APES Vocabulary Unit 1

Mutualism

Mutualism

association between organisms of two different species in which each benefits

Competition

interaction of individuals for a common resource that is in limited supply, but more an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives nor benefit nor harm.

Commensalism

an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.

Predation

the preying of one animal on others

Resource partitioning

when different organisms within one ecosystem split up an area so that they will not compete for the same resources and when those organisms have a special adaption

biome

a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g. forest or tundra

terrestrial

things that are of land

climatogram

graphs that summarize only two of the factors: monthly measurements of temperature and precipitation

Wetland

an area of land that is saturated with water

Salinity

dissolved salt content of a body of water

Estuary

a partially enclosed, coastal water body where freshwater from rivers and streams mixes with salt water from the ocean.

Mangrove swamp

coastal wetlands found in tropical and subtropical regions

Intertidal zone

The area where the ocean meets the land between high and low tides.

Point Source

single identifiable source of pollution where pollutants come out of.

Sink

receiver of the element and can act as another source for a different organisms or physical body.

Reservoir

a cavity or part that holds some fluid or secretion. a place where anything is collected or accumulated in great amount.

Sequester

An approach that involves taking CO2 out of the atmosphere, then storing it in agricultural soils and allowing it to become a pasture or forest.

Direct Exchange

carbon dioxide moves directly between atmosphere and the ocean by dissolving into and out of ocean water at the surface.

Photosynthesis

the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. Photosynthesis in plants generally involves the green pigment chlorophyll and generates oxygen as a byproduct.

Respiration

a process in living organisms involving the production of energy, typically with the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide from the oxidation of complex organic substances.

Burial

(carbon Cycle) When a small fraction of the carbon in the dead biomass pool is buried and incorporated into ocean sediments which over millions of years can be transformed into fossil fuels

Combustion

(Carbon Cycle) When humans burn the fossil fuels or volcanoes or forest fires release some CO2 back into the atmosphere.(

Nitrogen Fixation

The process that converts nitrogen gas in the atmosphere (N2) into forms of energy that producers can use (Ammonium= NH4+ and Nitrate NO3-)

rhizobacteria

Rhizobacteria are root-associated bacteria that can have a detrimental (parasitic varieties), neutral or beneficial effect on plant growth.

assimilation

(Nitrogen Cycle) the process by which producers incorporate elements into their tissues.

ammonification

(Nitrogen Cycle) The process by which fungal and bacterial decomposers break down organic matter found in dead bodies and waste products and convert into inorganic compounds.

nitrification

The conversion of ammonia

denitrification

(Nitrogen Cycle) Conversion of nitrate in a series of steps eventually culminating in nitrogen gas.

geological uplift

(Phosphorus Cycle) Geological forces lift these ocean layers up and they become mountains

limiting nutrients

The nutrient which is present in the least quantity in an ecosystem is termed a limiting nutrient in an ecosystem. The growth and reproduction of organisms living in an ecosystem are controlled by the limiting nutrient availability and concentration.

precipitation

rain ,snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground

infiltration

the process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil.

evapotranspiration

The evaporation of water from soil plus the transpiration of water from plants.

runoff

the movement of freshwater from precipitation and snowmelt to rivers, lakes, wetlands, and ultimately the ocean.

net primary productivity

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

gross primary productivity

The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time.

respiration

a process in living organisms involving the production of energy, typically with the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide from the oxidation of complex organic substances.

secondary consumer

A carnivore that eats primary consumers

producer

Organisms that make there own food

tertiary consumer

A carnivore that eats secondary consumers

second law of therodynamics

if the physical process is irreversible, the entropy of the system and the environment must increase; the final entropy must be greater than the initial entropy

food chain

a hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food

food web

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

trophic cascade

A series of changes in the population sizes of organisms at different trophic levels in a food chain, occurs when predators at high trophic levels indirectly promote populations of organisms at low trophic levels by keeping species at intermediate trophic levels in check.

Nonpoint Source

Sources that can come from anywhere or multiple places.

Source

an organism or physical body that releases a certain compound or element.

Anaerobic Respiration

The process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen

Aerobic

The process by which cells convert glucose into energy, carbon dioxide and water