chapter 5 Flashcards
photosynthesis
the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water.
producer
a person, company, or country that makes, grows, or supplies goods or commodities for sale.
consumer
a person who purchases goods and services for personal use.
decomposer
an organism, especially a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that decomposes organic material.
cellular respiration
a set of metabolic reactions and processes that take place in the cells of organisms to convert chemical energy from oxygen molecules or nutrients into adenosine triphosphate, and then release waste products.
food chain
a hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food.
food web
a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.
trophic level
an organism is the position it occupies in a food web
carbon cycle
the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth.
nitrogen-fixing bacteria
a process by which molecular nitrogen in the air is converted into ammonia or related nitrogenous compounds in soil.
nitrogen cycle
the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmosphere, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems.
phosphorus
he biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
ecological succession
the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time.
primary succession
one of two types of biological and ecological succession of plant life,
secondary succession
one of the two types ecological succession of a plants life.
