APES unit one

Fracking

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

environment

all conditions around us that influence life

Environmental Science

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

System

sets of interacting components

Ecosystem

a specific location with interacting components

Biotic

living

Abiotic

Non-living

environmentalist

participant in the environmental social movement

Environmental studies

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

ecosystem services

the process by which life supporting resources are produced

Environmental indicator

Describes the state of an environmental system

Sustainability

using our resources in a renewable way

Biodiversity

diversity of life forms in an environment

Speciation

the evolution of new species

background extinction rate

the average rate species go extinct long term

Greenhouse gasses

atmospheric gasses that trap heat near earth's surface

Anthropogenic

derived from human activities

development

improved human wellbeing due to economic advancement

sustainable development

balances humans well being and economic growth with sustainable practices

Biophilia

love of life

ecological footprint

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

ecosystem

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

producers (autotrophs)

organisms that gets energy from the sun

photosynthesis

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

Cellular Respiration

process of converting oxygen and glucose into carbon dioxide and energy

Heterotrophs

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

Primary Consumers

consumers that eat producers

Secondary Consumers

consumers that eat primary consumers

Tertiary Consumers

carnivores that eat secondary producers

Trophic Levels

the levels of organisms eating each other

Food Chain

sequence of consumption from producers to tertiary consumers

Food Web

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

Scavengers

organisms that consume dead animals

Detritivores

organisms that break dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles

Decomposers

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

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

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

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

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

Biomass

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

Standing Crop

The amount of biomass in an ecosystem at a particular time

Ecological Efficiency

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

Trophic Pyramid

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

biospere

regions of the earth occupied by living organisms

Biogeochemical Cycles

movement of matter within and between ecosystems

hydrologic cycle

The movement of water through the biosphere

transpiration

The release of water from leaves during photosynthesis

Evapotranspiration

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

runoff

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

Macronutrients

the six key elements 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 a lower quantity than other nutrients

Nitrogen Fixation

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

leaching

transportation of dissolved molecules through soil by groundwater

community ecology

study of interactions among species

Competitive exclusion principle

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

Resource partitioning

two species divide a resource based on differences in their behavior

Parasitoids

predators that lay eggs in host organisms

Keystone species

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

Predator-mediated competition

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

Ecosystem engineers

a keystone species that create or maintain habitats for other species

nitrification

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

sedimentation

when carbon condenses into fossil fuels and limestone in the earth

condensation

water vapor becomes clouds

assimilation

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

ammonification

decomposers break down dead tissue into ammonia/ammonium

denitrification

bacteria turn nitrite and nitrate back into atmospheric gas

plants need phosphorus in what form?

phosphate

Phosphorus cycles…

not through the atmosphere

for plants, phosphorus is usually…

a limiting factor

excess phosphorus in aquatic ecosystems causes

eutrophication (excessive algae growth)

hydrogen sulfide

poisonous gas, smells like rotten eggs, from anaerobic digestion

sulfer dioxide

colorless gas from burning coal and volcanoes

sulfuric acid

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

littoral zone

shallow area of lake or pond where algae and plants grow

limnetic zone

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

phytoplankton

floating algae

Profundal Zone

below limnetic zone

benthic zone

bottom of lake/pond

Oligotrophic

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

Mesotrophic

lakes with medium productivity

Eutrophic

lakes with high productivity

Coral Bleaching

algae in corals die → corals die and turn white

Photic zone

layer of ocean with enough sunlight for photosynthesis

Aphotic Zone

deeper ocean layer, no sunlight

Chemosynthesis

getting energy from methane and hydrogen sulfide