Ch. 5 Key Terms Flashcards
photosynthesis
process through which plants use water and carbon dioxide to create their food, grow and release excess oxygen into the air.
producer
any kind of green plant make there own food
consumer
An organism that generally obtains food by feeding on other organisms
decomposer
organism that breaks down dead organic material
cellular respiration
the process by which organisms combine oxygen with foodstuff molecules, diverting the chemical energy in these substances into life-sustaining activities and discarding, as waste
food chain
the sequence of transfers of matter and energy in the form of food from organism to organism.
food web
the natural interconnection of food chains and a graphical representation of what-eats-what in an ecological community.
trophic level
the position that an organism occupies in a food chain - what it eats, and what eats it.
carbon cycle
the process in which carbon atoms continually travel from the atmosphere to the Earth and then back into the atmosphere.
nitrogen-fixing bacteria
supply plants with the vital nutrient that they cannot obtain from the air themselves.
nitrogen cycle
a repeating cycle of processes during which nitrogen moves through both living and non-living things: the atmosphere, soil, water, plants, animals and bacteria.
phosphorus cycle
the biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
ecological succession
the process that describes how the structure of a biological community
primary succession
in which plants and animals first colonize a barren, lifeless habitat.
secondary succession
oak and hickory forests cleared by wildfire.
