APES UNIT 1 REVIEW

Ecosystem

The interaction of the living & non-living things in a specific area.

Environment

The entire natural world

Habitat

The specific environmental conditions that a given species needs.

Symbiosis

Any organism that live in close proximity to each other. (NOT MUTUALISM)

Example of symbiosis

Going hiking & forgetting to filter your drinking water, developing a tapeworm / parasite

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship where both species benefit from the interaction.

Examples of mutualism

• Bees pollinating plants

• Coral reef that is made up of photosynthetic algae & lil coral building animals called polyps

Biome

An area that shares an average yearly temp. & precipitation pattern

• w/ specific climate, vegetation, & animal life

Tropical rainforest

They are dense & warm rainforests w/ high rainfall found between 10 degrees north & south of the equator.

Vegetation

An assemblage of plant species & the ground cover they provide

Biodiversity

The variability of life on Earth

Equator

The circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern & Southern hemispheres.

Salinity

The saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water.

Law of Conservation of Matter

Matter is never created or destroyed, it only changes forms.

Biogeochemical Cycle Terminology

Reservoirs, sources, sinks

Reservoirs

Things that temporarily store matter

Sources

Processes that move matter around between reservoirs

Sinks

Reservoirs that store more matter than they give off

Carbon cycle

Movement of carbon

• carbon sources return carbon to the atmosphere, while sinks remove carbon from the atmosphere

• The amount of time carbon spends in different reservoirs significantly varies

Photosynthesis

Removes carbon from the atmosphere & stores it in plant life

Increase in carbon & methane also…

Increases temperature

If plants are really long-lived, they become…

Carbon sinks

Carbon sinks

Natural or artificial systems that absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they release.

Respiration

Returns carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as plants & animals break down glucose to use for energy.