APES- Chapter 3 Flashcards

4836146130	Biosphere	The region of our planet where life resides.	0
4836146414	Producer	An organism that uses the energy of the sun to produce usable forms of energy. Also known as autotroph.	1
4836146952	Photosynthesis	The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.	2
4836148007	Cellular respiration	The process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds.	3
4836149959	Aerobic respiration	The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy-ATP, carbon dioxide, and water.	4
4836151944	Anaerobic respiration	The process by which cells convert glucose in to energy in the absence of oxygen.	5
4836152631	Consumer	An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis. Aka heterotroph.	6
4836153292	Herbivore	A consumer that eats producers.	7
4836155529	Carnivore	A consumer that eats other consumers.	8
4836156028	Secondary consumer	A carnivore that eats primary consumers.	9
4836156407	Tertiary consumer	A carnivore that eats secondary consumers.	10
4836156981	Trophic levels	The successive level of organisms consuming one another.	11
4836157300	Food chain	The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers.	12
4836157868	Food web	A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels.	13
4836158530	Scavenger.	An organism that consumes dead animals.	14
4836158904	Detrivore	An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles.	15
4836159313	Decomposers	Fungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystem.	16
4836160857	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
4836162688	Net Primary Productivity (NPP)	The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire.	18
4836164242	Biomass	The total mass of all living matter in a specific area.	19
4836166625	Standing crop	The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time.	20
4836167327	Ecological efficiency	The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another.	21
4836167956	Trophic pyramid	The representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels.	22
4836169046	Biogeochemical cycle	The movements of matter within and between ecosystems.	23
4836169269	Hydrologic cycle	The movement of water through the biosphere.	24
4836171861	Transpiration	The release of water from leaves during photosynthesis.	25
4836172348	Evapotranspiration	The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration.	26
4836172711	Runoff	Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers.	27
4836173340	Carbon cycle	The movement of carbon around the biosphere.	28
4836173763	Macronutrient	One of six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.	29
4836175571	Limiting nutrient	A nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients.	30
4836176559	Nitrogen cycle	The movement of nitrogen around the biosphere.	31
4836176913	Nitrogen fixation	A process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia.	32
4836177639	Nitrification	The conversion of ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate.	33
4836178678	Assimilation	The process by which producers incorporate elements into their tissues.	34
4836179421	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
4836180816	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
4836183012	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
4836183801	Leaching	The transportation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater.	38
4836184466	Phosphorus cycle	The movement of phosphorous around the biosphere.	39
4836185117	Algal bloom	A rapid increase in the algal population of a waterway.	40
4836185608	Hypoxic	Low in oxygen.	41
4836185765	Sulfur cycle	The movement of sulfur around the biosphere.	42
4836187094	Disturbance	An event, caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents, resulting in changes in population size or community composition.	43
4836188055	Watershed	All land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland.	44
4836189946	Resistance	A measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem.	45
4836190973	Resilience	The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance.	46
4836191855	Restoration ecology	The study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems.	47
4836193525	Intermediate disturbance hypothesis	Ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels.	48