Ecology & Biodiversity Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key topics in AP Ecology & Biodiversity, including ecosystem structures, primary productivity, food webs, island biogeography, and ecological tolerance.

Predator-prey relationship

An interaction where the predator is an organism that eats another organism, known as the prey.

Symbiosis

A close and long-term interaction between two species in an ecosystem, which includes mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

Resource partitioning

The strategy of using resources in different ways, places, or at different times to reduce the impact of competition on survival.

Ecosystem services

Benefits provided to humans by ecosystems, classified into four categories: provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting.

Primary productivity

The rate at which solar energy (sunlight) is converted into organic compounds via photosynthesis over a unit of time, typically measured in $\text{kcal/m}^2/\text{yr}$.

Gross primary productivity

The total rate of photosynthesis in a given area.

Net primary productivity

The rate of energy storage by photosynthesizers in a given area, after subtracting energy lost to respiration, calculated as $\text{Net Primary Productivity} = \text{Gross Primary Productivity} - \text{Respiration Loss}$.

10% rule

An ecological principle approximating that in the transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next, only about $10\%$ of the energy is passed on.

Food chain

A model depicting the linear flow of energy and matter from producers (autotrophs) to primary consumers (herbivores) and higher-level consumers (omnivores and carnivores).

Food web

A model showing an interlocking pattern of multiple food chains depicting the flow of energy and matter across an ecosystem.

Biome

A major ecological community containing characteristic plant and animal species adapted to its specific regional climate.

Species richness

The total number of different species found within a given ecosystem.

Island biogeography

The study of ecological relationships, species distribution, and community structures of organisms living on islands.

HIPPCO

An acronym representing the primary factors driving biodiversity loss: Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Population growth, Pollution, Climate change, and Over exploitation.

Habitat fragmentation

The process where large, continuous habitats are broken into smaller, isolated areas due to human developments such as roads, pipelines, agriculture, and logging.

Ecological tolerance

The range of environmental conditions (such as temperature, salinity, flow rate, and sunlight) an organism or species can endure before experiencing injury or death.

Keystone species

A species whose activities exert a disproportionately significant role in determining the overall structure of its community.

Indicator species

A plant or animal species whose presence, abundance, scarcity, or chemical composition demonstrates specific conditions or quality aspects of an ecosystem.