Chapter 3

Question 1

Ecosystem

Answer 1

a particular location on Earth distinguished by its particular mix of interacting biotic and abiotic components

Question 2

Producers / Autrophs

Answer 2

Plants, algae, and other organisms that use the Sun’s energy to produce usable forms of energy

Question 3

Photosynthesis

Answer 3

producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) into glucose (C6H12O6), a form of potential energy that can be used by a wide range of organisms

Question 4

Cellular Respiration

Answer 4

a process that unlocks the chemical energy stored in the cells of organisms

Question 5

Consumers / Heterotrophs

Answer 5

make their own food and are incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain their energy by consuming other organisms

Question 6

Primary Consumers / Herbivores

Answer 6

heterotrophs that consume producers

Question 7

Secondary Consumers

Answer 7

carnivores that eat primary consumers

Question 8

Tertiary Consumers

Answer 8

carnivores that eat secondary consumers

Question 9

Trophic Levels

Answer 9

successive levels of organisms consuming one another

Question 10

Food Chain

Answer 10

the sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers

Question 11

Food Web

Answer 11

take into account the complexity of nature, and they illustrate one of the most important concepts of ecology - that all species in an ecosystem are connected to one another

Question 12

Scavengers

Answer 12

carnivores that consume dead animals

Question 13

Detritivores

Answer 13

organisms that specialize in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles

Question 14

Decomposers

Answer 14

the fungi and bacteria that complete the breakdown process by recycling the nutrients from dead tissues and waste back into the ecosystem

Question 15

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

Answer 15

the total amount of solar energy that the producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time

Question 16

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

Answer 16

the energy captured minus the energy respired by producers

Question 17

Biomass

Answer 17

the total mass of all living matter in a specific area

Question 18

Standing Crop

Answer 18

the amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time

Question 19

Ecological Efficiency

Answer 19

the proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another

Question 20

Trophic Pyramid

Answer 20

represents the distribution of biomass among trophic levels

Question 21

Biosphere

Answer 21

the region of our planet where life resides

Question 22

Biogeochemical Cycles

Answer 22

the movements of matter within and between ecosystems involve biological, geological, and chemical processes

Question 23

Hydrologic Cycle

Answer 23

the movement of water through the biosphere

Question 24

Transpiration

Answer 24

plants release water from their leaves into the atmosphere

Question 25

Evapotranspiration

Answer 25

the combined amount of evaporation and transpiration that is often used by scientists as a measure of the water moving through an ecosystem

Question 26

Runoff

Answer 26

water moving across the land surface and into streams and rivers, eventually reaching the ocean

Question 27

Macronutrients

Answer 27

six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts

Nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur

Question 28

Limiting Nutrient

Answer 28

the nutrient in short supply in relation to others

Question 29

Nitrogen Fixation

Answer 29

converting N2 gas directly into ammonia (NH3)

the first step in the nitrogen cycle

Question 30

Leaching

Answer 30

when nitrate is readily transported through the soil with water

Question 31

Disturbance

Answer 31

an event caused by physical, chemical, or biological agents that results in changes in population size or community composition

Question 32

Watershed

Answer 32

all of the land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland

Question 33

Resistance

Answer 33

a measure of how much a disturbance can affect the flows of energy and matter

Question 34

Resilience

Answer 34

the rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance

Question 35

Restoration Ecology

Answer 35

growing interest in restoring damaged ecosystems has led to the creation of a new scientific discipline

Question 36

Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis

Answer 36

states that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels

Question 37

Instrumental Value

Answer 37

meaning that a species has worth of an instrument or tool that can be use to accomplish a goal

Question 38

Intrinsic Value

Answer 38

meaning that a species has worth independent of any benefit it may provide to humans

Question 39

Provisions

Answer 39

goods that humans can use directly