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AP Environmental Science: Ecology :) Flashcards

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8184358373EcologyThe 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
8184358374EcosystemA community where populations of different species interact with one another and with their nonliving environment of matter and energy.1
8184358375PopulationA group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area.2
8184358376SpeciesA group of organisms that resemble one another in appearance, behavior, chemistry, and genetic makeup.3
8184358377HabitatAn 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
8184358378Abiotic factorsNon-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.5
8184358379Biotic factorsThe living factors in the environment such as producers, consumers, and decomposers.6
8184358380nicheThe place or function of a given organism within its ecosystem7
8184358381Fundamental nicheentire set of conditions under which an animal (population, species) can survive and reproduce itself.8
8184358382Realized nichethe part of fundamental niche that an organism occupies as a result of limiting factors present in its habitat.9
8184358383Limiting 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
8184358384Carrying Capacitythe number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation.11
8184358385Population dynamicsthe size and age composition of populations as dynamical systems, and the biological and environmental processes driving them (such as birth and death rates, and by immigration and emigration).12
8184358386S & J population curvesS-shaped growth curve, A pattern of growth in a new environment, the population density of an organism increases slowly initially, in a positive acceleration phase; then increases rapidly, approaching an exponential growth rate as in the J-shaped curve; but then declines13
8184358387Communitythe study of the interactions between species in communities on many different scales14
8184358388Respirationa 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.15
8184358389PhotosynthesisA 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 + 6O216
8184358390Trophic 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 energy17
8184358391Ecological Pyramidsgraphical representation designed to show the biomass or bio productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem.18
8184358392Productivityhe rate of production of new biomass by an individual, population, or community; the fertility or capacity of a given habitat or area.19
8184358393Gross primary productivitythe total amount of biomass produced via photosynthesis over a given amount of time20
8184358394Net primary ProductivityThe energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire21
8184358395BiomesBroad, regional types of ecosystems characterized by distinctive climates and soil conditions and distinctive kinds of biological communities adapted to those conditions.22
8184358396BiosphereAll of the Earth's ecosystems, or the global ecosystem where all life in interconnected.23
8184358397Salinitythe concentration of dissolved salts in water24
8184358398Species diversitynumber of different species that are represented in a given community25

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