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Ecosystem Ecology
APES Ecosystem Ecology Chap 3
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Biosphere | The region of our planet where life resides, the combination of all ecosystems on Earth. |
| Producer | An organism that uses the energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy. Also known as Autotroph. |
| Photosynthesis | The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose. |
| Cellular respiration | The process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds. |
| Aerobic respiration | The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water. |
| Anaerobic respiration | The process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen. |
| Consumer | An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms. Also known as Heterotroph. |
| Herbivore | A consumer that eats producers. Also known as Primary consumer. |
| Carnivore | A consumer that eats other consumers. |
| Secondary consumer | A carnivore that eats primary consumers. |
| Tertiary consumer | A carnivore that eats secondary consumers. |
| Trophic levels | The successive levels of organisms consuming one another. |
| Food chain | The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers. |
| Food web | A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels. |
| Scavenger | An organism that consumes dead animals. |
| Detritivore | An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles. |
| Decomposers | Fungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystem. |
| Gross primary productivity (GPP) | The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time. |
| Net primary productivity (NPP) | The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire. |
| Biomass | The total mass of all living matter in a specific area. |
| Standing crop | The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time. |
| Ecological efficiency | The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another. |
| Trophic pyramid | A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels |
| Biogeochemical cycle | The movements of matter within and between ecosystems. |
| Hydrologic cycle | The movement of water through the biosphere. |
| Transpiration | The release of water from leaves during photosynthesis. |
| Evapotranspiration | The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration. |
| Runoff | Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers. |
| Carbon cycle | The movement of carbon around the biosphere. |
| Macronutrient | One of six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. |
| Limiting nutrient | A nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients. |
| Nitrogen cycle | The movement of nitrogen around the biosphere. |
| Nitrogen fixation | A process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia. |
| Nitrification | The conversion of ammonia (NH4+) into nitrite (NO2– ) and then into nitrate (NO3– ). |
| Assimilation | The process by which producers incorporate elements into their tissues. |
| Mineralization | The process by which fungal and bacterial decomposers break down the organic matter found in dead bodies and waste products and convert it into inorganic compounds. |
| Ammonification | The process by which fungal and bacterial decomposers break down the organic nitrogen found in dead bodies and waste products and convert it into inorganic ammonium (NH4+). |
| Denitrification | The conversion of nitrate (NO3– ) in a series of steps into the gases nitrous oxide (N2O) and, eventually, nitrogen gas (N2), which is emitted into the atmosphere. |
| Leaching | The transportation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater. |
| Phosphorus cycle | The movement of phosphorus around the biosphere. |
| Algal bloom | A rapid increase in the algal population of a waterway. |
| Hypoxic | Low in oxygen. |
| Sulfur cycle | The movement of sulfur around the biosphere. |
| Disturbance | An event, caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents, resulting in changes in population size or community composition. |
| Watershed | All land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland. |
| Resistance | A measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem. |
| Resilience | The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance. |
| Restoration ecology | The study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems. |
| Intermediate disturbance hypothesis | The hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels. |
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