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APES Chapter 4
AP Environmental Science Chapter 4 Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Competition -- The relationship between organisms that seek the same resources | The relationship between organisms that seek the same resources |
| Intraspecific Competition | Between members of the same species |
| Interspecific Competition | Between members of a different species |
| Competition becomes more intense when populations are more dense | |
| **Fundamental Niche** | Full potential niche of a species |
| Realized Niche | Indv. that plays only part of its role due to competition or other interactions |
| Competetive Exclusion -- Stronger competor keeps resources from others | Stronger competor keeps resources from others |
| **Species Coexistence** | Species live side by side, don’t necessarily exclude each other |
| **Resource Partitioning** | indv. use resources in different ways |
| **Character Displacement** | Competing species diverge and develop different characteristics |
| **Predation** | process where indv. of one species (predators) capture, kill, and consume, individuals of another (prey) |
| Better at capturing = better chance at survival = favored by natural selection | |
| Prey adapts defensives | |
| **Parasitism** | Relationship where one organism depends on the other for nourishments |
| Ex. leeches, ticks, lice, etc. | |
| Not deadly unless a parasite introduces a bacteria | |
| **Pathogens** | Parasites that cause disease |
| **Coevolution** | Parasites & hosts adapt and counter- adapt to each other |
| **Herbivory** | Animals feed on the tissues of plants ; plants evolved defenses (ie. toxins, thorns, spikes, irritating hairs) |
| **Mutualism** | Relationship where two or more species benefit each other |
| **Symbiosis** | A close physical association between species |
| **Pollination** | Only one free- living organism is required |
| **Community** | assemblage of populations living in the same area at the same time |
| **Trophic Level** | Level that shows a feeding hierarchy in a community |
| **Producers** | Use photosynthesis or chemosynthesis to make their own sugars |
| **Primary Consumers** | Consume producers |
| **Secondary Consumers** | |
| **Tertiary Consumers** | |
| **Detritivores** | SCAVENGE waste & dead bodies |
| **Decomposers** | Break down non-living matter into smaller molecules |
| Energy decreases as you move up levels | |
| **Biomass** | The collective mass of living matter in a given place at a given time |
| **Food Chain** | The depiction of the flow of energy between Trophic Levels (lower to higher) |
| **Food Webs** | Like a food chain but incorporate interlinking food chains; shows the energy flow of a community |
| **Keystone Species** | Have a great impact & are incredibly important |
| **Ex.** top predators, decomposers, “ecosystem engineers” (prairie dogs physically alter the area) | |
| **Trophic Cascade** | Occur when the top predator is removed and primary consumers OVERCONSUME producers |
| **Disturbance** | Any event that has a rapid & drastic effect on an ecosystem |
| **Resistance** | Communities that resist change & remain stable when faced with a disturbance |
| **Resilience** | Communities that are affected but then return to their normal state |
| **Succession** | A series of changes that is started when a species is eliminated or lacking |
| **Pioneer Species** | Spread over long distances easily and quickly adapt to growing ; Ex. Grass |
| **Climax Community** | Longer living species that take over from Pioneer Species ; Ex. Hardwood trees |
| **Primary Succession** | A disturbance removes all ****plants or soil life |
| **Secondary Succession** | A disturbance alters the community but soil is left intact ; Ex. farming, fires, storms, invasive species |
| **Regime Shift** | The entire community undergoes change from a disturbance ; Ex. climate change, loss of keystone species |
| **No-Analog Communities** | Mixtures of species that have not occurred on Earth before; due to human disturbance |
| **Introduced Species** | A non- native species brought by people |
| **Invasive Species** | Limiting factors that normally limit their population growth are absent Ex. a lack of comp. predators & parasit |
| **Restoration Ecology** | wants to help restore communities to how they were before industrialized civilization |
| **2 Aims of Ecological Restoration** | > 1) Restore the functionality of an ecosystem (2) Return a community to “pre-settlement” conditions |
| **Biome** | A regional complex of similar communities; typically characterized by dominant plant type |
| Temp. & Precipitation | greatest influence over climate factors ; climate helps determine biomes |
| **Rainshadow Effect** | Moist air rises a steep slope, cools & condenses |
| **Climate Diagrams/ Climatographs** | Show seasonal change in temp. & precip. ; Can help tell the story of a biome |
| **Temperate Deciduous Forests** | Found in the mid-latitudes & have relatively even precip. throughout the year |
| **Temperate Grasslands** (or prairies/ steppe) | Dif. between winter & summer = more extreme, rainfall changes |
| **Temperate Rainforests** | rich in rainfall, still found in mid-latitudes ; soils are fertile but susceptible to erosion if trees are cleared |
| **Tropical Rainforests** | dark, damp interiors, lush vegetation, highly diverse ; acidic soil, low in organic matter |
| **Tropical Dry Forests** | Year is split 50/50 with wet & dry season, temp. = consistently warm, leaves shed in dry season |
| **Savannas** | tropical grassland with acacias or other trees ; found in dry tropical areas (Africa, Australia, India) ; Wet & Dry season |
| **Deserts** | DRY - > Less than **25cm** of rain per year ; soils = high mineral content and low organic matter content |