Unit 1 Key Terms

Question 1

Ecosystem

Answer 1

all living and non-living things in an area

Question 2

ecology

Answer 2

Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment

Question 3

predation

Answer 3

one organism using another for energy source (hunters, parasites, herbivores)

Question 4

symbiosis

Answer 4

any close and long term interaction between two organisms of different species

Question 5

symbiosis

Answer 5

Two organisms that live together. Temporarily or for a longer time. At least one of the organisms benefits from the relationship.

Question 6

mutualism

Answer 6

relationship that benefits both organisms

Question 7

parisitism

Answer 7

when a species lives on or in another and causes it harm

Question 8

commensalism

Answer 8

relationship that benefits one organism and doesn’t impact the other

Question 9

Resource Partitioning

Answer 9

different species using the same resource in diff. ways to reduce competition

Question 10

biome

Answer 10

a geographic region that is characterized by a certain type of climate, plant growth, or any other distinguishing characteristic (precipitation)

Question 11

climate

Answer 11

average weather that occurs in a region over a long period of time

Question 12

weather

Answer 12

the state of the atmosphere at a place and time

Question 13

climatogram

Answer 13

a simple graphic representation of monthly temperature and precipitation for a specific weather station

Question 14

latitude

Answer 14

imaginary horizontal line on the earth

Question 15

longitude

Answer 15

imaginary vertical line on earth

Question 16

types of desert

Answer 16

tropical, temperate, cold

Question 17

types of grassland

Answer 17

savanna (tropical), prairie (temperate), arctic tundra (cold)

Question 18

types of forest

Answer 18

tropical rainforest, temperate deciduous, taiga/boreal/northern coniferous

Question 19

permafrost

Answer 19

A permanent layer of solid ice just under the soil, which is present even during the summer, and found in the Tundra biome

Question 20

lotic

Answer 20

Lotic- Freshwater systems such as streams and rivers

Question 20

lotic

Answer 20

Freshwater systems such as streams and rivers

Question 20

lotic

Answer 20

Freshwater systems such as streams and rivers

Question 21

source zone

Answer 21

steep elevation, fast flowing, does not have a lot of life, and low in nutrients (ex: mountains with snow, lakes, rapids, and/or waterfalls)

Question 22

Transition Zone

Answer 22

warmer, less oxygen, slower, plants on riverbanks, higher NPP

Question 23

floodplain

Answer 23

area next to a river that floods when water levels rise (warmest, less oxygen, highest NPP, fertile soil, high turbidity)

Question 24

lentic

Answer 24

refers to standing waters such as lakes and ponds , or swamps and marshes

Question 25

littoral

Answer 25

a shallow, shore area zone in a freshwater habitat where light reaches the bottom and nurtures plants and algae shallow water with emergent plants (high NPP)

Question 26

limnetic

Answer 26

where light can reach (photosynthesis) (high in oxygen) no rooted plants, only phytoplankton

Question 27

produndal zone

Answer 27

too deep for sunlight (no photosynthesis, no plants)

Question 28

benthic

Answer 28

murky bottom where invertebrates (bugs) live, nutrient- rich sediments (decomposers live here b/c dead matter floats to the bottom)

Question 29

Oligotrophic

Answer 29

deep, steep sided banks, fed by an ice snow melt (low nutrients, low NPP)

Question 30

Eutropic

Answer 30

shallow body of water (lake) with a large supply of nutrients needed by producers (high NPP, high in nutrients)

Question 31

eutrophication

Answer 31

the natural nutrient enrichment of a shallow lake, estuary or slow moving stream, mostly from runoff of plant nutrients from the surrounding land

Question 32

Delta

Answer 32

an area of low, flat land, sometimes shaped approximately like a triangle, where a river divides into several smaller rivers before flowing into the sea

Question 33

estuary

Answer 33

a coastal body of water partly surrounded by land with access to open ocean and a large supply of fresh water from a river/stream

Question 34

Hypoxia

Answer 34

low concentrations of dissolved oxygen in waters of a region

Question 35

Apoxia

Answer 35

no concentrations of dissolved oxygen in waters of a region

Question 36

intertidal zone

Answer 36

area of shoreline between low and high tides

Question 37

Oligotrophic lake

Answer 37

deep lakes that have a small supply of plant nutrients (b/c it is so deep, there is not a lot of sunlight in majority of the water)

Question 38

Pelagic zone

Answer 38

the region of the ocean outside the coastal areas (open ocean)

Question 39

plankton

Answer 39

small, drifting plants, mostly algae and bacteria, found in aquatic ecosystems

Question 40

runoff

Answer 40

the movement of freshwater from precipitation and snowmelt to rivers, lakes, wetlands, and ultimately the ocean

Question 41

turbidity

Answer 41

Muddiness created by stirring up sediment or having foreign particles suspended in the water

Question 42

watershed

Answer 42

a land area from which water, sediment, and dissolved materials drain to a common point along a wetland, stream, lake, or river

Question 43

aquifer

Answer 43

An underground formation that contains groundwater

Question 44

biogeochemical cycle

Answer 44

cycle of matter between biotic and abiotic things in the environment involving biological, geologic and chemical interactions

Question 45

biomass

Answer 45

the mass or weight of living tissue

Question 46

biosphere

Answer 46

all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere

Question 47

carbon cycle

Answer 47

Movement of molecules that contain Carbon (CO2, glucose, CH4) between sources and sinks

Question 48

Consumer (heterotroph)

Answer 48

animals that eat

Question 49

decomposers

Answer 49

Organisms whose feeding habits result in decay (bacteria, fungi)

Question 50

detritivore

Answer 50

An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles

Question 51

Gross Primary Productivity

Answer 51

The total amount of sun energy (light) that plants capture and convert to energy (glucose) through photosynthesis

Question 52

Hydrologic cycle (water cycle)

Answer 52

The process in which water passes from vapor in the atmosphere through precipitation and ultimately back into the atmosphere as a result of evaporation and transpiration

Question 53

First Law of Thermodynamics

Answer 53

energy is never created or destroyed

Question 54

Second Law of Thermodynamics

Answer 54

each time energy is transferred, some of it is lost as heat

Question 55

Net Primary Productivity

Answer 55

The amount of energy (biomass) leftover for consumers after plants have used some for respiration

Question 56

Nitrogen Cycle

Answer 56

a continuous series of natural processes by which nitrogen passes successively from air to soil to organisms and back to air or soil involving principally nitrogen fixation, nitrification, decay, and denitrification

Question 57

Phosphorus cycle

Answer 57

the biogeochemical cycle that describes the transformation and translocation of phosphorus in soil, water, and living and dead organic material

Question 58

Primary consumer

Answer 58

(herbivore)- animals that eat plants

Question 59

Producer

Answer 59

(autotroph)- really convert sun’s light energy into chemical energy (glucose)

Question 60

Secondary consumer

Answer 60

(carnivore)- animals that eat primary consumers or herbivores

Question 61

Tertiary consumer

Answer 61

animals that eat secondary consumers or carnivores & omnivores (apex predator)

Question 62

Trophic level

Answer 62

different levels of animals eating one another

Question 63

Pyramid of energy flow

Answer 63

Pyramid of energy flow (trophic pyramid)- a graphical representation between various organisms in an ecosystem