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APES > Unit 1 - The Living World > Flashcards

Unit 1 - The Living World Flashcards

1
Q

biosphere

A

the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth occupied by living organisms
- another name for earth

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2
Q

biome

A

an area that shares a combination of average yearly temp. and precipitation (climate)
ex: (tropical rainforest)

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3
Q

ecosystem

A

all living and nonliving things in an area
(plants, animals, rocks, soil, water, air)

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4
Q

community

A

all living organisms in an area

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5
Q

population

A

group of individuals of same species

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6
Q

individual

A

one organism

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7
Q

symbiosis

A

close and long term interaction between two species in an ecosystem

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8
Q

mutualism

A

relationship that benefits both organisms
ex: coral reef

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9
Q

commensalism

A

relationship that benefits one organism and doesn’t bother the other
ex: bird nests in trees

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10
Q

parasitism

A

parasites use a host organism for energy, often without killing the host and often living inside the host
ex: mosquitoes, tapeworms

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11
Q

predator

A

an organism that preys on others

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12
Q

prey

A

an animal that is hunted or killed for food

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13
Q

competition

A

sharing a limited environmental resource

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14
Q

interspecific competition

A

members of different species compete for same resources

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15
Q

intraspecific competition

A

members of the same species compete for resources

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16
Q

resource partitioning

A

different species using the same resource in diff. ways; evolving to occupy different habitats or feeding at a different time to reduce direct competition

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17
Q

temporal partitioning

A

using resources at different times
ex: wolves and coyote hunting at diff times of day

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18
Q

why do biomes exist in predictable patterns on earth

A

latitudes (distance from the eq.) determines temperature and precipitation

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19
Q

rainforest

A
  • receive the most rain of all the biomes
  • warm all year and must stay frost free
  • tropical are found closer to the equator
  • temperate are further north near coastal areas
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20
Q

grasslands

A

located between temperate forests at high latitudes and deserts at subtropical latitudes
- great plains of NA
- south of SA
- central eurasia

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21
Q

coniferous forest

A
  • canada, europe, russia, and usa
  • cold, long, snowy winters, and warm, humid, summers
  • well defined seasons
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22
Q

temperate deciduous forest

A
  • hot summers and cold winters
  • eastern US, canada, europe, china, japan
  • shrubs, perennial herbs, mosses
  • go through four seasons
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23
Q

deserts

A
  • receive least amount of rain of all biomes
  • cacti, small bushes, short grasses
  • north and south of equator
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24
Q

tundras

A
  • almost no trees due to short growing season and permafrost; lichens, mosses, grasses, sedges, shrubs
  • below the north pole, extending across NA, Europe, Russia
  • coldest of the biomes
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25
Q

shrubland

A
  • summers are hot and dry
  • winters are cool and moist
  • 30° and 40° N&S latitude
  • plants have adapted to fire caused by frequent lightning that occurs in summers
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26
Q

terrestrial biomes are defined by

A

annual temperatures and precipitation

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27
Q

tropic of cancer and capricorn

A

23.5° N & S

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28
Q

location of suppressed upwelling characteristic of the occurrence of el nino

A

left of south america

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29
Q

country with taiga

A

North America

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30
Q

country with desert

A

Africa and US

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31
Q

country with tropical rainforest

A

south america

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32
Q

country with temperate grassland

A

north america, europe

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33
Q

country with tropical grassland

A

africa, asia

34
Q

country with coral reef

A

central america, australia, SE Asia

35
Q

country with temperate deciduous forest

A

eastern US

36
Q

country with tundra

A

Russia, North America

37
Q

aquatic biomes are defined by

A

salinity, depth, flow, temperature

38
Q

freshwater biomes are a

A

vital resource for drinking water

39
Q

rivers

A
  • have high O2 due to flow mixing air and water
  • carry nutrient rich sediment
  • deltas and flood plains = fertile soil
40
Q

lakes

A
  • standing bodies of fresh H2O
  • key drinking water source
41
Q

littoral zone of lakes

A

shallow water with emergent plants

42
Q

limnetic zone of lakes

A

where light can reach (photosynthesis)
- no rooted plants, only phytoplankton

43
Q

profundal zone of lakes

A

too deep for sunlight (no photo)

44
Q

benthic zone of lakes

A
  • murky bottom where inverts (bugs) live
  • nutrient rich sediment
45
Q

marine biomes include

A

oceans, coral reefs, marshland, and estuaries

46
Q

wetlands

A
  • area with soil submerged/saturated in water for at least part of the year, but shallow enough for emergent plants
  • plants living here have to be adapted to living with roots submerged in standing water (lily pads, cattails, reed)
47
Q

benefits of wetlands

A
  • stores excess water during storms, lessening floods
  • recharges groundwater by absorbing rainfall into soil
  • root of wetland plants filter pollutants from water draining through
  • high plant growth due to lots of water and nutrients (dead organic matter) in sediments
48
Q

estuaries

A
  • areas where rivers empty into the ocean
  • mix of fresh and salt water
  • highly productive due to nutrients in sediments deposited in estuaries by rivers
49
Q

biogeochemical cycle: carbon

A
  • needed for photosynthesis

largest reservoir: ocean

methods of transport: photosynthesis, respiration, sedimentation, burial, extraction, and combustion

  • long and short cycle
50
Q

biogeochemical cycles: nitrogen

A
  • essential for plant life

largest reservoir: atmosphere

methods of transport: nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, denitrification

  • short cycle
51
Q

biogeochemical cycles: phosphorus

A
  • essential nutrient for plants and animals (ATP, DNA, RNA)

largest reservoir: sedimentary rock

methods of transport: moves through water and land

  • short cycle for plants and animals
  • long cycle (soil and ocean)
52
Q

biogeochemical cycles: water

A
  • essential to life, moves nutrients through ecosystem

largest reservoir: oceans

methods of transport: evaporation, condensation, precipitation

  • short
53
Q

nitrification

A

convert ammonia into nitrite and then nitrate

54
Q

denitrification

A

nitrate into nitrogen gas

55
Q

assimilation

A

producers incorporate elements into their tissues

56
Q

nitrogen fixation

A

converts nitrogen gas into forms producers can use (NH3, NO3-)

57
Q

bacterial fixation

A

certain bacteria that live in the soil or in a symbiotic relationship with plant root nodules convert N2 into NH3

58
Q

synthetic fixation

A

humans combust FFs to convert N2 gas intro nitrate
- nitrates are added to synthetic fertilizers and used in agriculture

59
Q

ammonification

A

soil bacteria, microbes, and decomposers converting waste and dead biomass back into NH3 and returning it to soil

60
Q

remember: PHOSPHORUS

A
  • spends a long time in rocks and sediments
  • no atmospheric component of the phosphorus cycle, never a gas in the air
    -in most ecosystems, plant growth is limited by the lack of P, therefore when it’s provided, plants and algae grow quickly
61
Q

primary productivity

A

rate that solar energy is converted into organic compounds via photosynthesis over a unit of time
- AKA: rate of photosynthesis of all producers in an area over a given period of time

62
Q

net primary productivity

A

the amount of energy (biomass) leftover for consumers after plants have used some for respiration

63
Q

Respiration Loss (RL)

A

plants use up some of the energy they generate via photosynthesis by doing cell respiration

64
Q

gross primary productivity

A

the total amount of sun energy that plants capture and convert to energy (glucose) through photosynthesis

65
Q

calculating PP

A

NPP = GPP - RL

66
Q

1st Law of Thermodynamics

A

energy is never created nor destroyed; instead it may be transferred from one form to another

67
Q

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

A

each time energy is transferred, some of it is lost as heat

68
Q

10% Rule

A

in trophic pyramids only about 10% of the energy from one level makes it to the next level; the other 90% is used by the organism and lost as heat

69
Q

High NPP Biomes

A
  • rainforests and swamps
  • warm temp, solar energy, water abundance
  • more biodiverse
  • high plant growth
70
Q

tertiary consumers

A

animals that eat secondary consumers or carnivores and omnivores (aka top/apex predators)

71
Q

secondary consumers

A

animals that eat primary consumers or herbivores

72
Q

primary consumers

A

animals that eat plants

73
Q

producers

A

plants, “produce” - really convert suns light energy into chemical energy (glucose)

74
Q

arrows in food chains and food webs show the direction of

A

energy flow

75
Q

trophic cascade

A

removal/addition of a top predator has a ripple effect down through lower trophic levels

76
Q

keystone species

A

an organism that, if removed, would cause its ecosystem and food web to be dramatically different or eliminated

77
Q

biotic factor

A

living item

78
Q

abiotic factor

A

not living item

79
Q

Chesapeake Bay Watershed

A

Where the Potomac River dumps into the Atlantic Ocean. Extremely polluted with
sediments and nutrients.

80
Q

salinity

A

level of salt in the water

81
Q

the sun

A

the origin of all ecosystem energy on earth

APES (6 decks)

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