Chapter 55- Ecosystems and Restoration Ecology Flashcards
auto
self
troph
food, nourishment
autotroph: an organism that obtains organic food molecules without eating other organisms
bio
life
geo
Earth
biogeochemical cycles: the various nutrient circuits that involve both biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems
de
from, down, out
denitrification: the process of converting nitrate back to nitrogen
detrit
wear off
vora
eat
detritivore: a consumer that derives it energy from nonliving organic material
hetero
other, different
(heterotroph: an organism that obtains organic food molecules by eating other organisms or their by products
bioremediation
The use of organisms to detoxify and restore polluted and degraded ecosystems
decomposer
An organism that absorbs nutrients from nonliving organic material such as corpses, fallen plant material, and the wastes of living organisms and converts them to inorganic forms; a detritivore
ecosystem
All the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factor with which they interact; one or more communities and the physical environment around them
eutrophication
A process by nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, become highly concentrated in a body of water leading to increased growth of organisms such as algae or cyanobacteria
gross primary production (GPP)
The total primary production of an ecosystem
law of conservation of mass
A physical law stating that matter can change form but cant be created or destroyed. In a closed system, the mass of the system is constant
limit nutrient
An element that must be added for production to increase in a particular area
net ecosystem production (NEP)
The gross primary production of an ecosystem minus the energy used by all autotrophs and heterotrophs for respiration
net primary production (NPP)
The gross primary production of an ecosystem minus the energy used by the producers for respiration
primary consumer
An herbivore; an organism that eat plants or other autotrophs
primary producer
An autotroph, usually a photosyntheitic organisms. Collectiely, autotrophs make up the trophic level of an ecosystem that ultimately supports all other levels
primary production
The amount of light energy converted to chemical energy (organic compounds) by the autotrophs in an ecosystem during a given time period
production efficiency
The percentage of energy store in assimilated food that is not used for respiration or eliminated as waste
secondary consumer
A carnivore that eats herbivores
secondary production
The amount of chemical energy in consumers’ food that is converted to their own new biomass during a given time period
tertiary consumer
A carnivore that eats other carnivores
trophic efficiency
The percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next
turnover time
The time required to replace the standing crop of a population or group of populations (for example, of phytoplankton), calculated as the ratio of standing crop to production
