APES unit 1

Individual

One organism (elk)

Community

All living organisms in area

Population

Group of individuals of same species (Elk herd)

Competition

Organisms fighting over a resource

Biome

Large area with similar climate that determines plants and animal species

Predation

One organism using another for an energy source

Mutualism

Both organisms benefit

Commensalism

One organism isnt impacted and one is benefited

Herbivores

Plant eaters

Carnivores

Meat eaters

Omnivores

Plant & meat eaters

Parasite

Uses a host for energy

Parasitoids

Lays eggs in a host

Symbiosis

Long term interaction between two organisms of different species

Resource partitioning

Different species using the same resource in different ways to reduce competition

Spatial partioning

Using different areas of a shared habitat

Morphological partitioning

Using different resources based on evolved body features

Salinity

how much salt is in a body of water

Depth

Influences how much sunlight can penetrate and reach plants below the surface

Flow

Determines how much oxygen can dissolve into water

Temperature

Warmer water holds less oxygen so it supports less aquatic organisms

Lakes

standing bodies of freshwater used for drinking

Rivers

have high oxygen due to flow and also carry nutrient rich sediments

Wetlands

area with soil submerged in water for at least part of the year but are shallow enough for emergent plants

Estuaries

Mix of fresh and salt water with high productivity

Coral reef

Warm and shallow waters beyond the shoreline, most diverse biome on earth

Intertidal zone

narrow band of coastline between low and high tide

Open ocean

Large amount of the ocean where most of the earths oxygen is produced and absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide

Carbon cycle

Movement of molecules that contain carbon, glucose, and methane between sources and sinks

Carbon sink

a carbon reservoir that stores more carbon than it releases

Carbon source

processes that add carbon to atmosphere

Carbon burial

slow geological process that stores carbon underground in sedimentary rock or fossil fuels

Nitrogen cycle

movement of nitrogen containing molecules between sources and sinks

Assimilation (Nitrogen)

plants and animals ingesting nitrogen

Nitrification

conversion of ammonium into nitrate and then nitrogen by soil bacteria

Denitrification

conversion of nitrogen into nitrous oxide which returns to atmosphere

Phosphorus cycle

movement of phosphorus atoms and molecules by sources and sinks and reservoirs

Assimilation (Phosporus)

animals assimilate phosphorus by ingesting plants or other animals

Water cycle

State of water (solid, liquid, gas)

Primary productivity

rate that solar energy is converted into organic compounds via photosynthesis ovwr a unit of time

Gross primary productivity

the total amount of sun energy that plants capture

1st law of thermodynamics

Matter and energy are never created nor destroyed

2nd law of thermodynamics

each time energy is transferred some of it is lost heat

Tertiary consumers

animals that eat secondary consumers

Secondary consumers

animals that eat primary consumers

Producers

plants

Food chain

one linear path of energyand matter

Food web

has at least 2 different interconnected food chains

Net primary productivity

how much energy is left for consumers when plants use some for respiration