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APES Friedland Chapter 3 Flashcards

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7150885940BiosphereThe region of our planet where life resides, the combination of all ecosystems on Earth.0
7150885941ProducerAn organism that uses the energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy. Also known as an autotroph.1
7150885942PhotosynthesisThe process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.2
7150885943Cellular respirationThe process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds.3
7150885944Aerobic respirationThe process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water.4
7150885945Anaerobic respirationThe process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen.5
7150885946ConsumerAn organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms. Also known as a heterotroph.6
7150885947HerbivoreA consumer that eats producers. Also known as a primary consumer.7
7150885948CarnivoreA consumer that eats other consumers.8
7150885949Secondary consumerA carnivore that eats primary consumers.9
7150885950Tertiary consumerA carnivore that eats secondary consumers.10
7150885951Trophic levelsThe successive levels of organisms consuming one another.11
7150885952Food chainThe sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers.12
7150885953Food webA complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels.13
7150885954ScavengerAn organism that consumes dead animals.14
7150885955DetritivoreAn organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles.15
7150885956DecomposersFungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystems.16
7150885957Gross primary productivity (GPP)The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time.17
7150885958Net primary productivity (NPP)The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire.18
7150885959BiomassThe total mass of all living matter in a specific area.19
7150885960Standing cropThe amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time.20
7150885961Ecological efficiencyThe proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another.21
7150885962Trophic pyramidA representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels.22
7150885963Biogeochemical cycleThe movement of matter within and between ecosystems.23
7150885964Hydrologic cycleThe movement of water through the biosphere.24
7150885965TranspirationThe release of water from leaves during photosynthesis.25
7150885966EvapotranspirationThe combined amount of evaporation and transpiration.26
7150885967RunoffWater that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers.27
7150885968Carbon cycleThe movement of carbon around the biosphere.28
7150885969MacronutrientOne of six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.29
7150885970Limiting nutrientA nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients.30
7150885971Nitrogen cycleThe movement of nitrogen around the biosphere.31
7150885972Nitrogen fixationA process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia.32
7150885973NitrificationThe conversion of ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate.33
7150885974AssimilationThe process by which producers incorporate elements into their tissues.34
7150885975MineralizationThe 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.35
7150885976AmmonificationThe 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.36
7150885977DenitrificationThe conversion of nitrate in a series of steps into the gases nitrous oxide and, eventually, nitrogen gas, which is emitted into the atmosphere37
7150885978LeachingThe transformation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater.38
7150885979Phosphorus cycleThe movement of phosphorus around the biosphere.39
7150885980Algal boomA rapid increase in the algal production of a waterway.40
7150885981HypoxicLow in oxygen.41
7150885982Sulfur cycleThe movement of sulfur around the biosphere.42
7150885983Ecological DisturbanceAn event, caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents, resulting in changes in population size or community composition.43
7150885984WatershedAll land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland.44
7150885985ResistanceA measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem.45
7150885986ResilienceThe rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance.46
7150885987Restoration ecologyThe study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems47
7150885988Intermediate disturbance hypothesisThe hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels.48
7150885989omnivorea person who eats both plants and animals49
7150885990percolationthe slow movement of water through the pores in soil or permeable rock.50
7150885991infiltrationthe seepage of water into soil or rock.51
7150885992this cycle has no atmospheric component.phosphorous52
7150887174primary consumerA consumer that eats producers. Also know as a herbivore.53
7150891426EutrophicationA process in which nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus lead to algal blooms and hypoxic conditions.54

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