AP Environmental Science: Ecology Flashcards

8274584417	Ecology	The 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
8274584418	Ecosystem	A community where populations of different species interact with one another and with their nonliving environment of matter and energy.	1
8274584419	Population	A group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area.	2
8274584420	Species	A group of organisms that resemble one another in appearance, behavior, chemistry, and genetic makeup.	3
8274584421	Habitat	An 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
8274584422	Abiotic factors	Non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.	5
8274584423	Biotic factors	The living factors in the environment such as producers, consumers, and decomposers.	6
8274584424	niche	The place or function of a given organism within its ecosystem	7
8274584425	Fundamental niche	entire set of conditions under which an animal (population, species) can survive and reproduce itself.	8
8274584426	Realized niche	the part of fundamental niche that an organism occupies as a result of limiting factors present in its habitat.	9
8274584427	Limiting factors	environmental 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 species	10
8274584428	Carrying Capacity	the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation.	11
8274584429	Population dynamics	the 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
8274584430	S & J population curves	S-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 declines	13
8274636016	Specialists	Species with narrow niches (ex. anteater). Environments with lots of this type have high diversity.	14
8274641807	Generalists	Consumers that have a varying diet, not as specialized	15
8274652518	K-selected	Small number of offspring, long gestation, care for young	16
8274678755	r-selected	High biotic potential, produce a large number of offspring in a short period of time, do not care for young.	17
8274584431	Community	the study of the interactions between species in communities on many different scales	18
8274584432	Respiration	a 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
8274584433	Photosynthesis	A 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 + 6O2	20
8274584434	Trophic level	each 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 energy	21
8274584435	Ecological Pyramids	graphical representation designed to show the biomass or bio productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem.	22
8274584436	Productivity	he rate of production of new biomass by an individual, population, or community; the fertility or capacity of a given habitat or area.	23
8274584437	Gross productivity	total energy produced	24
8274584438	Net productivity	Pn energy stored (only 10% stored and available)	25
8274584439	Gross primary productivity	the total amount of biomass produced via photosynthesis over a given amount of time	26
8274584440	Net primary Productivity	The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire	27
8274584441	Gross secondary productivity	the total gain by consumers in energy or biomass per unit time through absorption(GSP-R)	28
8274584442	Net secondary productivity	generation of biomass of heterotrophic(consumer) organisms in a system	29
8274584443	Maximum sustainable yield	the size of a natural population at which it produces a maximum rate of increase, typically at half the carrying capacity.	30
8274584444	Biomes	Broad, regional types of ecosystems characterized by distinctive climates and soil conditions and distinctive kinds of biological communities adapted to those conditions.	31
8274584445	Biosphere	All of the Earth's ecosystems, or the global ecosystem where all life in interconnected.	32
8274584446	Zonation	he distribution of plants or animals into specific zones according to such parameters as altitude or depth, each characterized by its dominant species.	33
8274584447	Succession	a number of people or things sharing a specified characteristic and following one after the other.	34
8274606584	Primary Succession	An ecological succession that begins in an area where no biotic community previously existed	35
8274610753	Secondary Succession		36
8274584452	Species diversity	number of different species that are represented in a given community	37