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Chapter 3 Ecologyy
Chapter 3 Ecology
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Ecology | The scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment or surroundings |
| levels of organization | organism-> population->community-> ecosystem-> BIOME-> biosphere |
| Biome | A group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities. |
| species | A group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring. |
| autotroph/producer | Use energy from the environment to fuel the assembly of simple inorganic compounds into complex organic molecules |
| Photosynthesis | When autotrophs use light energy from the sun to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen. |
| chemosynthesis | When organisms use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates. |
| Heterotroph | organisms that rely on other organisms for their enemy 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 | A series of steps in which organisms transfer |
| Food Web | When the feeding relationships among the various organisms and ecosystems form a network of complex interactions |
| Cellular respiration | The process of cell catabolism in which cells turn food into usable energy in the form of ATP. |
| Trophic level | Each step in a food chain or food web |
| Ecological Pyramid | |
| Biogeochemical cycle | pass the same molecules around again and again within the biosphere. |
| Limiting nutrient | When an 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 |