Flashcards APES Unit 1 Vocab | Quizlet

species

A group of organisms that is distinct from other groups in its morphology, behavior, or biochemical properties.

abiotic factor

A nonliving factor

trophic level

Levels in the feeding structure of organisms. Higher trophic levels consume organisms from lower levels.

consumer

An organism that must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms.

decomposer

Fungi or bacteria that recycle nutrients from dead tissues and wastes back into an ecosystem.

parasite

A predator that lives on or in the organism it consumes.

food web

A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels.

symbiosis

A relationship of two species that live in close association with eachother. Both benefit, or one benefits, no harm

parasitism

1 benefits, 1 is harmed

potential energy

Stored energy that has not been released.

net primary productivity (NPP)

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire.

edge effect

The change of environment between two ecosystems, promotes biodiversity

hydrologic cycle

The movement of water through the biosphere

condensation

the conversion of a vapor or gas to a liquid.

nitrogen cycle

the series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms, including nitrogen fixation and decomposition.

assimilation

the process in which plants absorb ammonium, amonia ions, and nitrate ions through their roots

desert

Little to no pollution

pollution

the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects.

community

All of the populations of organisms within a given area.

biotic factor

Living factors

ecosystem

A particular location on Earth distinguished by its mix of interacting biotic and abiotic components.

ecology

relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.

biomes

A geographic region cateforized by a particular combination of average annual temperature, annual precipitation, and distinctive plant growth forms on land, and a particular combination of salinity, depth, and water flow in water

biosphere

The region of our planet where life resides, the combination of all ecosystems on Earth

photosynthesis

The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose

producer

An organism that uses the energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy

autotroph

producer

heterotroph

consumer

detrivore (detritus feeder)

An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles

predator

The use of one species as a resource by another species

prey

Species that are consumed, resource

food chain

The sequence of consumption from producer through tertiary consumers

biomass

The total mass of all living matter in a specific

energy pyramid

An energy pyramid is a graphical model of energy flow in a community. The different levels represent different groups of organisms that might compose a food chain.

mutualism

Both species benefit

commensalism

One species benefit, one neutral

habitat

the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.

niche

the way in which an organism fits into an ecological community or ecosystem

range of tolerance

the range of conditions that an organism can withstand.

limiting factor

environmental conditions that limit the growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism or a population of organisms in an ecosystem

climate

the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period.

gross primary productivity (GPP)

total energy produced

positive feedback

change in a system amplified

keystone

a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically

cellular respiration

expelling co2 from processes sugar

succession

the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time

evaporation

water to vapor

transpiration

water evaporated from plants

precipitation

clouds to water, rain

carbon cycle

the series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment, chiefly involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels.

nitrogen fixation

N2 gas into usable Ammonia/ammonum

ammonification

decomposers create ammonium

nitrification

ammonium to nitrite and then into nitrate

dentrification

nitrate into nitrous oxide and then n2 gas

Evapotranspiration

The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration

1st law of thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created or destroyed

2nd law of thermodynamics

Energy cannot be changed from one form to another without a loss of usable energy

trophic cascade

powerful indirect interactions that can control entire ecosystems, occurring when a trophic level in a food web is suppressed

Eutrophication

A process by which nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, become highly concentrated in a body of water, leading to increased growth of organisms such as algae or cyanobacteria.