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CH. 3 Biology Vocab
Ch. 3 Biology Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ecology | The scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment, or surroundings. |
| Biosphere | Contains the combined portions of the planet in which all life exists, including land, water, and air, or atmosphere. |
| Species | A group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring. |
| Population | Groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area. |
| Communities | Assemblages of different populations that live together in a defined area. |
| Biome | A group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities. |
| Ecosystem | A collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving, or physical, environment. |
| Autotroph | Organisms that that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce food. |
| Producers | An organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce food from inorganic compounds. |
| Photosynthesis | Process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbohydrates such as sugars and starches. |
| Chemosynthesis | A process by which organisms use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates. |
| Heterotrophs | Organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply. |
| Consumers | Organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply. |
| Herbivores | Obtain energy by eating only plants. |
| Carnivores | Obtain energy by eating meat. |
| Omnivores | Obtain energy by eating both plants and meat. |
| Detrivores | Feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter. |
| Decomposers | Group of heterotrophs that break down organic matter. |
| Food Chain | A series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten. |
| Food Web | A network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among various organisms in and ecosystem. |
| Trophic level | Each step in the food chain or food web. |
| Ecological Pyramid | A diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a food chain or food web. |
| Biomass | The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level. |
| Biochemical cycles | Process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another. |
| Evaporation | The process by which water changes from liquid form to an atmospheric gas. |
| Transpiration | Process in which water can enter the atmosphere by evaporating from the leaves of plants. |
| Nutrients | All the chemical substances that an organism needs to sustain life. |
| Nitrogen Fixation | A process by which bacteria converts nitrogen gas into ammonia. |
| Denitrification | Process by which soil bacteria concerts nitrates into nitrogen gas. |
| Primary Productivity | The rate at which organic matter is created by producers. |
| Limiting nutrient | When an ecosystem is limited by a single nutrient that is scarce or cycles very slowly. |
| Algal bloom | When an aquatic ecosystem recieves a large input of a limiting nutrient. |
Created by:
abwilliams
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