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Biosphere
The global sum of all ecosystems, encompassing all living organisms and their interactions with the environment.
Biome
A large geographic biotic community, characterized by specific climate conditions and distinct plant and animal species.
Ecosystem
A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment, functioning together as a system.
Community
A group of interacting organisms of different species that live in the same area and share resources.
Population
A group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area, interacting and reproducing with one another.
Individual
A single organism of a particular species that can reproduce and interact with other organisms.
Mutualism
A symbiotic relationship between two different species where both benefit from the interaction.
Commensalism
A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.
Parasitism
A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits at the expense of the other, typically harming it in the process.
Resource partitioning
The process by which competing species use the environment differently in a way that helps them to coexist.
Temporal partitioning
A form of resource partitioning where species utilize the same resource at different times, reducing competition.
Spatial partitioning
A form of resource partitioning where species use different physical spaces or habitats to minimize competition for resources.
Morphological partitioning
A form of resource partitioning where species evolve different physical traits or structures to exploit different resources, reducing competition.
Terrestrial biomes are defined by…
annual temperature and precipitation, which are represented by a climatogram.
Salinity
The concentration of salt in water, which influences the distribution and abundance of aquatic organisms.
Flow
The movement of water in rivers, streams, and other bodies of water, affecting ecosystems and organisms within these environments.
Depth
The vertical distance from the surface of a body of water to its bottom, influencing light penetration and habitat availability for aquatic life.
Warmer water holds ____ dissolved O2 so it can support ____ organisms
less, fewer
Littoral
The zone of a body of water that is close to the shore, where sunlight penetrates to the bottom, supporting diverse plant and animal life.
Limnetic
The open water zone of a body of water, where sunlight penetrates but does not reach the bottom, supporting plankton and larger aquatic organisms.
Profundal
The deep, dark zone of a body of water that is below the limnetic zone, where sunlight does not penetrate and supports organisms adapted to cold, low-light conditions.
Benthic
The bottom zone of a body of water, consisting of sediments and organic matter, where organisms such as benthos live and thrive.
Wetland
A saturated area of land that supports aquatic plants, providing important ecosystem services like water filtration and habitat for wildlife.
Intertidal zone
The area of the shoreline that is exposed to the air at low tide and submerged at high tide, hosting a unique ecosystem adapted to fluctuating conditions.
Estuary
A coastal area where freshwater from rivers meets and mixes with saltwater from the ocean, creating a unique ecosystem that supports diverse wildlife and plant species.
Carbon sink
A natural environment, such as forests or oceans, that absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases, helping to mitigate climate change.
Carbon source
An environment that releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than it absorbs, contributing to climate change.
Fossil fuels
Natural substances formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals, primarily composed of carbon, that are burned for energy.
What percent of the atmosphere is Nitrogen?
70%
Nitrogen fixation
The process by which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into a form usable by living organisms, often facilitated by certain bacteria and plants.
Nitrogen assimilation
The process by which plants and other organisms take up nitrogen compounds, such as ammonium and nitrate, and incorporate them into organic molecules like amino acids and proteins.
Nitrogen ammonification
The process by which organic nitrogen is converted back into ammonia by decomposers, making it available for uptake by plants.
Nitrification
The process by which ammonia is oxidized to nitrites and then to nitrates by bacteria, making nitrogen available to plants.
Denitrification
The process by which bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas, returning nitrogen to the atmosphere and completing the nitrogen cycle.
Eutrophication
The process in which excessive growth of algae occurs in a water body due to excessive minerals and nutrients. This process can lead to oxygen depletion and harm aquatic life.
Primary productivity
The rate at which energy is converted by photosynthetic and chemosynthetic autotrophs to organic substances in an ecosystem.
1st Law of Thermodynamics
Energy is never created nor destroyed
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
Each time energy is transferred, some of it is lost as heat
10% Rule
Only ten percent of energy from one level is transferred to another. The rest of it is lost as heat.
Keystone species
A species that, if removed, would cause its ecosystem and food web to be dramatically different or eliminated.
Tragedy of the Commons
An act with self-interest which overexploits and depletes shared resources
Externalities
Negative costs associated with human actions, that aren’t accounted for in the price
Effects of clear cutting
Increases soil erosion, evaporation of water in soil, nitrates in streams, and amount of soil in the atmosphere. Impacts biodiversity more than selective cutting
Negative effects of tree plantations
Lowers biodiversity and all the same age
General forest benefits
Filtering of air pollutants, removal and storage of CO2 from the atmosphere, habitat for organisms
Deforestation consequences
Reduces air filtering and releases CO2
Slash and burn
Method of clearing land for agriculture by cutting trees and burning them
Furrow irrigation
Trench dug along crops and filled with water, 66% efficient
Drip irrigation
Holes is hose allow water to slowly drip out, 95% effective
Flood irrigation
Flooding entire field, 10% efficient
Spray irrigation
Surface water sprayed through pipes, 90% efficient
Soil salinization
The process of salt building up in soil over time
What does the depletion of aquifers cause
Saltwater intrusion, cone of depression
Green Revolution
A shift in agriculture away from small family operated farms to large industrial scale agribusiness
Monocropping
Growing one single species of crop
Tiling
Mixing and breaking up of soil to make planting easier
Pesticides
Chemicals that are toxic to pests, can cause pests to become resistant
GMOs in crops
Grow for pest resistant trait that is added through genetic modification
CAFO
Concentrated animal feeding operation
Manure lagoons
Large, open storage pits for animal waste
Overgrazing
Too many animals grazing an area of land removes all vegetation
Fishery
Populations of fish for commercial fishing
Fishery collapse
Collapse when overfishing causes 90% population die off, population may never recover
Bottom trawling
Dragging a large net along ocean floor, catches unintended targets and destroys reefs
Ore
Commercially valuable deposits of concentrated minerals that can be harvested and used as raw materials
Metals
Elements that have reduced electricity, heat, and have structural proportions for building
Reserve
The known amount of a resource left that can be mined
Overburden
Soil, vegetation, and rocks that are removed to get to a deposit below
Tailings and slag
Leftover waste material separated from the valuable metal of ore
Surface mining
Mining closer to the surface of the earth, open pit, becoming more scarce
Subsurface mining
More expensive due to higher insurance and health care for workers
Core
Dense mass of solid nickel, iron, and radioactive elements that release massive amounts of heat
Mantle
Liquid layer of magma surrounding core, kept liquified by intense heat from core
Asthenosphere
Solid, flexible, outer layer of mantle, beneath the lithosphere
Lithosphere
Thin, brittle layer of rock floating on top of mantle
Crust
Very outer layer of the lithosphere, earth’s surface
Divergent
Plates move away from each other
Convergent
Plates move towards each other, leads to subduction
Transform
Plates slide past each other in opposite directions
Ring of Fire
Pattern of volcanoes all around pacific plate
Transform faults
Likely location of earthquakes
Hotspots
Areas of especially hot magma rising up to the lithosphere
Soil Horizon O
Organic, grass/leaves/plants, 0-0.1 meters
Soil Horizon A
Topsoil/humus, 0.1 m to 0.3 m
Soil Horizon E
Leaching, loss of organic matter/lighter in color, below A
Soil Horizon B
Subsoil, more clay than topsoil/lower levels of organic matter/blocky, .3 m to 1 m
Soil Horizon C
Weathered rock, 1 m to 1.3 m
Soil Horizon R
Bedrock
Three soil particles
Sand, silt, clay
Soil texture
The % of sand, silt, and clay in soil
Porosity
How much (volume of) water that a soil sample can hold
Permeability
How easily water drains through soil
Too sandy for growth
70%
Too much clay for growth
30%
Ideal soil for most plant growth
40-40-20
Percent of nitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere
78%
Percent of oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere
21%
Percent of argon in the earth’s atmosphere
0.93%
Note 
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