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AP Environmental Science: Ecology Flashcards

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14811302069EcologyThe branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings. (The study of connections in nature)0
14811302070EcosystemA community where populations of different species interact with one another and with their nonliving environment of matter and energy.1
14811302071PopulationA group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area.2
14811302072SpeciesA group of organisms that resemble one another in appearance, behavior, chemistry, and genetic makeup.3
14811302073HabitatAn environment that provides an organism or species with the means to live, grow, and reproduce. (Can be as large as the ocean or as small as animal's intestine)4
14811302074Abiotic factorsNon-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.5
14811302075Biotic factorsThe living factors in the environment such as producers, consumers, and decomposers.6
14811302076nicheThe place or function of a given organism within its ecosystem7
14811302077Fundamental nicheentire set of conditions under which an animal (population, species) can survive and reproduce itself.8
14811302078Realized nichethe part of fundamental niche that an organism occupies as a result of limiting factors present in its habitat.9
14811302079Limiting factorsenvironmental conditions that limit the growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism or a population of organisms in an ecosystem. ... also competition between individuals of a species10
14811302080Communitythe study of the interactions between species in communities on many different scales11
14811302081Respirationa process in living organisms involving the production of energy, typically with the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide from the oxidation of complex organic substances.12
14811302082PhotosynthesisA process used by plants and other autotrophs to capture light and energy and use it to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and energy-rich carbohydrates, such as sugars and starches. 6CO2 + 6H2O + light --> C6H12O6 + 6O213
14811302083Trophic leveleach of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that SHARE the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy14
14811302084Ecological Pyramidsgraphical representation designed to show the biomass or bio productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem.15
14811302085Productivityhe rate of production of new biomass by an individual, population, or community; the fertility or capacity of a given habitat or area.16
14811302086Gross primary productivitythe total amount of biomass produced via photosynthesis over a given amount of time17
14811302087Net primary ProductivityThe energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire18
14811302088BiomesBroad, regional types of ecosystems characterized by distinctive climates and soil conditions and distinctive kinds of biological communities adapted to those conditions.19
14811302089BiosphereAll of the Earth's ecosystems, or the global ecosystem where all life in interconnected.20
14811302090Salinitythe concentration of dissolved salts in water21
14811302091Species diversitynumber of different species that are represented in a given community22

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