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AP Bio > Chapter 52: An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere > Flashcards

Chapter 52: An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Ecology

A

Scientific study of interactions between organisms and the environment

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2
Q

Biosphere

A
  • Global ecosystem

- Sum of all the planet’s ecosystems and landscapes

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3
Q

Global Ecology

A

Examines how regional exchange of energy and materials influences the functioning & distribution of organisms across the biosphere

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4
Q

Landscapes & Seascapes

A

Mosaics of connected ecosystems

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5
Q

Landscape Ecology

A

Focuses on factors controlling exchanges of energy, materials, & organisms across ecosystems

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6
Q

Ecosystem

A

Community of organisms in an area & the physical factors they interact with

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7
Q

Ecosystem Ecology

A

Emphasizes energy flow and chemical cycling between organisms and the environment

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8
Q

Community

A

Group of populations of different species in an area

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9
Q

Community Ecology

A

Examines how species interactions (i.e. predation) affect community structure and organization

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10
Q

Population

A

Group of individuals of the same species living in an area

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11
Q

Population Ecology

A

Analyzes factors that affect population size and how & why it changes through time

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12
Q

Organismal Ecology

A
  • Includes subdisciplines of physiological, evolutionary, & behavioral ecology
  • Concerned with how an organism’s structure, physiology, & behavior meet challenges from the environment
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13
Q

Tropics

A
  • Regions between 23.5°N and 23.5°S latitude

- More heat and light per unit of surface area

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14
Q

Climate

A
  • Long-term prevailing weather conditions in a given area

- 4 factors: temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind

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15
Q

Macroclimate

A

Weather patterns on the global, regional, and landscape level

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16
Q

Microclimate

A

Fine, localized weather patterns

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17
Q

Abiotic

A
  • Nonliving

- Factors include temperature, light, water, and nutrients

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18
Q

Biotic

A
  • Living

- Factors include organisms in an individual’s environment

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19
Q

Biomes

A
  • Major life zones
  • Characterized by vegetation type (terrestrial biomes)
  • Characterized by physical environment (aquatic biomes)
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20
Q

Climograph

A

Plot of the annual mean temperature and precipitation in a region

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21
Q

Ecotone

A
  • Region of transition between biomes

- Can be wide or narrow

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22
Q

Canopy

A

The uppermost level of vegetation in a terrestrial biome

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23
Q

Disturbance

A
  • Event (i.e. storm, fire, human activity) that changes a community
  • Organisms are removed
  • Resource availability is altered
24
Q

Tropical Rainforest

A
  • Terrestrial biome
  • Relatively high precipitation and temperatures year-round
  • High species diversity
25
Q

Tropical Dry Forest

A
  • Terrestrial biome
  • Relatively high temperatures and precipitation overall
  • Pronounced dry season
26
Q

Desert

A
  • Terrestrial biome

- Characterized by very low precipitation

27
Q

Savanna

A
  • Tropical grassland biome
  • Scattered individual trees
  • Large herbivores
  • Maintained by occasional fires and drought
28
Q

Chaparral

A
  • Scrubland biome of spiny evergreen shrubs
  • Found at midlatitudes along coasts where cold ocean currents circulate offshore
  • Characterized by mild, rainy winters and long, hot, dry summers
29
Q

Temperate Grasslands

A
  • Terrestrial biome
  • Exists at midlatitude regions
  • Dominated by grasses and forbs
30
Q

Northern Coniferous Forest

A
  • Terrestrial biome
  • Characterized by long, cold winters
  • Dominated by cone-bearing trees
31
Q

Temperate Broadleaf Forest

A
  • Biome located throughout midlatitude regions where there is sufficient moisture to support the growth of large, broadleaf deciduous trees
  • Also known as deciduous forest
32
Q

Tundra

A
  • Terrestrial biome at extreme limits of plant growth
  • Northernmost limits = arctic tundra
  • High altitudes = alpine tundra (plant forms are limited to low shrubbery or matlike vegetation)
33
Q

Photic Zone

A
  • Narrow top layer of an ocean or lake

- Light penetrates sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur

34
Q

Aphotic Zone

A
  • Part of ocean or lake beneath the photic zone

- Light does not penetrate sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur

35
Q

Pelagic Zone

A
  • Photic and aphotic zones

- Open water component of aquatic biomes

36
Q

Abyssal Zone

A
  • Deep in aphotic zone

- 2,500 - 6,000 m below the surface

37
Q

Benthic Zone

A
  • Bottom of all zones

- Sand and organic / inorganic sediments occupied by benthos

38
Q

Benthos

A
  • Communities of organisms in the benthic zone

- Major source of food is detritus

39
Q

Detritus

A
  • Dead organic matter

- Rains down from surface waters of photic zone

40
Q

Thermocline

A
  • Narrow layer of abrupt temperature change

- Separates upper layer from bottom layer by temperature

41
Q

Turnover

A
  • Semiannual mixing of waters because of changing temperature profiles
  • Sends oxygenated water from lake’s surface to the bottom
  • Nutrient rich water goes to the surface
  • During spring and autumn
42
Q

Oligotrophic Lake

A
  • Nutrient poor
  • Oxygen rich
  • Clear lake with few phytoplankton
43
Q

Eutrophic Lake

A
  • Lake that has a high rate of biological productivity
  • Supported by a high rate of nutrient cycling
  • Nutrient rich
  • Depleted of oxygen in the deepest zone in summer & if covered with ice in winter
44
Q

Littoral Zone

A
  • In a lake

- Shallow, well-lit waters close to shore

45
Q

Limnetic Zone

A
  • Well-lit, open surface waters far from shore
  • Water is too deep to support rooted aquatic plants
  • Variety of phytoplankton live here
46
Q

Wetland

A
  • Habitat that is inundated with water at least some of the time
  • Supports plants adapted to water-saturated soil
47
Q

Estuary

A
  • Transition area between river and sea
  • Sea water flows up the channel during rising tide
  • Sea water flows down the channel during falling tide
48
Q

Intertidal Zone

A
  • Shallow zone of the ocean adjacent to land
  • Between the high and low tide lines
  • Periodically submerged & exposed by the tides
49
Q

Ocean Pelagic Zone

A
  • Vast realm of open blue water

- Constantly mixed by wind driven oceanic currents

50
Q

Coral Reef

A
  • Typically a warm-water, tropical ecosystem

- Dominated by the hard skeletal structures secreted primarily by corals

51
Q

Marine Benthic Zone

A

Seafloor below the surface waters of the coastal zone and the offshore, pelagic zone

52
Q

Neritic Zone

A

Shallow region of the ocean overlying the continental shelf

53
Q

Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents

A
  • Dark, hot, oxygen-deficient environment associated with volcanic activity on or near the seafloor
  • Producers in a vent community are usually chemoautotrophic prokaryotes
54
Q

Dispersal

A

Movement of individuals or gametes away from their area of origin or from centers of high population density

55
Q

Taiga

A
  • Biome characterized by lengthy cold and wet winters
  • Has gymnosperms as prominent plant life
  • Contains coniferous forests

AP Bio (34 decks)

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