law of tolerance
Existence, abundance, and distribution of a species in an ecosystem are determined by whether the levels of one or more physical or chemical factors fall within the range tolerated by the species. See threshold effect.
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Chapter 4 - Ecosystems: Components, Energy Flow, and Matter Cycling
invertebrates
Animals that have no backbones. Compare vertebrates.
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infiltration
Downward movement of water through soil.
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hydrosphere
The earth's (1) liquid water (oceans, lakes, other bodies of surface water, and underground water), (2) frozen water (polar ice caps, floating ice caps, and ice in soil, known as permafrost), and (3) small amounts of water vapor in the atmosphere. See also hydrologic cycle.
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heterotroph
See consumer.
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herbivore
Plant-eating organism. Examples are deer, sheep, grasshoppers, and zooplankton. Compare carnivore, omnivore.
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habitat
Place or type of place where an organism or population of organisms lives. Compare ecological niche.
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gross primary productivity (GPP)
The rate at which an ecosystem's producers capture and store a given amount of chemical energy as biomass in a given length of time. Compare net primary productivity.
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global warming
Warming of the earth's atmosphere because of increases in the concentrations of one or more greenhouse gases primarily as a result of human activities. See greenhouse effect, greenhouse gases.
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genetic diversity
Variability in the genetic makeup among individuals within a single species. See biodiversity. Compare ecological diversity, functional diversity, species diversity.
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