Miller and Levine Biology - Chapter 3 Flashcards

10748788014	biosphere	part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere	0
10748788015	species	group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring	1
10748788016	population	group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area	2
10748788017	community	assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area	3
10748788018	ecology	scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment	4
10748788019	ecosystem	all the organisms that live in a place, together with their nonliving environment	5
10748788020	biome	group of ecosystems with similar climates and typical organisms	6
10748788021	biotic factor	any living part of the environment with which an organism might interact	7
10748788022	abiotic factor	physical, or nonliving component of the environment	8
10748788023	autotroph	organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce food from inorganic compounds	9
10748788024	primary producer	first producer of energy-rich compounds that are later used by other organisms	10
10748788025	photosynthesis	process to capture light energy and use it to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and energy-rich carbohydrates such as sugars and starches	11
10748788026	chemosynthesis	process in which chemical energy is used to produce carbohydrates for energy	12
10748788027	heterotroph	organism that must obtain energy by consuming other organisms; cannot directly acquire energy from the environment	13
10748788028	consumer	organism that relies on other organisms for its energy and nutrient supply	14
10748788029	carnivore	organism that obtains energy by killing and eating animals	15
10748788030	herbivore	organism that obtains energy by eating only plants	16
10748788031	scavenger	animal that consumes the carcasses of other animals	17
10748788032	omnivore	organism that obtains energy by eating both plants and animals	18
10748788033	decomposer	organism that chemically breaks down organic matter to obtain energy and nutrients	19
10748788034	detritivore	organism that feeds on bits of plant and animal remains and other particles	20
10748788035	food chain	series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten	21
10748788036	food web	network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem	22
10748788037	trophic level	each step in a food chain or food web	23
10748788038	ecological pyramid	illustration of the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a given food chain or food web	24
10748788039	biomass	total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level	25
10748788040	biogeochemical cycle	process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another	26
10748788041	limiting nutrient	single essential nutrient that limits productivity in an ecosystem	27
10748788042	phytoplankton	photosynthetic algae found near the surface of the ocean	28
10748788043	zooplankton	small free-floating animals that form part of plankton	29
10748788044	nutrient	chemical substance that an organism needs to sustain life	30
10748788045	nitrogen fixation	process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia that can be furthered converted into forms that plants can absorb and use	31
10748788046	denitrification	process by which bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas	32