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Ecosystem
Bio
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Autotroph | organisms that produce their own food using sunlight (photoautotrophs) or chemical energy (chemoautotrophs) to convert inorganic substances into organic compounds |
| Biogeochemical Cycle | the continuous pathway by which essential elements and nutrients—such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and water—circulate between living organisms |
| Biomass | organic material derived from living or recently living organisms—such as plants, animals, and microorganisms—used as a renewable energy source |
| Chemosythisis | the biological process by which microbes create energy and food using inorganic chemical reactions instead of sunlight |
| Commensalism | a type of symbiotic relationship in biology where one organism (the commensal) benefits—obtaining food, shelter, or transportation—while the other organism (the host) is neither helped nor harmed |
| Consumer | an organism (heterotroph) that cannot produce its own energy and must feed on other organisms—plants, animals, or organic matter—to survive |
| Denitrification | Denitrification is a microbially facilitated process where bacteria convert nitrate (NO3) into gaseous nitrogen compounds |
| Detritus | non-living particulate organic matter, such as decaying plant litter, animal waste, and dead bodies |
| Ecological Pryamid | a graphical representation designed to show the biomass, productivity (energy), or number of organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem |
| Food Chain | a linear, directional sequence that shows how energy and nutrients are transferred from one organism to another within an ecosystem |
| Food Web | a complex, realistic network of interconnected and overlapping food chains that illustrates the feeding relationships and energy flow among various organisms in an ecosystem |
| Habitat | the specific natural environment—including physical factors (soil, water, climate) and living components—where an organism, population, or community lives and makes its home |
| Heterotroph | an organism that cannot produce its own food and must obtain energy and nutrients by consuming other organisms |
| Keystone Species | an organism that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance |
| Limiting Nutrient | an essential nutrient—such as nitrogen or phosphorus—that is in the shortest supply relative to an organism's needs, thereby restricting growth, reproduction, and population size |
| Mutualism | a type of symbiotic or interspecific interaction where two or more different species live together, and all participants benefit from the relationship |
| Niche | the functional role and position a species has in its environment, including its habitat, resource usage, and interactions with other organisms |
| Nutrient | a chemical substance obtained from the environment that an organism needs to survive, grow, function, and repair itself |
| Nitrogen Fixation | Biological nitrogen fixation is the chemical process where microorganisms (mainly bacteria) convert inert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia , a usable form for living organisms. |
| Parasitism | a symbiotic relationship between species where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it harm while obtaining nutrients and shelter |
| Photosynthesis | is the essential biological process by which green plants, algae, and some bacteria convert light energy (sunlight) into chemical energy, producing oxygen and glucose |
| Phytoplankton | microscopic, plant-like organisms (microalgae and cyanobacteria) that float in the sunlit, upper layer of oceans and lakes |
| Primary Producer | organisms that produce their own food using light (photosynthesis) or chemical energy (chemosynthesis), forming the base of ecosystems. |
| Symbiosis | long-term biological interaction between two different species, defined as "living together". These relationships can be essential for survival |
| Trophic Levels | the specific position an organism occupies in a food chain, web, or ecological pyramid, based on its feeding behavior and source of energy |
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