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AP Environmental Science: Ecology Flashcards

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8274584417EcologyThe 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
8274584418EcosystemA community where populations of different species interact with one another and with their nonliving environment of matter and energy.1
8274584419PopulationA group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area.2
8274584420SpeciesA group of organisms that resemble one another in appearance, behavior, chemistry, and genetic makeup.3
8274584421HabitatAn 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
8274584422Abiotic factorsNon-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.5
8274584423Biotic factorsThe living factors in the environment such as producers, consumers, and decomposers.6
8274584424nicheThe place or function of a given organism within its ecosystem7
8274584425Fundamental nicheentire set of conditions under which an animal (population, species) can survive and reproduce itself.8
8274584426Realized nichethe part of fundamental niche that an organism occupies as a result of limiting factors present in its habitat.9
8274584427Limiting 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
8274584428Carrying Capacitythe number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation.11
8274584429Population 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
8274584430S & 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
8274636016SpecialistsSpecies with narrow niches (ex. anteater). Environments with lots of this type have high diversity.14
8274641807GeneralistsConsumers that have a varying diet, not as specialized15
8274652518K-selectedSmall number of offspring, long gestation, care for young16
8274678755r-selectedHigh biotic potential, produce a large number of offspring in a short period of time, do not care for young.17
8274584431Communitythe study of the interactions between species in communities on many different scales18
8274584432Respirationa 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.19
8274584433PhotosynthesisA 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 + 6O220
8274584434Trophic 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 energy21
8274584435Ecological Pyramidsgraphical representation designed to show the biomass or bio productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem.22
8274584436Productivityhe rate of production of new biomass by an individual, population, or community; the fertility or capacity of a given habitat or area.23
8274584437Gross productivitytotal energy produced24
8274584438Net productivityPn energy stored (only 10% stored and available)25
8274584439Gross primary productivitythe total amount of biomass produced via photosynthesis over a given amount of time26
8274584440Net primary ProductivityThe energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire27
8274584441Gross secondary productivitythe total gain by consumers in energy or biomass per unit time through absorption(GSP-R)28
8274584442Net secondary productivitygeneration of biomass of heterotrophic(consumer) organisms in a system29
8274584443Maximum sustainable yieldthe size of a natural population at which it produces a maximum rate of increase, typically at half the carrying capacity.30
8274584444BiomesBroad, regional types of ecosystems characterized by distinctive climates and soil conditions and distinctive kinds of biological communities adapted to those conditions.31
8274584445BiosphereAll of the Earth's ecosystems, or the global ecosystem where all life in interconnected.32
8274584446Zonationhe distribution of plants or animals into specific zones according to such parameters as altitude or depth, each characterized by its dominant species.33
8274584447Successiona number of people or things sharing a specified characteristic and following one after the other.34
8274606584Primary SuccessionAn ecological succession that begins in an area where no biotic community previously existed35
8274610753Secondary Succession36
8274584452Species diversitynumber of different species that are represented in a given community37

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