Chapter 22 - Biomes and Ecosystems Flashcards
Producer
an organism that makes is own food
Consumer
organisms that get energy from eating other organisms
Decomposer
Organisms that break down wastes and dead organisms, returning the raw materials to the ecosystem
Food chain
A series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy
Food web
A diagram that is made of many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
Energy pyramid
A diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web
Evaporation
The process by which molecules of liquid water absorb energy and change to a gas
Condensation
The process by which a gas changes to a liquid
Precipitation
Rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls back to Earth
Nitrogen fixation
The process of combining nitrogen with other elements in order to make it usable
Biome
A group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms
Contiental drift
As tectonic plates found underneath the continents move the continents have been moving slowly further and further apart
Climate
The typical weather pattern in an area over a long period of time
Dispersal
The movement of organisms from one place to another
Permafrost
a thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year
how does energy enter an ecosystem?
sunlight
what is the process of the water?
evaporation, condensation, precipitation
what is the carbon cycle?
producers take in a gas called carbon dioxide which is made of carbon and oxygen, decomposers break down dead producers, returning it to the soil
what is the oxygen cycle?
producers give off oxygen, consumers breathe in the oxygen which they use in their day to day lives
Nitrogen cycle
nitrogen moves from the air to the soil,into living things, and back into the air and soil
what is the human impact on the nitrogen cycle
when humans burn coal they add more carbon into the ecosystem
list six biomes
desert, grassland, tundra, rain forest, deciduous forest, coniferous forest
what are the differences between the two rain forests
tropical rain forest - warm and humid with lots of rainfall
temperate rain forest - only found in north america, is cooler in temp
what are the layers of the tropical rain forest (highest to lowest)
emergent layer, canopy, understory, forest floor
what is a savanna
a grassland that is closer to the equator with scattered shrubs and small trees
what is the term taiga mean
another word for boreal forest
what is the difference between deciduous trees and coniferous
deciduous - trees that shed their leaves and grow new ones each ear
coniferous - needle trees, waxy needles, stay forever
what is a continental drift
as tectonic plates found underneath the earth move, the plates shift
different ways that water, wind, living things, and abiotic factors effect dispersal
water and wind can help help move small organisms
