APES Unit 1

Mutualism

Relationship that benefits both organisms

Predation

One organism using another for energy source

Commensalism

Relationship that benefits one organism and doesn’t impact others

Resource Partitioning

Different species using the same resource in different ways to reduce competition

Temporal Partitioning

Using different areas of a shared habitat

Morphological Partitioning

Using different resources based on different evolved body features

Tundra

Treeless biome found in both the Arctic and high-altitude mountain regions, characterized by permafrost, low temps, and a short growing season.

Taiga (Boreal Forest)

The northern, coniferous forest biome characterized by cold, long winters, and warm summers.

Temperate Rainforest

A biome found in mid-latitudes, characterized by high annual precipitation, heavy rainfall, and mild temperatures year-round, supporting lush vegetation like mosses, ferns, and tall coniferous or broad-leaved trees.

Temperate seasonal (deciduous) forest

Biomes found in middle latitudes, characterized by four distinct seasons and trees that lose their leaves annually to survive cold winters and conserve water.

Shrubland

An ecosystem dominated by woody shrubs rather than trees or grasses.

Temperate Grasslands

Expansive bioms in mid-latitude continental interiors, characterized by cold winters, hot summers, and moderate rainfall, leading to dominant grasses and few trees.

Tropical Rainforest

A hot, wet forest typically found near the Earth’s equator, characterized by high temps, abundant rainfall, a dense, continuous canopy, and extremely high diversity.

Savanna

Warm temps, seasonal rainfall with distinct wet and dry periods, and a landscape of grasses with scattered trees and shrubs.

True Predators

Kill and eat prey for energy

Parasitoids

Lay eggs inside a host organism; eggs hatch and larvae eat host for energy.

Salinity

How much salt there is in a body of water

Littoral

Shallow water with emergent plants

Limnetic

Where light can reach

Profundal

Too deep for sunlight

Wetland

Area with soil submerged in water for at least part of the year, but shallow enough for emergent plants

Estuaries

Areas where rivers empty into the ocean

Photic zone

Area where sunlight can reach

Aphotic Zone

Area too deep for sunlight

Carbon Sink

Reservoir that take in more carbon than it releases

Carbon Source

Reservoir that releases more carbon than it takes in.

Cellular Respiration

Uses oxygen to break glucose down and release energy

Direct Exchange

CO2 moves directly between atmospheres and the ocean by dissolving into and out of ocean water at the surface

Sedimentation

Calcium carbonate precipitates out as sediment; settles on ocean floor

Burial

Over long periods of time, pressure of water compresses carbon containing sediments on ocean floor into sedimentary rock

Extraction & Combustion

Digging or mining fossil fuels and burning them as energy source; releases CO2 into atmosphere

Biotic Fixation

Certain bacteria live in the soil, or in symbiotic relationship with plant root nodules covert N2 into NH3

Abiotic Fixation

Lightning converts N2 gas into nitrate and fossil fuel combustion converts N2 gas into NH3

Assimilation

Plants and animals taking N in and incorporating it into their biomass

Ammonification

Soil bacteria, microbes & decomposers converting waste & dead biomass back into NH3 and returning it to soil

Nitrification

Conversion of NH4 into Nitrite & then nitrate by soil bacteria

Denitrification

Conversion of soil N into nitrous oxide gas which returns to atmosphere

Leaching & Eutrophication

Synthetic fertilizer use leads to nitrates, leaching, or being carried out of soil by water.

Geological Uplift

Tectonic plate collision forcing up rock layers that form mountains; P cycle can start over again with weathering & release of P from rock

Transpiration

Process plants use to draw groundwater from roots up to their limits

Evapotranspiration

Amount of H2O that enters atm. from transpiration & evaporation combined.

Primary Productivitiy

Rate that solar energy is converted into organic compounds via photosynthesis over a unit of time.

Respiration Loss

Plants use some of the energy they generate via photosynthesis by doing cellular respiration

Net Primary Productivity

The amount of biomass leftover for consumers after plants have used some for respiration.

Gross Primary Productivity

The total amount of sun energy that plants capture and convert to energy through photosynthesis.

1st Law of Theromodynamics

Energy is never created or destroyed.

10% Rule

In trophic pyramids, only about 10% of the energy from one level makes it to the next level; the other 90% is used by the organism & lost as heat.

Tertiary Consumers

Animals that eat secondary consumers

Secondary Consumers

Animals that eat primary consumers or herbivores

Primary consumers

Animals that eat plants

Producers

Convert sunlight energy into chemical energy

Trophic Cascade

Removal or addition of a top predator has a ripple effect down through lower levels.