APES unit one

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84 Terms

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Fracking

high pressure system that forces open cracks deep in rocks to get natural gas

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environment

all conditions around us that influence life

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Environmental Science

The field of study that looks at interactions human and environmental systems

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System

sets of interacting components

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Ecosystem

a specific location with interacting components

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Biotic

living

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Abiotic

Non-living

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environmentalist

participant in the environmental social movement

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Environmental studies

field of study with environmental science and how it intersects with the humanities

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ecosystem services

the process by which life supporting resources are produced

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Environmental indicator

Describes the state of an environmental system

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Sustainability

using our resources in a renewable way

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Biodiversity

diversity of life forms in an environment

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Speciation

the evolution of new species

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background extinction rate

the average rate species go extinct long term

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Greenhouse gasses

atmospheric gasses that trap heat near earth's surface

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Anthropogenic

derived from human activities

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development

improved human wellbeing due to economic advancement

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sustainable development

balances humans well being and economic growth with sustainable practices

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Biophilia

love of life

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ecological footprint

a measure of how much an individual consumes, expressed as an area of land

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ecosystem

an area with all the physical and chemical components necessary to support a diverse set of species

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producers (autotrophs)

organisms that gets energy from the sun

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photosynthesis

process of converting solar energy and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen

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Cellular Respiration

process of converting oxygen and glucose into carbon dioxide and energy

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Heterotrophs

organisms that can’t make their own food and must consume other organisms for energy

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Primary Consumers

consumers that eat producers

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Secondary Consumers

consumers that eat primary consumers

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Tertiary Consumers

carnivores that eat secondary producers

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Trophic Levels

the levels of organisms eating each other

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Food Chain

sequence of consumption from producers to tertiary consumers

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Food Web

a more complex model of how energy and matter move through trophic levels

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Scavengers

organisms that consume dead animals

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Detritivores

organisms that break dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles

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Decomposers

Fungi/bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements/molecules to be recycled back into the ecosystem

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Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

amount of solar energy producers in an ecosystem photosynthesize over a given amount of time

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Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers use up

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Biomass

total mass of all living matter in a specific area (stored energy)

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Standing Crop

The amount of biomass in an ecosystem at a particular time

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Ecological Efficiency

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

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Trophic Pyramid

A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels

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biospere

regions of the earth occupied by living organisms

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Biogeochemical Cycles

movement of matter within and between ecosystems

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hydrologic cycle

The movement of water through the biosphere

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transpiration

The release of water from leaves during photosynthesis

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Evapotranspiration

the amount of water vapor in the air at a given time, evaporation + transpiration

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runoff

Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers

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Macronutrients

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

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Limiting Nutrient

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

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Nitrogen Fixation

process that converts nitrogen in the atmosphere into forms of nitrogen producers can use (ammonia)

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leaching

transportation of dissolved molecules through soil by groundwater

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community ecology

study of interactions among species

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Competitive exclusion principle

idea that two species competing for limited resources can’t coexist

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Resource partitioning

two species divide a resource based on differences in their behavior

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Parasitoids

predators that lay eggs in host organisms

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Keystone species

species that plays a larger role in an ecosystem than people realize

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Predator-mediated competition

when a species would fight for resources if a predator weren’t there to consume it

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Ecosystem engineers

a keystone species that create or maintain habitats for other species

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nitrification

turning ammonium (NH4+) into nitrate (NO3-)

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sedimentation

when carbon condenses into fossil fuels and limestone in the earth

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condensation

water vapor becomes clouds

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assimilation

producers incorporate nitrate/ammonium into tissue, consumers do this somewhat when they eat producers

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ammonification

decomposers break down dead tissue into ammonia/ammonium

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denitrification

bacteria turn nitrite and nitrate back into atmospheric gas

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plants need phosphorus in what form?

phosphate

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Phosphorus cycles…

not through the atmosphere

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for plants, phosphorus is usually…

a limiting factor

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excess phosphorus in aquatic ecosystems causes

eutrophication (excessive algae growth)

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hydrogen sulfide

poisonous gas, smells like rotten eggs, from anaerobic digestion

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sulfer dioxide

colorless gas from burning coal and volcanoes

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sulfuric acid

main component in acid rain, sulfur dioxide + water vapor, result of burning coal

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littoral zone

shallow area of lake or pond where algae and plants grow

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limnetic zone

open area of lakes where sun still penetrates but only phytoplankton plants

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phytoplankton

floating algae

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Profundal Zone

below limnetic zone

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benthic zone

bottom of lake/pond

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Oligotrophic

term for non-productive lake/pond (low oxygen and phosphorus)

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Mesotrophic

lakes with medium productivity

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Eutrophic

lakes with high productivity

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Coral Bleaching

algae in corals die → corals die and turn white

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Photic zone

layer of ocean with enough sunlight for photosynthesis

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Aphotic Zone

deeper ocean layer, no sunlight

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Chemosynthesis

getting energy from methane and hydrogen sulfide