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Audesirk Ch28
Virginia Tech Biology Lipscomb
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| acid deposition | the deposition of nitric or sulfuric acid, either in rain (acid rain) or in the form of dry particles, as a result of the production of nitrogen oxides or sulfur dioxide through burning, primarily of fossil fuels. |
| autotroph | “self-feeder”; normally, a photosynthetic organism; a producer |
| biodegradable | able to be broken down into harmless substances by decomposers. |
| biogeochemical cycle | also called a nutrient cycle, the process by which a specific nutrient in an ecosystem is transferred between living organisms and the nutrient’s reservoir in the nonliving environment. |
| biological magnification | the increasing accumulation of a toxic substance in progressively higher trophic levels |
| biomass | the dry weight of organic material in an ecosystem |
| carnivore | the dry weight of organic material in an ecosystem |
| consumer | an organism that eats other organisms; a heterotroph |
| decomposer | an organism, normally a fungus or bacterium, that digests organic material by secreting digestive enzymes into the environment, in the process liberating nutrients into the environment |
| deforestation | the excessive cutting of forests, primarily rain forests in the Tropics, to clear space for agriculture |
| detritus feeder | one of a diverse group of organisms, ranging from worms to vultures, that live off the wastes and dead remains of other organisms |
| energy pyramid | a graphical representation of the energy contained in succeeding trophic levels, with maximum energy at the base (primary producers) and steadily diminishing amounts at higher levels |
| food chain | a linear feeding relationship in a community, using a single representative from each of the trophic levels |
| food web | a representation of the complex feeding relationships (in terms of interacting food chains) within a community, including many organisms at various trophic levels, with many of the consumers occupying more than one level simultaneously |
| fossil fuel | a fuel such as coal, oil, and natural gas, derived from the remains of ancient organisms |
| global warming | a gradual rise in global atmospheric temperature as a result of an amplification of the natural greenhouse effect due to human activities |
| greenhouse effect | the process in which certain gases such as carbon dioxide and methane trap sunlight energy in a planet’s atmosphere as heat; the glass in a greenhouse does the same. The result, global warming, is being enhanced by the production of these gases by humans |
| greenhouse gas | a gas, such as carbon dioxide or methane, that traps sunlight energy in a planet’s atmosphere as heat; a gas that participates in the greenhouse effect |
| herbivore | literally, “plant-eater”; an organism that feeds directly and exclusively on producers; a primary consumer |
| heterotroph | literally, “other-feeder”; an organism that eats other organisms; a consumer |
| hydrologic cycle | the water cycle, driven by solar energy; a nutrient cycle in which the main reservoir of water is the ocean and most of the water remains in the form of water throughout the cycle (rather than being used in the synthesis of new molecules) |
| net primary productivity | the energy stored in the autotrophs of an ecosystem over a given time period. |
| nutrient cycle | a description of the pathways of a specific nutrient (such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, or water) through the living and nonliving portions of an ecosystem. Also called biogeochemical cycle |
| omnivore | an organism that consumes both plants and other animals |
| primary consumer | an organism that feeds on producers; an herbivore |
| producer | a photosynthetic organism; an autotroph |
| reservoir | the major source and storage site of a nutrient in an ecosystem, normally in the abiotic portion |
| secondary consumer | an organism that feeds on primary consumers; a carnivore |
| tertiary consumer | a carnivore that feeds on other carnivores (secondary consumers) |
| trophic level | literally, “feeding level”; the categories of organisms in a community, and the position of an organism in a food chain, defined by the organism’s source of energy; includes producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and so on |
Created by:
hgarcia
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