chapter 5 Flashcards
photosynthesis
which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar.
producer
any kind of green plant
consumer
An organism that generally obtains food by feeding on other organisms
decomposer
organism that breaks down dead organic material
cellular respiration
the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between living organisms and the environment.
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
a nutritive series, or food chain,
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
to 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:
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
secondary succession
when the severity of disturbance is insufficient to remove all the existing vegetation and soil from a site.
primary succession
in which plants and animals first colonize a barren, lifeless habitat.
