Unit 1-5 APES Most Important Things

Pretty important things, I watched this year's apes livestream by Mr. Smedes so if you didn't, here's some vocabulary he wants you to remember. I also have notes that I took here so yaaa have funsies! THIS IS NOT ALL THE VOCAB.

Carbon Cycle

Process where CO2 moves between the atmosphere and the ocean through direct exchange, affecting atmospheric and oceanic CO2 levels.

Nitrogen Fixation

Conversion of N2 gas into biologically usable forms like ammonia (NH3) and nitrate (NO3), often improved by legumes in soil.

Trophic Pyramid

Illustrates the 10% energy transfer between trophic levels, with 90% lost as heat or indigestible biomass.

Competition

Interaction between organisms for resources.

Nutrient Availability

The presence and accessibility of essential nutrients in an ecosystem.

Biotic Potential

The maximum growth rate of a population under ideal conditions.

Carbon sequestration

a natural or artificial process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and held in solid or liquid form.

Usually sequestered by trees and the ocean, (ocean is the BIGGEST carbon sink)

Ecosystem Resilience

The ability of an ecosystem to recover from disturbances.

Infiltration

Entry of water into soil

Runoff

when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil

Keystone Species

Species with a large impact on their ecosystem, like beavers or starfish.

Primary Productivity

the rate at which plants produce biomass per unit area

Resilience

the ability of an Ecos to return to its original conditions after a major disturbance

Ecosystem Services

Goods and services provided by natural ecos that are beneficial to humans

Genetic/species/ecosystem Diversity

the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

(obviously this is three different kinds of diversity in an ecosystem)

Range of Tolerance

the range of environmental conditions that are tolerable for survival in a species

adaption

the evolutionary process whereby an organism becomes better able to live in its habitat or habitat

r selected species

generally small, fast-growing organisms that live in unstable environments and produce a large number of offspring

K-selected Species

K-selected species are typically large, slow-growing organisms that live in stable environments and produce only a few offspring that they can give a lot of care to.

Generalist

able to thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and can make use of a variety of different resource

Specialist

affiliation with specific habitats or dependence on specific resources

Permeability

The ease with which water drains through soil.

Trade Winds

Global wind patterns driven by the Earth's rotation, influencing weather and ocean currents.