Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Moira Viola’s APES Flashcards Abiotic Factors: Ecosystems that are made up of non-living things. Abiotic/Biotic Factor Qualitative Observation Charles Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection Biotic Factors: Living items in an ecosystem. Observations that are made using physical characteristics (not numbers) to describe an item. The process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution. A place where salt and fresh water mix. Estuary Measurement of how much salt is in a waterway. Salinity Ecological/Biological Footprint A measure of how much land you require to live on. The number includes all food consumed, storage area, and housing. Small, usually microscopic plants (such as algae), found in lakes, reservoirs, and other bodies of water. Phytoplankton Leftover food material from predators that scavengers usually eat. Carrion Aerobic Decomposition: a type of decomposition that requires oxygen Aerobic/Anaerobic Decomposition Primary/Secondary Succession Anaerobic Decomposition: a process in which microorganisms break down material in the absence of oxygen. Primary Succession: A type of ecological succession that occurs in a virtually lifeless area, where there were originally no organisms and where soil has not yet formed caused by volcanic eruption. Secondary Succession: Succession following a disturbance (forest fire, harvesting, hurricane) that destroys a community without destroying the soil. Nitrogen Fixation Assimilation The natural process by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into nitrite by bacteria. The natural process by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into amino acid by producers. Transitional zone where two or more biomes meet. Ecotone Examples: Local (Forest and Field) Regional (Forest and Grassland) The amount or number of people of each gender at of different age level in a population. Age Structure Triangle: Rapid Growth Rectangle: Slow Growth Inverted Triangle: No growth, ZPG The measure of how many species are in an area. Biodiversity A thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year that allows only small growing plants to survive in this harsh habitat. (Tundra) Permafrost A measurement of population per unit area. Population Density Population = Pop. Density Area An area that is drained by a river. Watershed Land consisting of marshes or swamps that is beneficial to fish because they can serve as breeding grounds. Wetlands A giant block of moving ice and common in the tundra. Glacier Areas where the river floods. People build homes or grow crops in this area. Flood Plains A place where the water passes a point in a given time. Discharge of a River An underground pool of water. Aquifer Fun Fact: The largest aquifer in the United States is the Ogallala aquifer. The sudden collapse or sinking of an area of land. It can occur when water is withdrawn faster than replaced in an aquifer. Subsidence The continuous circulation of water in systems throughout the planet, involving condensation, precipitation, runoff, evaporation, and transpiration. Water Cycle A type of energy that dams uses as water travels past the dams, turning the turbine, and generating electricity. Hydroelectricity A device that helps fish travel upstream when a dam is in place. Fish Ladder In 1932, the Chisso Corporation moved to Minimata, Japan and began producing acetaldehyde. A byproduct that was released into the bay was mercury. Chisso Corporation Pollution that occurs when an industry heats or cools the water. Thermal Pollution Point Source of Pollution One where you can identify where the water pollution is coming from. (Opposite from non-point source) A type of pollution that decreases photosynthesis which causes a loss of oxygen in the waterway. Sediment Pollution The lake behind a dam. Reservoir Water that has been treated at a water facility. Reclaimed water is used to water park grounds, lawns, and golf courses. The water is not drinkable. Reclaimed Water Three Gorges Dams found in Yangtze River in China Dams and Rivers Hoover Dam found in the Colorado River in the United States The measure of how many suspended particles are in a water sample. Turbidity The technical and scientific term for poop. Guano is bird or bat feces. Feces The amount of oxygen organisms required in a five day period. Biological Oxygen Demand (B.O.D.) An organism that break down dead organic material in the water. Example: Shrimp Detritivores The measure of oxygen in water by the process of photosynthesis. Phytoplanktons and algae perform this process. Dissolved Oxygen When nitrates and phosphates are placed in a waterway Eutrophication The measurement of the acidity or basicity of a solution or water. pH Scale 0 – 6 means the solution is acidic. 8 – 14 mean the solution is basic. 7 means the solution is neutral. When algae begin to grow rapidly because of the addition of phosphates and nitrates in the water. Algal Bloom Clean Water Act of 1972 An act that required water polluters of receive a permit from the EPA before they can release particles into a waterway and mandates that all cities must clean their sewage water up to secondary treatment. Trawling Indiscriminant Method of Catching Fish Purse Seine Drift Net Long Line A term that refers to our new ability to farm fish, by breeding them ourselves, by using fish farms to supply demands for fish. Blue Revolution The process of physically removing objects from sewage. Primary Treatment for Cleaning Water Example: grit/settling tank The process of removing material from sewage using chemical process. Secondary Treatment for Cleaning Water Example: Aerobic Bacteria, ozone, UV light, Chlorine A disease caused by Shigella bacteria. The disease causes bloody feces. Dysentery A tool that is placed on a fishing net to allow sea turtles to escape trawl bags. Exclusion device The largest type of air pollutant. Examples: ash, dust, pollen Particulate Matter A class of air pollutants that are released primarily from burning coal. When sulfur oxide mixes with water in the atmosphere, the pollutant makes acid rain. Sulfur Oxides Secondary Pollutants Pollutants that are created when air pollutants mix in the air to create a new air pollutant. Examples: acid rain and photochemical smog A natural fuel such as coal, oil or natural gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms Fossil Fuels Volatile Organic Compound An air pollutant composed of carbon and is highly reactive with chemicals in the atmosphere. Example: Methane An air pollutant that likes to grow in hot, humid places where it homes to its many spores. Mold An international agreement in which countries agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol Greenhouse Gases Carbon Dioxide Methane Water Vapor Nitrous Oxide Ozone An international agreement in which countries agree to ban the use of ozone depleting substances. Montreal Protocol Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) Environmental Disasters: Toxic Air Bhopal, India Environmental Disasters: Oil Spill Exxon Valdez, Alaska An organic compound that contains carbon, chlorine, and fluorine and is used as aerosol cans and automobile air conditioning. On December 2-3, 1984, an explosion occurred at an India Pesticide Plant. The plant released a toxic gas called “methyl isocynate” over the city. The air pollution contaminated air, water and food supplies. On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spilled 10.8 million gallons of crude oil into the Prince William Sound. Winds and tides moved the oil onto the South and beaches further south. Major climatic regions that share similar temperature and rainfall, and have similar species worldwide. Biomes Examples: grasslands, tropical rainforests, desert, tundra, chaparral, temperate deciduous forest, taiga, savannah, estuary, intertidal zone Nature of Ecology Species: a group of interbreeding organisms that do not ordinarily breed with members of other groups. Population: all the individuals of a given species in an area Community: all the populations in an area Earth’s Life Support Systems Ecosystem: communities of plants and animals living in their environments A life support system is any natural or human-engineered (constructed or made ) system that furthers the life of the biosphere in a sustainable fashion Atmosphere Hydrosphere Lithosphere Aerobic/Anaerobic Respiration Biosphere Aerobic Respiration: when oxygen is used to help convert oxygen to water and carbon dioxide. Anaerobic Respiration: also known as fermentation, breaking down of glucose without oxygen. Decomposers do anaerobic respiration A theory stating that living organisms and inorganic material are part of a homeostatic system that helps life to persist and flourish on Earth. Gaia Hypothesis A general pattern of weather conditions on a specific region in over long periods of time. Climate The temperature, heat, cloudiness, dryness, sunshine, wind, and rain at a place and time. Weather The steady flow of surface ocean water in a particular direction. Ocean Currents El Nino El Nino is an abnormal warming of surface ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific. El Nino happens when weakening trade winds (which sometimes even reverse direction) allow the warmer water from the western Pacific to flow toward the east. This flattens out the sea level, builds up warm surface water off the coast of South America, and increases the temperature of the water in the eastern Pacific. La Nina La Niña is the opposite of El Niño. La Niña is the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific that happens every 3 to 5 months. The cool water can suppress rain-producing clouds, which leads to dry conditions. A region of blazing heat, cold-bearing nights, little vegetation, and little water. Desert Biome Savannah Biome (Tropical Grasslands) Temperate Grassland Biome A region filled with many scattered trees and many herds of hoofed animals A region filled with fertile soil, many crops, and grazing cattle and has very cold winters and hot, dry summers all year long. Chaparral/ Mediterranean Biome Tropical Rainforest Biome Also known as temperate shrublands Regions with a moderate climate with dense thickets of very spiny shrubs and trees. A region near the equator and have humid air and heavy rainfall. This biome has a heavily diverse ecosystem. A region of subarctic, evergreen coniferous forest located in northern Eurasia. Taiga A region with high elevation areas with snow-covered peaks. Mountain Biome Species Interaction Thomas Malthus’ Hypothesis Parasitism: the relation between two different kinds of organisms in which one receives benefits from the other by causing damage to it Mutualism: Symbiosis that is beneficial to both organisms involved. Commensalism: An association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm. Thomas Malthus was a British economist. His hypothesis states that the human population will grow exponentially over time and food production will be insufficient because food production grows only linearly. Pre-Industrial – high birth and death rate Demographic Transition Stages Transitional – industrialization begins Industrial – population growth slows down Post-Industrial – pop. growth reaches ZPG