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AP Environmental Science Flashcards Part 2 Flashcards

Princeton Review AP Environmental Science Hit Parade

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686574938Ammonificationthe production of ammonia or ammonium compounds in the decomposition of organic matter, especially through the action of bacteria
686574939Assimilationthe process in which plants absorb ammonium, amonia ions, and nitrate ions through their roots
686574940Chemotrophan organism, such as a bacterium or protozoan, that obtains its nourishment through the oxidation of inorganic chemical compounds, as opposed to photosynthesis
686574941Climax Communitya stable, mature community in a successive series that has reached equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment.
686574942Competitive Exclusionprocess that occurs when two different species in a region compete and the better adapted species wins
686574943Denitrificationprocess by which specialized bacteria convert ammonia to nitrite, nitrate, and nitrogen gas and release it back to the atmosphere
686574944Detritivoreorganisms that derive energy from consuming nonliving organic matter, such as dead animals or fallen
686574945Ecological Successiontransition in species composition of a biological community, often following ecological disturbance of the community; the establishment of a biological community in any area virtually barren of life.
686574946Edge Effectthe condition in which, at ecosystem boundaries, there is greater species diversity and biological density than there is in the heart of ecological communities
686574947Gause's Principlestates that no two species can occupy the same niche at the same time, and that the species that is less fit to live in the environment will either relocate, die out, or occupy a smaller niche
686574948Gross Primary Productivitythe amount of sugar that the plants produce in photosynthesis, and subtracting from it the amount of energy the plants need for growth, maintenance, repair, and reproduction
686574949Heterotrophan organism that cannot synthesize its own food and is dependent on complex organic substances for nutrition
686574950Keystone Speciesa species whose very presence contributes to an ecosystem's diversity and whose extinction would consequently lead to the extinction of other forms of life
686574951Net Primary Productivitythe amount of energy that plants pass on to the community of herbivores in an ecosystem
686574952Nichethe total sum of a species' use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment
686574953Nitrificationthe process in which soil bacteria convert ammonium to a form that can be used by plants; nitrates
686574954Nitrogen Fixationthe conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into compounds, such as ammonia, by natural agencies or various industrial processes
686574955Pioneer Speciesorganisms in the first stages of succession
686574956Primary Successionwhen ecological succession begins in a virtually lifeless area, such as the area behind a moving glacier
686574957Realized Nichewhen a species occupies a smaller niche than it would in the absence of competition
686574958Residency Timethe amount of time a resource spends in a reservoir or an exchange pool

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