Chapter 3 Vocabulary

Question 1

producer

Answer 1

an organism that uses energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy (aka autotroph)

Question 2

autotroph

Answer 2

an organism that uses energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy (aka producer)

Question 3

photosynthesis

Answer 3

process by which producers use solar energy to convert CO2 and H2O into glucose

Question 4

cellular respiration

Answer 4

process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds

Question 5

aerobic respiration

Answer 5

process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, CO2, and H2O

Question 6

anaerobic respiration

Answer 6

process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen

Question 7

consumer

Answer 7

organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms (aka heterotroph)

Question 8

heterotroph

Answer 8

organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms (aka consumer)

Question 9

herbivore

Answer 9

a consumer that eats producers (aka primary consumer)

Question 10

primary consumer

Answer 10

a consumer that eats producers (aka herbivore)

Question 11

carnivore

Answer 11

consumer that eats other consumers (aka secondary consumer)

Question 12

secondary consumer

Answer 12

consumer that eats other consumers (aka carnivore)

Question 13

tertiary consumer

Answer 13

carnivore that eats secondary consumers

Question 14

trophic levels

Answer 14

successive levels of organisms consuming one another

Question 15

food chain

Answer 15

the sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers

Question 16

food web

Answer 16

a complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels

Question 17

scavenger

Answer 17

organism that consumes dead animals

Question 18

detritivore

Answer 18

organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles

Question 19

decomposers

Answer 19

fungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystem

Question 20

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

Answer 21

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire

Question 22

biomass

Answer 22

total mass of all living matter in a specific area

Question 23

standing crop

Answer 23

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

Question 24

ecological efficiency

Answer 24

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

Question 25

trophic pyramid

Answer 25

representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels

Question 26

biogeochemical cycle

Answer 26

the movements of matter within and between ecosystems

Question 27

hydrologic cycle

Answer 27

the movement of water through the biosphere

Question 28

transpiration

Answer 28

the release of water from leaves during photosynthesis

Question 29

evapotranspiration

Answer 29

the combined amount of evaporation and transpiration

Question 30

runoff

Answer 30

water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers

Question 31

carbon cycle

Answer 31

the movement of carbon around the biosphere

Question 32

macronutrient

Answer 32

One of six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, potassium (K), CAlcium, MaGnesium, and Sulfur.

Question 33

limiting nutrient

Answer 33

One of six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur

Question 34

nitrogen cycle

Answer 34

the movement of nitrogen around the biosphere

Question 35

nitrogen fixation

Answer 35

The process that converts nitrogen gas in the atmosphere (N2) into forms of nitrogen that producers can use

Question 36

nitrification

Answer 36

the conversion of ammonia (NH4+) into nitrite (NO2-) and then into nitrate (NO3-)

Question 37

assimilation

Answer 37

process by which producers incorporate elements into their tissues

Question 38

mineralization

Answer 38

The process by which fungal and bacterial decomposers break down the organic matter found in dead bodies and waste products and convert it into inorganic compounds

Question 39

ammonification

Answer 39

The process by which fungal and bacterial decomposers break down the organic nitrogen found in dead bodies and waste products and convert it into inorganic ammonium (NH4+)

Question 40

denitrification

Answer 40

The conversion of nitrate (NO3-) in a series of steps into the gases nitrous oxide (N2O) and, eventually, nitrogen gas (N2) which is emitted into the atmosphere.

Question 41

leaching

Answer 41

the transportation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater

Question 42

phosphorous cycle

Answer 42

the movement of phosphorus around the biosphere

Question 43

algal bloom

Answer 43

a rapid increase in the algal population of a waterway

Question 44

hypoxic

Answer 44

low in oxygen

Question 45

dead zone

Answer 45

when oxygen concentration become so low that it kills fish and other aquatic animals

Question 46

sulfur cycle

Answer 46

the movement of sulfur around the biosphere

Question 47

disturbance

Answer 47

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

Question 48

resistance

Answer 48

a measure of how much disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem

Question 49

resilience

Answer 49

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

Question 50

restoration ecology

Answer 50

the study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems

Question 51

watershed

Answer 51

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

Question 52

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

Answer 52

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