chemosynthesis

-a process used by some bacteria in the ocean to generate energy with methane and hydrogen sulfide

Uniform Distribution

-approximately the same distance may be found between individual organisms

Demographer

-someone who studies the characteristics of human populations

Environmental Resistance

-the factors that act jointly to limit a population's growth

Clumped Distribution

-the distribution of individuals based off of where resources are, usually occurs in nature

Directional Drilling

-the process of drilling a curved well, in order to reach a target that is not directly beneath the drill site

Pyrolysis

-the chemical breakdown of organic matter

Water Table

-separates the groundwater zone that lies below it from the zone of aeration, that lies above it

Meander

-is a loop or bend in a river

Cladogram

-a phylogenetic tree represents the evolutionary relationships among a set of organisms

Convergent Evolution

-species that are not similar but have some of the same characteristics because they were from the same environment