APES vocab 1

Question 1

Assimilation

Answer 1

the process through which an organism incorporates nutrients from outside its body to the more complex structures needed inside of it

Question 2

Benthic

Answer 2

the bottom of a body of water

Question 3

Biome

Answer 3

the world’s major communities, classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment

Question 4

Carnivore

Answer 4

an organism that consumers other consumers only

Question 5

Commensalism

Answer 5

an interaction between organisms in which one organism benefits and the other organism in not affected

Question 6

Competition

Answer 6

an interaction between organisms in which both organisms are harmed from competition over a limited resource

Question 7

Deciduous

Answer 7

describing a tree or shrub that sheds its leaves annually

Question 8

Desert

Answer 8

a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life

Question 9

Estuary

Answer 9

an area where a freshwater river or stream meets the ocean

Question 10

Eutrophication

Answer 10

process in which the increased availability of a limiting nutrient results in increased photosynthesis and thus growth in plants and algae in a body of water

Question 11

Fall turnover

Answer 11

when the surface water of a lake or pond cools down and begins to mix with the deeper, nutrient-rich water

Question 12

Fauna

Answer 12

the animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period

Question 13

Flora

Answer 13

the plants of a particular region, habitat, or geological period

Question 14

Herbivore

Answer 14

an organism that consumes producers only

Question 15

Hydrologic Cycle

Answer 15

the movement of water through the biosphere

Question 16

Intertidal zone

Answer 16

the area of the marine shoreline that is exposed to air at low tide, and covered with seawater at high tide

Question 17

Latitude

Answer 17

a measure of relative position north or south on the Earth’s surface, measured in degrees from the equator

Question 18

Limiting nutrient

Answer 18

a relatively scarce naturally occurring element that controls the growth of a population

Question 19

Limnetic

Answer 19

the open and well-lit area of a lake or pond

Question 20

Littoral

Answer 20

a region lying along the shore of a lake or pond

Question 21

Marsh

Answer 21

wetlands dominated by reeds and grasses

Question 22

Mesotrophic

Answer 22

describes a body of water having a moderate level of dissolved nutrients

Question 23

Mutualism

Answer 23

an interaction between organisms in which both organisms benefit

Question 24

Oligotrophic

Answer 24

describes a body of water having a low level of dissolved nutrients

Question 25

Pampas

Answer 25

temperate grasslands of South America

Question 26

Parasitism

Answer 26

an interaction between organisms where one organism benefits and the other is harmed

Question 27

Permafrost

Answer 27

a thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year, occurring chiefly in polar regions

Question 28

Prairies

Answer 28

temperate grasslands of North America

Question 29

Precipitation

Answer 29

any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and falls back to the Earth

Question 30

Predation

Answer 30

interaction between organisms where one animal kills and consumes another animal

Question 31

Productivity

Answer 31

the rate of at which the photosynthetic organisms of an ecosystem produce organic compounds over time

Question 32

Profundal

Answer 32

the bottom or deep area of a lake or pond that lies beyond the depth of light penetration

Question 33

Salinity

Answer 33

the salt content of a body of water

Question 34

Steppes

Answer 34

temperate grasslands of Southeastern Europe

Question 35

Surface Water

Answer 35

the top layer of a lake or pond

Question 36

Swamp

Answer 36

wetlands dominated by woody plants and trees

Question 37

Temperature

Answer 37

measure of hotness or coldness expressed in terms of any of several arbitrary scales

Question 38

Thermal Stratification

Answer 38

the phenomenon in which lakes develop two discrete layers of water of different temperatures: warm on top and cold below

Question 39

Transpiration

Answer 39

the release of water from plant leaves

Question 40

Trophic level

Answer 40

the group of organisms within an ecosystem which occupy the same level in a food chain or web

Question 41

Tropical Rain Forest

Answer 41

a hot, moist, productive biome found near Earth’s equator

Question 42

Tundra

Answer 42

a cold region of treeless, level ground with permanently-frozen soil, found mostly north of the Arctic Circle or above the timberline on mountains

Question 43

Wetland

Answer 43

a place where the land is covered by water either all year or part of the year