Chapter 16 Vocabulary Flashcards
Consumer**
Type of organism that obtains food by eating or absorbing other organisms.
Heribove*
Heterotroph that eats only or mainly plants.
Carnivore*
Heterotrophs that eats only or mainly animals.
Omnivore*
Heterotroph that eats a variety of foods, including both plants and animals.
Decomposer**
Type of organisms that obtains food by breaking down the remains of dead organims or other organic wastes.
Detritivore
Type of decomposed that obtains energy and matter by breaking down dead leaves and other organic debris that collects on the ground or at the bottom of a body of water.
Food Chain**
Diagram that represents a single pathway by which energy flows through an ecosystem.
Food Web**
Diagram that represents several intersection pathways by which energy flows through an ecosystem.
Photoautotroph
type of producer that uses light energy to produce organic compounds by the process of photosynthesis.
Producer**
Type of organism that uses light or chemical energy to produce organic compounds for itself and other living things.
Saprotroph
Type of decomposer that feeds on any remaining organic matter that is left after other de composers do their work.
Scavenger
Type of decomposer that consumes the soft tissues of dead animals.
Tropic Level*
Feeding position in a food chain or food level.
Biogeochemical Cycle*
Cycle in which a chemical element or water is passed back and forth through biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems.
Carbon Cycle**
A biogeochemical cycle where carbon is passed back and forth between sedimentary rocks, fossil fuels, the atmosphere, the ocean, and organisms.
Condensation*
A process where gas changes from the gaseous to liquid state (Ex: water vapor).
Evaporation*
A process where a liquid changes from a liquid to a gaseous state (Ex: water)
Groundwater
Water that soaks into the ground and is stored in the underground rocks.
Nitrogen cycle**
A biogeochemical cycle where nitrogen passes back and forth between the atmosphere and organims (Ex: specialized bacteria in soil).
Precipitation*
A process where moisture so falls from the clouds to the ground (Ex: rain, snow, sleet, hail, freezing rain).
Runoff
Water that flows over the land from precipitation or melting snow or ice.
Sublimation
A process where snow or ice changes directly to water vapor without changing into a liquid first.
Water Cycle*
Biogeochemical cycle where water passes back and forth between the ocean, ground, atmosphere, and organisms.
Climax Community
The final, stable community resulting from ecological succession, is theoretically possible though unlikely in most real-world ecosystems.
Ecological Succession**
Change in the numbers and types of species in an ecosystem over time.
Pioneer Species*
The first species that colonize an ecoysteme’s after it has been disturbed.
Primary Succession*
Type of ecological succession that occurs in an area that has never been colonized by living things and lacks soil.
Secondary Succession*
Type of ecological succession that occurs in a formerly inhabited area that was disturbed but already has soil.
