Chapter 2 Vocabulary Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Chapter 2 Vocabulary Deck (41)
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0
Q

Abiotic

A

Pertaining to factors or things that are separate and independent from living things; nonliving

1
Q

Biota

A

The sum total of all living organisms; usually applied to the setting of natural ecosystems

2
Q

Species

A

All organisms (plant, animal, or microbe) of a single kind; the “single kind” is determined by similarity of appearance or by the fact that members do or can mate and produce fertile offspring; physical, chemical, or behavioral differences block breeding between species

3
Q

Population

A

A group within a single species whose individuals can and do freely interbreed

4
Q

Ecosystem

A

A grouping of plants, animals, and other organisms interacting with each other and with their environment in such a way as to perpetuate the grouping more or less indefinitely; have characteristic forms, such as deserts, grasslands, tundra, deciduous forsts, and topical rain forests

5
Q

Ecology

A

The study of any and all aspects of how organisms interact with each other and with their environment

6
Q

Ecotone

A

A transitional region between two adjacent ecosystems that contains some of the species and characteristics of each one and also certain species of its own

7
Q

Biomes

A

A group of ecosystems that are related by having a similar type of vegetation governed by similar climatic conditions; excluding parries, deciduous forests, arctic tundra, deserts, and tropical rain forests

8
Q

Biosphere

A

The overall ecosystem of Earth; the sum total of all the biomes and smaller ecosystems, which ultimately are all interconnected and interdependent through global processes such as the water cycle and the atmospheric cycle

9
Q

Trophic structure

A

The major feeding relationships between organisms within ecosystems, organized into trophic levels

10
Q

Photosynthesis

A

The chemical process carried on by green plants through which light energy is used to produced glucose from carbon dioxide and water; oxygen is released as a byproduct

11
Q

Organic

A

.

12
Q

Inorganic

A

All things such as air, water, minerals, and metals, that are neither living organisms nor products uniquely produced by living things

13
Q

Autotrophs

A

Any organism that can synthesize all its organic substances from inorganic nutrients, using light or certain inorganic chemicals as a source of energy; green plants

14
Q

Heterotrophs

A

Any organism that consumes organic matter as a source of energy

15
Q

Consumers

A

.

16
Q

Detritus feeders

A

Organisms such as termites, fungi, and bacteria that obtain their nutrients and energy mainly by feeding on dead organic matter

17
Q

Primary consumers

A

.

18
Q

Herbivores

A

.

19
Q

Secondary consumers

A

.

20
Q

Carnivores

A

.

21
Q

Omnivores

A

.

22
Q

Predator

A

.

23
Q

Prey

A

.

24
Q

Parasites

A

Organisms (plant, animal, or microbial) that attach themselves to another organism, the host, and feed on it over a period of time without killing it immediately, but usually doing harm to it

25
Q

Host

A

In feeding relationships, particularly parasitism, refers to the organism that is being fed upon

26
Q

Detritus

A

The dead organic matter, such as fallen leaves, things, and other plant and animal wastes, that exist in any ecosystem

27
Q

Food web

A

The combination of all the feeding relationships that exist in an ecosystem

28
Q

Mutualism

A

A close relationship between two organism from which both derive a benefit

29
Q

Symbiosis

A

The intimate living together or association of two kinds of organisms

30
Q

Habitat

A

.

31
Q

Ecological niche

A

Like a habitat but more specific, the normal place an animal has (from Susie)

32
Q

Abiotic factors

A

.

33
Q

Limiting factor

A

Any factor primarily responsible for determining the growth or reproduction of an organism or a population; may be a physical factor such as temperature or light, a chemical factor such as a particular nutrient, or a biological factor such as a competing species

34
Q

Law of limiting factors

A

Law stating that a system may be limited by the absence or minimum amount (in terms of that needed) of any required factor

35
Q

Climate

A

.

36
Q

Permafrost

A

.

37
Q

Neolithic Revolution

A

The development of agriculture begun by human societies around 12,000 years ago, leading to more permanent settlement and population increases

38
Q

Industrial Revolution

A

During the 19th century, the development of manufacturing processes using fossil fuels and based on applications of scientific knowledge

39
Q

Decomposers

A

.

40
Q

Producers

A

.