AP Environmental Science: Chapter 4 Terms & Concept: Ecosystems
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| 521152192 | Biomass | The amount of living material, or the amount of organic material contained in living organisms, both as live and dead material, as in the leaves (live) and stem wood (dead) of trees. | |
| 521152193 | Productivity | The rate of production; that is, the amount of increase in organic matter per unit of time (for example, grams per meter squared per year) | |
| 521152194 | Ecological Succession | The process of the development of an ecological community or ecosytem, usually viewed as a series of stages: early, middle, late, mature (or climax), and sometimes post-climax. | |
| 521152195 | Primary Succession | The initial establishment and development of an ecosystem. | |
| 521152196 | Secondary Succession | The reestablishment of an ecosystem where there are remnants of a previous biological community. | |
| 521152197 | Early Successional Species/ Pioneer Species | Species that occur only or primarily during early stages of succession. With vegetation, these are typically rapidly growing and short-lived with high reproductive rates. | |
| 521152198 | Late Successional Species | Species that occur only or primarily in, or are dominant in late stages in succession. With plants, these are typically slower growing and long-lived species. | |
| 521152199 | Early, Middle, and Late Successionary Stages | -Early: biomass and biological diversity increase organic matter. -Middle: biomass increases, diversity remains increases, organic matter increases. -Late: biomass decreases, diversity decreases, and organic matter decreases. | |
| 521152200 | Facilitation | During succession, one species prepares the way for the next (and may even be necessary for the occurrence of the next) | |
| 521152201 | Interference | A conclusion, based on evidence, arrived at by insight or analogy, rather than derived solely by logical processes. | |
| 521152202 | Life and History Differences | Apply to species that appear different at times because of differences in transport, germination, growth, and longevity of seeds. | |
| 521152203 | Chronic Patchiness | Develops when succession never occurs and the first species remain until the next disturbance of the area (deserts easily disturbed and slow to recover) | |
| 521152204 | Climax State | A hypothetical steady-state stage at the end of ecological succession. Traditionally, it was believed to be self-sustaining and also to have maximum organic matter, maximum storage of chemical elements, and maximum biological diversity. These ideas are now largely rejected among scientists doing basic ecological research, but they still have many adherents among practitioners. | |
| 521152205 | Restoration Ecology | (5 R's + 1 M) --The field within the science of ecology with the goal to return damaged ecosystems to ones that are functional, sustainable, and more natural. | |
| 521152206 | Adaptive Radiation | The processes that occurs when a species enters a new habitat that has unoccupied niches and evolves into a group of new species, each adapted to one of these niches. | |
| 521152207 | Biogeography | The large-scale geographic pattern in the distribution of species, and the causes and history of this distribution. | |
| 521448173 | Biotic Province | A region inhabited by a characteristic set of taxa (species, families, orders), bound by barriers that prevent the spread of the distinctive kinds of life to other regions and the immigration of foreign species. | |
| 521448174 | Convergent Evolution | The process by which species evolve in different places or different times, and although they have different genetic heritages, develop similar external forms and structures as a result of adaptation to similar environments. The similarity in the shapes of sharks and porpoises is an example of convergent evolution. | |
| 521448175 | Divergent Evolution | Organisms with the same ancestral genetic heritage migrate to different habitats and evolve into species with different external forms and structures, but typically continue to use the same kind of habitats. The ostrich and the emu are believed to be an example of divergent evolution. | |
| 521448176 | Cosmopolitan Species | A species with a broad distribution occurring wherever in the world the environment is appropriate. | |
| 521448177 | Endemic Species | A species that is native to a particular area. | |
| 521448178 | Ubiquitous Species | Species that are found almost anywhere on Earth. | |
| 521448179 | Ecological Island | An area that is biologically isolated so that a species occurring within the area cannot mix (or only rarely mixes) with any other population of the same species. | |
| 521448180 | Realms | Major biogeographic regions of Earth that are based upon fundamental features of the plants and animals found in those regions. | |
| 521448181 | Brackish | Water that has more salinity than freshwater. May result from mixing of seawater with freshwater (estuaries). | |
| 521448182 | Pond vs Lake | Ponds differ from lakes in depth of water: -a standing body of freshwater is a pong if sunlight can reach the entire bottom in sufficient quantity to support plant growth. -both require some influx of nutrients from the surrounding terrestrial ecosystems. -water in ponds and lakes are stratified in temperature. The upper portion is warm in the summer and the lower portion is colder. The difference in temperature is called thermocline (with dissolved oxygen and temperature= the higher the temperature the lower the amount of dissolved water) | |
| 522549786 | Thermocline | Water in ponds and lakes is stratified in temperature. The upper portion is warm in the summer, the lower portion is colder. The difference in temperature is sharp. | |
| 522549787 | Biurnal | Daily; related to actions which are completed in the course of a calendar day. Repeat on daily intervals. | |
| 522549788 | Riparian Zone | Vegetative zone next to stream or river. Extremely important in controlling water temperature and functions as a filter for outside pollutants migrating toward river, and they control/slow erosion. | |
| 522549789 | Peat-Lignite-Bituminous Coal- Anthracite Coal | A type of coal-hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster. Found deep in the earth, it burns very hot, with little flame. | |
| 522549790 | Landscape Ecology | Conservation biology. -Concepts: Evolutionary change is an important feature in natural systems. Change, instability, and uncertainty are more typical of natural systems. Heterogeneity and diversity are important and should be preserved. The surrounding landscape is important (edge effects). Human needs must be considered in designing preserves, parks, wildlife refuges, etc. | |
| 522549791 | Patchiness and Landscape Heterogeneity | The concept that ecosystems and biomes are complex accumulations of distinct habitats and assemblages of species that are determined by soil type, topography, climate, and history; they're not static but constantly changing. | |
| 522549792 | Restoration | Bring back an ecosystem to its former condition. | |
| 522549793 | Rehabilitation | Rebuilding of structural elements without achieving complete restoration of the original ecosystem. Bring it back to a useful state for human use. | |
| 522549794 | Remediation | Clean up of chemical contaminants, or pollutants (mechanical or biological) | |
| 522549795 | Reclamation | The chemical or physical modification of badly degraded site to match the surrounding area (ex: one industry- a strip mine). | |
| 522549796 | Re-Creation | The construction of a new biological community when a site is so badly degraded that there is nothing left. | |
| 522549797 | Depositional Environment | The type of environment under which sediments are deposited. The location of a cultural site in reference to the surrounding landscape plays an important factor in the changes that occur over time. |
