APES Chapter 3 Flashcards

10836275267	Biosphere	The region of our planet where life resides, the combination of all ecosystems on Earth.	0
10836275268	Producer	An organism that uses the energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy. Also known as an autotroph.	1
10836275269	Photosynthesis	The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.	2
10836275270	Cellular respiration	The process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds.	3
10836275271	Aerobic respiration	The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water.	4
10836275272	Anaerobic respiration	The process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen.	5
10836275273	Consumer	An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms. Also known as a heterotroph.	6
10836275274	Herbivore	A consumer that eats producers. Also known as a primary consumer.	7
10836275275	Carnivore	A consumer that eats other consumers.	8
10836275276	Secondary consumer	A carnivore that eats primary consumers.	9
10836275277	Tertiary consumer	A carnivore that eats secondary consumers.	10
10836275278	Trophic levels	The successive levels of organisms consuming one another.	11
10836275279	Food chain	The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers.	12
10836275280	Food web	A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels.	13
10836275281	Scavenger	An organism that consumes dead animals.	14
10836275282	Detritivore	An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles.	15
10836275283	Decomposers	Fungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystems.	16
10836275284	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
10836275285	Net primary productivity (NPP)	The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire.	18
10836275286	Biomass	The total mass of all living matter in a specific area.	19
10836275287	Standing crop	The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time.	20
10836275288	Ecological efficiency	The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another.	21
10836275289	Trophic pyramid	A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels.	22
10836275290	Biogeochemical cycle	The movement of matter within and between ecosystems.	23
10836275291	Hydrologic cycle	The movement of water through the biosphere.	24
10836275292	Transpiration	The release of water from leaves during photosynthesis.	25
10836275293	Evapotranspiration	The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration.	26
10836275294	Runoff	Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers.	27
10836275295	Carbon cycle	The movement of carbon around the biosphere.	28
10836275296	Macronutrient	One of six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.	29
10836275297	Limiting nutrient	A nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients.	30
10836275298	Nitrogen cycle	The movement of nitrogen around the biosphere.	31
10836275299	Nitrogen fixation	A process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia.	32
10836275300	Nitrification	The conversion of ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate.	33
10836275301	Assimilation	The process by which producers incorporate elements into their tissues.	34
10836275302	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
10836275303	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
10836275304	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
10836275305	Leaching	The transformation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater.	38
10836275306	Phosphorus cycle	The movement of phosphorus around the biosphere.	39
10836275307	Algal boom	A rapid increase in the algal production of a waterway.	40
10836275308	Hypoxic	Low in oxygen.	41
10836275309	Sulfur cycle	The movement of sulfur around the biosphere.	42
10836275310	Ecological Disturbance	An event, caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents, resulting in changes in population size or community composition.	43
10836275311	Watershed	All land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland.	44
10836275312	Resistance	A measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem.	45
10836275313	Resilience	The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance.	46
10836275314	Restoration ecology	The study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems	47
10836275315	Intermediate disturbance hypothesis	The hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels.	48
10836275316	omnivore	a person who eats both plants and animals	49
10836275317	percolation	the slow movement of water through the pores in soil or permeable rock.	50
10836275318	infiltration	the seepage of water into soil or rock.	51
10836275319	this cycle has no atmospheric component.	phosphorous	52
10836275320	primary consumer	A consumer that eats producers. Also know as a herbivore.	53
10836275321	Eutrophication	A process in which nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus lead to algal blooms and hypoxic conditions.	54