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chapter 3
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| ecology | scientific studies of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment or surroundings |
| levels of organization | organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere |
| biome | group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities |
| species | group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring |
| autotroph/producer | organism that makes it's own food |
| photosynthesis | when autotrophs use light energy from the sun to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and energy-rich carbohydrates such as sugars and starches |
| chemosynthesis | when organisms use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates |
| heterotroph/consumer | organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply |
| herbivore | eat plants |
| carnivore | eat animals |
| omnivore | eat plants and animals |
| detritivore | eat plant and animal remains and other dead matter |
| decomposer | break down organic matter |
| food chain | series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten |
| food web | when the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem form a network of complex interactions |
| cellular respiration | a series of metabolic processes that take place within the cell |
| trophic level | each step in a food chain or food web |
| ecological pyramid | shows the relative amounts of energy available at each trophic level |
| biogeochemical system | elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another through these sycles |
| limiting nutrient | when ecosystem is limited by a single nutrient that is scarce or cycles very slowly |
| algal bloom | when an aquatic ecosystem receives a large input of a limiting nutrient |