APES Friedland Chapter 3 Flashcards

10799168405	Biosphere	The region of our planet where life resides, the combination of all ecosystems on Earth.	0
10799168406	Producer	An organism that uses the energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy. Also known as an autotroph.	1
10799168407	Photosynthesis	The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.	2
10799168408	Cellular respiration	The process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds.	3
10799168409	Aerobic respiration	The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water.	4
10799168410	Anaerobic respiration	The process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen.	5
10799168411	Consumer	An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms. Also known as a heterotroph.	6
10799168412	Herbivore	A consumer that eats producers. Also known as a primary consumer.	7
10799168413	Carnivore	A consumer that eats other consumers.	8
10799168414	Secondary consumer	A carnivore that eats primary consumers.	9
10799168415	Tertiary consumer	A carnivore that eats secondary consumers.	10
10799168416	Trophic levels	The successive levels of organisms consuming one another.	11
10799168417	Food chain	The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers.	12
10799168418	Food web	A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels.	13
10799168419	Scavenger	An organism that consumes dead animals.	14
10799168420	Detritivore	An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles.	15
10799168421	Decomposers	Fungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystems.	16
10799168422	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
10799168423	Net primary productivity (NPP)	The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire.	18
10799168424	Biomass	The total mass of all living matter in a specific area.	19
10799168425	Standing crop	The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time.	20
10799168426	Ecological efficiency	The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another.	21
10799168427	Trophic pyramid	A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels.	22
10799168428	Biogeochemical cycle	The movement of matter within and between ecosystems.	23
10799168429	Hydrologic cycle	The movement of water through the biosphere.	24
10799168430	Transpiration	The release of water from leaves during photosynthesis.	25
10799168431	Evapotranspiration	The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration.	26
10799168432	Runoff	Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers.	27
10799168433	Carbon cycle	The movement of carbon around the biosphere.	28
10799168434	Macronutrient	One of six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.	29
10799168435	Limiting nutrient	A nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients.	30
10799168436	Nitrogen cycle	The movement of nitrogen around the biosphere.	31
10799168437	Nitrogen fixation	A process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia.	32
10799168438	Nitrification	The conversion of ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate.	33
10799168439	Assimilation	The process by which producers incorporate elements into their tissues.	34
10799168440	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
10799168441	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
10799168442	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
10799168443	Leaching	The transformation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater.	38
10799168444	Phosphorus cycle	The movement of phosphorus around the biosphere.	39
10799168445	Algal boom	A rapid increase in the algal production of a waterway.	40
10799168446	Hypoxic	Low in oxygen.	41
10799168447	Sulfur cycle	The movement of sulfur around the biosphere.	42
10799168448	Ecological Disturbance	An event, caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents, resulting in changes in population size or community composition.	43
10799168449	Watershed	All land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland.	44
10799168450	Resistance	A measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem.	45
10799168451	Resilience	The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance.	46
10799168452	Restoration ecology	The study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems	47
10799168453	Intermediate disturbance hypothesis	The hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels.	48
10799168454	omnivore	a person who eats both plants and animals	49
10799168455	percolation	the slow movement of water through the pores in soil or permeable rock.	50
10799168456	infiltration	the seepage of water into soil or rock.	51
10799168457	this cycle has no atmospheric component.	phosphorous	52
10799168458	primary consumer	A consumer that eats producers. Also know as a herbivore.	53
10799168459	Eutrophication	A process in which nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus lead to algal blooms and hypoxic conditions.	54