APES 1.1-1.3 Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering ecosystem organization, species interactions, resource partitioning, terrestrial biomes, and aquatic biomes.

Individual

One living organism.

Population

A group of organisms of the same species living in an area.

Community

All living organisms present in a specific area.

Ecosystem

All the living and nonliving things interacting in a specific area.

Biome

A large area defined by a combination of average annual climate conditions (temperature and precipitation) that determine which species live there.

Competition

A lose-lose situation where organisms fight over limited resources, reducing population size because fewer resources are available for survival.

Predation

A $(+,-)$ interaction where one organism consumes another organism for energy.

Mutualism

A win-win symbiotic interaction where both organisms benefit from each other.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits while the other organism is unaffected.

Parasitoids

Organisms that lay eggs inside a host organism, which hatch and eat their way out of the host.

Symbiosis

A close contact interaction or state of being between two different species, which includes mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

Lichen

A composite organism consisting of a fungus living with algae, where the algae provides sugars and the fungus provides nutrients.

Resource Partitioning

A strategy where different species use the same shared resources in different ways to reduce competition and enable survival.

Temporal Resource Partitioning

Resource partitioning where species reduce competition by utilizing shared resources at different times of the day.

Spatial Resource Partitioning

Resource partitioning where species reduce competition by utilizing different physical areas of a shared habitat.

Morphological Resource Partitioning

Resource partitioning where species reduce competition by using different resources based on evolved physical body features.

Nutrient Availability

A key factor that determines which plant species and how many plant species can survive in a biome.

Tropical Rainforest

A warm biome near the equator with high precipitation and nutrient-poor soil leading to high competition.

Boreal Forest

A forest biome characterized by low temperatures, low decomposition rates of dead organic matter, and nutrient-poor soil.

Temperate Forest

A mid-latitude biome with nutrient-rich soil caused by abundant dead organic matter from leaves and warm temperatures suitable for decomposition.

Salinity

The concentration of salt in water, which determines which aquatic species can survive in a given aquatic biome.

Water Flow

The movement of water that mixes air and water to determine dissolved $O_2$ levels.

Littoral Zone

The shallow water zone of a lake containing emergent rooted plants.

Limnetic Zone

The open surface water layer of a lake where sunlight can penetrate for photosynthesis.

Profundal Zone

The deep water region of a lake where sunlight cannot reach.

Benthic Zone

The murky bottom floor of a body of water inhabited by invertebrates.

Freshwater Wetlands

Areas with soil submerged in water for at least part of the year, requiring plants adapted to living with roots in standing water.

Estuaries

High-productivity areas where rivers empty into the ocean, creating a mixture of fresh and salt water.

Salt Marsh

An estuary coastal habitat located in temperate climate regions.

Mangrove

An estuary coastal habitat located in tropical climate regions.

Coral Reef

The most diverse ocean biome, located in warm shallow waters beyond the shoreline, featuring a mutualistic relationship between coral and algae.

Intertidal Zone

A narrow coastal band between low and high tide where organisms must adapt to surviving crashing waves.

Open Ocean

A massive ocean biome with low productivity per unit area, where algae and phytoplankton generate most of Earth's $O_2$ and absorb vast amounts of $CO_2$.

Photic Zone

The upper layer of the ocean where sunlight is able to penetrate.

Aphotic / Abyssal Zone

The deep ocean layer where sunlight cannot reach, requiring organisms to adapt to extreme pressure and low light (e.g., glowing).