Geography - Part 2
Terms
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- Shannon - Weiner Index of Diversity
- the formula by which species diversity is calculated
- Direct Disturbance
- killing disturbance, increases space and resources for survival
- Niche
- A characteristic of a species that is defined by considering the species' combined tolerance ranges for all the environmental factors that influence it
- Heterotrophs
- depend on others to produce chemical energy
- Soil Solution
- Soil water and soil constituents (ions)
- Soil Porosity
- Controls the movement of soil solutions
- Translocation
- movement between soil horizons
- Allopatric Speciation
- Evolution of new species by geographic isolation
- Net Photosynthesis
- gross photosynthesis - respiration
- Adaptive Radiation
- new environment(s) provide opportunity for the formation of new species adjusted to different habitat(s)
- Protocooperation
- both benefit, but not essential to survival
- Phreatophytes
- Plants in dry climates - deep roots to reach groundwater
- Salinization
- evaporation of surface water draws salts up, deposit on surfaces
- Disjunction
- closely related species found in widely separated regions
- Community
- groups of interacting populations of different species in the same place at the same time
- Soil Consistence
- the consistency of a soil or cohesion of its particles
- theory
- a body of knowledge that is unlikely to be disproved but is likely to be improved
- Succession
- refers to changes in species composition as older communities die and are replaced by newer communities
- Primary succession
- succession on site that has no biological legacy
- Endotherms
- "warm-blooded" animals create heat by their metabolism (eg. mammals)
- Eluviation
- downward transport of fine particles leaving sand and silt (Ae)
- Disturbance
- a discrete event changing structure and resource availability or environment
- Pedon
- the basic sampling unit used in soil surveys, from the surface to the bedrock
- Climate
- Soil Formation Factors - moisture, evaporation, temperature: controls physical and chemical weathering
- Sympatric Speciation
- formation of a new species within the same geographic area
- Ecology
- the study of the relationships between organisms and their environment, and among the various ecosystems in the biosphere
- Photoperiods
- light availablity that trigger (and coordinate) biological activities
- Autotrophs
- Create their own source of chemical energy
- Organisms
- Soil Formation Factors - organic matter, biotic influences
- Ecosystem
- a self sustaining association of living plants and animals and their non-living physical environment
- Predation
- Predator species feeds on prey
- Ectotherms
- "cold-blooded" animals that lack the ability to internally control temperature (eg. reptiles)
- Biomes
- a large stable terrestial ecosystem characterized by specific plant and animal communities.
- Respiration
- an opposite process to photosynthesis in which carbohydrate is broken down to release chemical energy
- Conifers
- Plants in dry climates - reduced leaf area, needle - like leaves
- Species Richness
- the number of species per unit area
- Compensation Point
- the break even point between the production and consumption of organic material
- Geographic isolation
- faciliates speciation by isolating populations and preventing gene flow
- Speciation
- set of processes by which species are differentiated and maintained
- Food Web
- describes how energy flows through an ecosystem
- Laterization
- leaching process active in humid and warm climates
- B (horizon)
- Horizons - enriched in organic matter, oxides or clay developed soil structure, colour denotes hydrolysis, reduction or oxidation
- Biological Amplification
- the increasing concentration of long-lived, stable chemicals at each successive trophic level
- Toposequence
- Spatial changes, usually dependent on topography and soil
- Relief
- Soil Formation Factors - topography, aspect, elevation
- Habitat
- the actual place where the organism lives
- A (horizon)
- Horizons - at or near the surface in the zone where leaching and eluvation of materials or accumulation of organic matter occurs
- Commensalism
- one species benefits, other has no effect
- Allelopathy
- plants emit chemical toxins to limit growth of other plants
- Carbon Fixation
- The conversion of carbon from gaseous forms to a solid form (carbohydrates)
- Biomass
- accumulated net production by photosynthesis
- Colloids
- Soil particles less than .00001mm
- Calcification
- CaCO3 dissolves at surface and precipitation in B horizon
- Ions
- Soil minerals that physically and chemically weather (break down) to their component molecules
- Wilting Point
- critical water storage level determining water avaliability to plants
- Soil Structure
- describes the arrangement of soil particles
- Soil Texture
- Particle size distribution
- parasitism
- parasite gains nutrition from the host
- resources
- all things consumed by an organism
- herbivory
- grazing of plants by animals (including insects)
- Dynamic ecology
- dynamic set of interactions with sometimes unpredictable outcomes steered by sometimes random, unpredictable events that trigger a threshold leap to a new set of relations
- Gene Flow
- constant mixing of genes to dilute mutations
- Gleysation
- accumulation of humus and a thick, water - saturated grey layer of clay
- O (horizon)
- Horizons - developed mainly from plant and animal litter transformed into humus
- Species
- individuals capable of interbreeding to produce fertile offspring
- Active Layer
- surface layer that thaws in summer
- Life form
- physical struture, size and shape
- Time
- Soil Formation Factors - change dynamic
- Field Capacity
- amount of capillary water (amount of water left in the soil after it has drained
- C (horizon)
- Comparatively unaffected by the pedogenic processes; gleying and accumulation of calcium, magnesium and soluble salts can occur
- Soil Horizons
- distinctive horizontal layes that differ in physical composition, chemical composition or organic content or structure
- Denitrification
- process by which certain bacteria convert nitrogen from useable forms back to N2 thus completing the nitrogen cycle
- Survival of the Fittest
- the number of descendants that an individual leaves depends largely on interactions of the individual (and its characteristics) with the environment
- Bioclimatic Frontiers
- climate factors interact to determine the distributional limit of a species
- Species eveness
- distribution of individuals among species
- Podzolization
- soil acidification associated with forest soils in cool climates
- Succulents
- Plants in dry climates - water filled stems
- Mutualism
- both species benefit, often obligatory
- Edaphic Factors
- factors related to soil properties
- Competition
- two species require a common, limited resource
- Pedology
- soil science, study of the origin, classification, distribution and description of soil
- Chronosequence
- temporal changes, described by "succession"
- Biogeography
- the study of the distribution of plants and animals, the diverse spatial patterns they create, and the physical and biological processes, past and present, that produce Earth's species richness
- Ecological Biogeography
- the relationship between organisms and environment that determine when and where organisms are found
- Photosynthesis
- a process by which plants convert solar energy to chemical energy
- Environmental Factors
- abiotic factors which influence an organism's distribution patterns
- Competitive Exclusion Principle
- states that no two species can occupy the same niche successfully in a stable community
- Parent Materials
- Soil Formation Factors - composition, texture, chemical nature
- Secondary Succession
- Succession on previously vegetated site
- Bases
- Cations, Ions with positive charges, required plant nutrients
- Symbiosis
- Species interacting in a positive manner
- Sclerophylls
- Plants in dry climates - thick, waxy coating on leaves
- Species Composition
- list of all species that exist at a location
- phenotype
- variation between individuals due to genetics and environment
- Illuviation
- accumulation of clay, humus and aluminum and iron oxides (B)
- Xerophytes
- General term for plants adapted to dry climates
- Metabolism
- the way in which a community uses energy and produces food for continued operation
- genotype
- gene set or genome of an individual species
- Soil
- uppermost layer of the earth's crust or lithosphere
- Perma Frost
- groud that is permanently frozen
- Species Diversity
- a combination of species richness and species eveness
- Indirect Disturbance
- Individuals not killed, changes resource availability to individuals
- genetic drift
- cumulative effect of neutral, chance mutations that change the genetic composition of a breeding population until it diverges from the other populations in the species
- The Struggle for Existence
- all populations have the biological potential to populate the entire earth, but they so not as resources are limited and other environmental conditions affect populations
- Macronutrients
- are required in substantial quantities for organic life to survive
- Natural Selection
- individuals possessing genetically based traits that enhance their survival and reproduction in a particular environment will leave more offsprings
- Acids
- Also positively charged by not plant nutrients