| A | B |
|---|
| producers | autotrophs that capture energy and use it to make their own organic molecules |
| chemosynthesis | they produce carbohydrates by using energy from inorganic molecules |
| biomass | the organic material in an ecosystem |
| gross primary productivity | the rate at which producers in an ecosystem capture energy |
| net primary productivity | the rate at which biomass accumulates |
| consumers | heterotrophs obtain energy by consuming organic molecules made by other organisms |
| herbivores | they eat producers i. e. an antelope that eats grass |
| omnivores | eat both producers and consumers |
| carnivores | eat other consumers |
| detritvores | comsumers that feed on the garbage of an ecosystem such as organisms that have recently died, fallen leaves and branches, and animal waste |
| decomposers | cause decay by breaking down the complex molecules in dead tissue and wastes into simpler molecules |
| trophic level | indicates the organism's position in the sequence of energy transfers |
| food chain | a single pathway of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem that results in energy transfer |
| food web | the interrelated food chains in an ecosystem |
| biogeochemical cycle | moving from the abiotic portion of the environment into living things and back again |
| ground water | water in the soil or in underground formations of porous rock |
| water cycle | the movement of water between these various reservoirs |
| transpiration | plants take water through their roots and they release water and take in carbon dioxide through the stomata in their leaves |
| carbon cycle | photosynthesis and cellular respiration form the basis, during photosynthesis plants and other autotrophs use carbon dioxide, along with water solar energy to make carbohydrates. both autotrophs and heterotrophs use oxygen to break down carbohydrates during cellular respiration. the byproducts of cellular respiration are carbon dioxide and water. decomposers release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when they break down organic compounds |
| nitrogen cycle | the complex pathway that nitrogen follows within an ecosystem |
| nitrogen fixation | the process of converting nitrogen gas to ammonia |
| nitrogen fixing bacteria | convert nitrogen gas into usable form |
| ammonification | decomposers break down the corpses an wastes of organisms and release the nitrogen they contain as ammonia |
| nitrification | bacteria in the soil take up ammonia and oxidize it into nitrites, nitrates |
| denitrification | when nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere |
| biomes | very large terrestrial ecosystems that contain a number of smaller but related ecosystems within them |
| tundra | cold and largely treeless biome that forms a continuous belt across North America, Europe, and Asia |
| permafrost | a permanently frozen layer of soil under the surface |
| taiga | south of the tundra, a forested biome dominated by cone-bearing evergreen trees, such as pines, firs, hemlock. and spruce |
| temperate deciduous forests | characterized by trees that lose all of their leaves in the fall |
| temperate grasslands | dominated by grasslands usually form the interior of continents at about the same latitude as temperate deciduous forests |
| deserts | areas that receive an average of less than 25 cm of rainfall per year |
| savannas | tropical or subtropical grasslands with scattered trees and shrubs |
| tropical rain forests | characterized by tall trees, found near the equator in Asia, Africa, South America, and Central America, stable year round growing season, and abundant rainfull |
| canopy | treetops from a continuous layer that shades the forest floor |
| epiphytes | small plants which would not get enough light on the forest floor often live on the branches of tall trees |
| photic zone | the part of the ocean that receives sunlight |
| aphotic zone | the rest of the ocean that is not penetrate by the sun and thus is cold and dark |
| intertidal zone | the tides produce a rhythmic rise and fall ofthe water level in a certain area |
| neritic zone | farther out from the intertidal zone, which extends over the continental shelf |
| oceanic zone | beyond the continental shelf where there is deep water and open sea |
| pelagic zone | the open ocean |
| benthic zone | the ocean bottom |
| plankton | communities of small organisms that drift with the ocean currents |
| estuary | occurs where freshwater rivers and streams flow into the sea |
| eutrophic lakes | rich in organic matter and vegetation making the waters relatively murky |
| oligotrophic lakes | contain little organic matter and are much clearer, the bottom is usually sandly or rocky |
