Essential Guide to Environmental Science

AP Environmental Science Review Guide- Unit 1 Test Ecosystem Structure abiotic, biotic factors. Levels of organization, organism, species, population, community, and ecosystem Non-living thing Ex: Waters, soils, minerals in the soil,O2 Abiotic Factors Living things Ex: Grasses, elephants Biotic Fctors Primary Producers, Primary Consumers, Secondary Consumers Levels of organization Organism An individual living thing that can react to stimuli, reproduce, grow and maintain homeostasis. Species A group of living organisms of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes. Population How many of one species of an organism. Ex:Deer(how much of a deer is an organism in a population) Community Living things in an community. Groups of different species living together in a particular place with a potential for interacting with one another. Example:Deer Ecosystem Living and non-living things Example: Rock, deer Roles in an ecosystem Niches- specialist vs generalist R vs K Selected Species, Keystone species, Invasive Species, Endangered species Niches(Specialist vs Generalist) Each species occupies a niche in the community. A niche is the role that species play and includes the type of food it eats, where it lives, where it reproduces, and its relationships with other species. Generalist Can thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and can make use of a variety of different resources. (Heterotroph) Specialist Only can range in few environments and has a limited diet. 1/3 R Species -Many, usually small, offspring -Little or no parental care -Massive deaths of offspring -Insects, bacteria, algae, Dandelions K-Species Reproduce later in life -Few offspring with long life spans -Long time to maturity -Mother puts in a high amount of energy earing for young. -Apes, Elephants Keystone Species A species that plays an important role in allowing the rest of the ecosystem to function. *If you remove an organism from a ecosystem, the ecosystem will collapse.* Invasive Species A species that was not originally a part of an ecosystem, but was brought in by humans and out-compete the native species. Ex: Species coming and adapting to a new envrionment. Endangered Species A species of an animal or plant that will become extinct. Foundation Species A species eho activities changes in the habitat. Ex: Beaver creating new dams in the river. Interactions b/w species Competition, Predation, Parasitism, Mutualism, Commensalism Mutualism Both species benefit from each other. Competition Neither organisms is happy about this Parasitism/Predation Other benefits, the other loses. Parasitism An interaction in which one organism lives on or in another organism. -Acts like a host(pathogen)=Cast diseases in their host= Bacteria, fungi, worms, etc Predation When one prey attacks other animal and eats them. -A way to avoid predators, animals camoflouge Indicator Species Some species are sensitive to environmental change, and their presence or absence can tell about the environment. Ex:If a frog is in a forest it means that it is healthy Biodiversity Why is it valuable? Makes the ecosystem stronger. The richer it is, the higher the diversity is. Biodiversity contain species and genetic diversity. Species diversity: The # of different types of species in an ecosystem. Genetic Diversity: The variety of genetic diversity held within a species. Species richness: The # of species Species Eveness: The relative # of species Edge effect(ecotone)- BIOLOGY Edge b/w 2 types of habitat. Habitat fragmentation- BIOLOGY Cutting a habitat in half Ex: Roads to the forest Flow of energy 10% rule, photosynthesis and respiration, trophic levels, food web structure, biomagnification, 10%rule As you go up, the food chain. 90% is lost and 10% goes up. -On average pnly 10% of the energy from a lower level makes it to the level above. Biomass The mass of the living thing Photosynthesis and Respiration Photosynthesis: Plants get their energy from the sun. Respiration: Humans breathe in CO2 and we breathe it out. Trophic Levels 2/3 Energy Level(All energy comes from the Sun) -Food Chain: Primary producers, Primary consumers, secondary consumers A web included with predators and preys.... Food web structure Biomagnification Toxic substances become increasingly concentrated withn living organisms as they move up each step of the food chain. *The more you go up the food chain, the more toxins you have in your body.* Evolution and Natural Selection How does it work? As evolution happens, organisms with traits tend to reproduce through the process of natural selction. Evolution Over a lon.g period of time, species differentiate and change in response to their environment. Eventually, new species are created. Natural Selection This is the way natural selection happens. Organisms with traits that make them more successful end up having more offspring, and those traits dominate in future generaions. Ecosystem Services a) What products do we get from the healthy ecosystem? b) What life functions we get from the healthy ecosystem? What products do we get from the healthy ecosystem? Natural resources, water What life functions do we get from the healthy ecosystem? Oxygen, Long Term Change Ecological Succession, Primary, Secondary, Pioneer Species, and Climax Community Ecological Succession A process of ecosystem recovering Primary Succession Occurs when the ecosystem must start from bare rock. (From scratch) Ex:like a volcano erupts on a land(Pompeii) Secondary Succession Occurs when there is a disturbance that leaves some biotic factors behind. Ex: Fire leaves some plants alive and from that natural rescource, certain factors can start to adapt. Pioneer species First species to colonize after a disruptive ecosystem. Ex: Volcano erupt, magma covers everything. First plant to grow, is a pioneer species Climax Community Fully recover ecosystem 3/3