apes vocab unit 1 Flashcards
ecosystem
Ecosystem: a group of communities interacting together
biosphere
Biosphere: another name for earth
natural selection
Natural Selection: survival of the fittest
watershed
Chesapeake Bay Watershed: Where Potomac River dumps into Atlantic Ocean. Extremely polluted with sediments and nutrients.
salinity
Salinity: level of salt in the water
brackish
Brackish: medium levels of salinity. Often occurs in wetlands where salt and freshwater mix.
pontentail energy
Potential Energy: The energy stored. PE = mgh
kinetic energy
Kinetic Energy: The energy in movement: KE = ½ mv2
1st law of thermodyamics
1st Law of Thermodynamics: Energy is not created nor destroyed…changes forms
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
2nd Law of Thermodynamics: No reaction is 100% efficient. Entropy is created after every energy transformation.
entropy
Entropy: Disorder and chaos in a system.
ecological fr print
Ecological footprint: a measure of human impact on Earth’s ecosystems. It’s typically measured in area of wilderness or amount of natural capital consumed each year.
carrion
Carrion: the decaying flesh of dead animals
phototrophs
Phototrophs: organisms that use light to perform photosynthesis. Often plants and phytoplankton.
Chemotrophs
Chemotrophs: organisms that use chemicals to perform chemosynthesis. Often bacteria in deep sea vents.
Heterotrophs
Heterotrophs: organisms that consume to obtain energy. Often herbivores and carnivores.
primary consumer
Primary Consumer: first level heterotroph, eat primary producers
Secondary consumer
Secondary Consumer: organism that eats primary consumer
tertiary consumer
Tertiary Consumer: organism that eats secondary consumer
Saprotrophs
: organism that eats dead organic materials (fungi and bacteria)
food chain
Food Chain: a series of who eats whom with one pp, one pc, one sc, one tc
food web
Food Web: a diagram of who eats whom for all organisms
nnp
Net Primary Productivity: The biomass left over in a phototroph after photosynthesis and respiration takes place.
gpp
Gross Primary Productivity: the rate of photosynthesis taking place in an area
species diversity
Species diversity: a count of how many species are in an area.
niche
Niche: an organism’s job in a community.
hybird
Hybrid: the offspring of two different species.
Germination
Germination: sprouting of a seed
mutualism
Mutualism: a symbiosis where two species benefit from the relationship. Ex: oxpecker and rhino
Commensalism
: a symbiosis where one species benefits and the other is neutral in the relationship. Ex: cattle egret and cow
Parasitism
: a symbiosis where one species benefits and the other is harmed in the relationship. Ex: tapeworm and human
Competitive Exclusion Principle
: species with the same niche in the same area cannot coexist
keystone species
Keystone Species: often a dominant predator whose removal allows a prey population to explode and often decreases overall diversity. Ex: sea otter
predation
Predation: the preying of one animal on others.
mimicry
Mimicry: the close external resemblance of an animal or plant (or part of one) to another animal, plant, or inanimate object
interspecific competition
Interspecific Competition: competition between two different species.
Intraspecific competition
Intraspecific Competition: competition the same species.
Aerobic
Aerobic: using oxygen
Anaerobic
: using no oxygen
