| A | B |
|---|
| ecosystem | plants and animals that interact with each other and their environment to survive |
| ecology | the study of ecosystems |
| photosynthesis | plants use sunlight to create energy and produce their own food |
| producers | plants make food for themselves and other organisms |
| consumers | eat plants and other consumers |
| food chain | the path of energy and nutrients through a community |
| pollution | addition of harmful substances to the environment |
| point source pollution | comes from a specific point, such as pipes, smoke stacks, etc. |
| nonpoint source pollution | comes from many different places, such as road salt, manure in fields, and pet wastes |
| watershed | all of the land area which drains to a particular body of water |
| water resources | ponds, lakes, streams, wetlands, etc. |
| stormwater runoff | rain water washes over land, picking up nonpoint source pollution and carries it to streams and rivers |
| hydrologic cycle | the water cycle--process by which water in our environment is constantly recycled and purified...evaporation, condensation, transpiration, precipitation |
| macroinvertebrate | an organism that doesn't have a backbone and can been seen without a microscope |
| riffle | shallow part of stream that flows more rapidly over rocks or large stones |
| riparian buffer | plants along the side of a stream or other body of water; they help keep soil and pollution from washing into the water |
| flood plain | pieces of land next to a stream or other body of water where the extra water goes during heavy rain storms |
| erosion | soil is taken from the surface of the ground by glaciers, water, or wind |
| sediment | surface of the ground; it is a pollutant when it makes its way to a body of water |
| turbidity | measure of suspended sediment and algae in rivers, streams, and lakes; cloudy or muddy |
| water filtration | method of cleaning the water |
| energy pyramid | diagram that compares the amount of energy available at each level of the feeding order in a community |
| carbon-dioxide oxygen cycle | circular pathway in which carbon dioxide and oxygen move through the environment |
| nitrogen cycle | circular pathway in which nitrogen moves through the environment |
| conservation | careful use of resources so they will last longer |
| pollutant | harmful substance in the environment |
| scrubber | device attached to a smokestack to remove sulfur dioxide |
| recycle | to reuse a resource |
| acid rain | rain that has acid in it |
| alternative energy source | an energy source other than a fossil fuel |
| renewable resource | resource that can be replaced within a reasonably short time |
| nonrenewable resource | resource that cannot be replaced in a reasonable time period |
