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Chapter 3
Vocabulary
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| populations | 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 |
| ecosystem | a collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving, or physical environment |
| biome | a group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities |
| autotrophs | use energy from the environment to produce food |
| producers | autotrophs; make their own food |
| photosynthesis | process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbohydrates like sugars and starches |
| chemosynthesis | organisms that use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates |
| heterotrophs | rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply |
| consumers | heterotrophs |
| herbivores | obtain energy by eating only plants |
| carnivore | eats animals |
| omnivore | eats plants and animals |
| detritivores | feed on dead matter and animal remains |
| decomposers | break down organic matter |
| food chain | a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten |
| food web | links all the food chains in an ecosystem together |
| trophic level | each step in a food chain |
| ecological pyramid | a diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level i a food chain or web |
| biomass | the total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level |
| biogeochemical cycles | elements, chemical compound, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another |
| evaporation | the process by which water changes from liquid form to an atomspheric gas |
| transpiration | evaporation of water from the leaves of plants |
| nutrients | all the chemical substances that an organism needs to sustain life |
| nitrogen fixation | the conversion of nitrogen gas into ammonia |
| denitrification | process that converts nitrates into nitrogen gas |
| primary productivity | the rate at which organic matter is created by producers |
| limiting nutrient | single nutrient that either is scarce or cycles very slowly, limiting the growth in an ecosystem |
| algal bloom | an immediate increase in the amount of algae and other producers that results from a large input of a limiting nutrient |
Created by:
savvy
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