APES Friedland Chapter 3 Flashcards

7401243862	Biosphere	The region of our planet where life resides, the combination of all ecosystems on Earth.	0
7401243863	Producer	An organism that uses the energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy. Also known as an autotroph.	1
7401243864	Photosynthesis	The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.	2
7401243865	Cellular respiration	The process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds.	3
7401243866	Aerobic respiration	The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water.	4
7401243867	Anaerobic respiration	The process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen.	5
7401243868	Consumer	An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms. Also known as a heterotroph.	6
7401243869	Herbivore	A consumer that eats producers. Also known as a primary consumer.	7
7401243870	Carnivore	A consumer that eats other consumers.	8
7401243871	Secondary consumer	A carnivore that eats primary consumers.	9
7401243872	Tertiary consumer	A carnivore that eats secondary consumers.	10
7401243873	Trophic levels	The successive levels of organisms consuming one another.	11
7401243874	Food chain	The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers.	12
7401243875	Food web	A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels.	13
7401243876	Scavenger	An organism that consumes dead animals.	14
7401243877	Detritivore	An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles.	15
7401243878	Decomposers	Fungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystems.	16
7401243879	Gross primary productivity (GPP)	The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time.	17
7401243880	Net primary productivity (NPP)	The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire.	18
7401243881	Biomass	The total mass of all living matter in a specific area.	19
7401243882	Standing crop	The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time.	20
7401243883	Ecological efficiency	The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another.	21
7401243884	Trophic pyramid	A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels.	22
7401243885	Biogeochemical cycle	The movement of matter within and between ecosystems.	23
7401243886	Hydrologic cycle	The movement of water through the biosphere.	24
7401243887	Transpiration	The release of water from leaves during photosynthesis.	25
7401243888	Evapotranspiration	The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration.	26
7401243889	Runoff	Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers.	27
7401243890	Carbon cycle	The movement of carbon around the biosphere.	28
7401243891	Macronutrient	One of six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.	29
7401243892	Limiting nutrient	A nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients.	30
7401243893	Nitrogen cycle	The movement of nitrogen around the biosphere.	31
7401243894	Nitrogen fixation	A process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia.	32
7401243895	Nitrification	The conversion of ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate.	33
7401243896	Assimilation	The process by which producers incorporate elements into their tissues.	34
7401243897	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.	35
7401243898	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.	36
7401243899	Denitrification	The conversion of nitrate in a series of steps into the gases nitrous oxide and, eventually, nitrogen gas, which is emitted into the atmosphere	37
7401243900	Leaching	The transformation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater.	38
7401243901	Phosphorus cycle	The movement of phosphorus around the biosphere.	39
7401243902	Algal boom	A rapid increase in the algal production of a waterway.	40
7401243903	Hypoxic	Low in oxygen.	41
7401243904	Sulfur cycle	The movement of sulfur around the biosphere.	42
7401243905	Ecological Disturbance	An event, caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents, resulting in changes in population size or community composition.	43
7401243906	Watershed	All land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland.	44
7401243907	Resistance	A measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem.	45
7401243908	Resilience	The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance.	46
7401243909	Restoration ecology	The study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems	47
7401243910	Intermediate disturbance hypothesis	The hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels.	48
7401243911	omnivore	a person who eats both plants and animals	49
7401243912	percolation	the slow movement of water through the pores in soil or permeable rock.	50
7401243913	infiltration	the seepage of water into soil or rock.	51
7401243914	this cycle has no atmospheric component.	phosphorous	52
7401243915	primary consumer	A consumer that eats producers. Also know as a herbivore.	53
7401243916	Eutrophication	A process in which nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus lead to algal blooms and hypoxic conditions.	54