Module 6 Vocab Flashcards
Biosphere
The region of our planet where life resides, the combination of all ecosystems on Earth.
Producer
An organism that uses the energy of the
Sun to produce usable forms of energy (Autotroph).
Photosynthesis
The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.
Cellular respiration
The process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds.
Aerobic respiration
The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water.
Anaerobic respiration
The process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen.
Consumer
An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms (Heterotroph).
Herbivore
A consumer that eats producers (Primary consumer).
Carnivore
A consumer that eats other consumers.
Secondary consumer
A carnivore that eats secondary consumers.
Tertiary consumer
A carnivore that eats secondary consumers.
Trophic levels
The successive levels of organisms consuming one another.
Food chain
The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers.
Food web
A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels.
Scavenger
An organism that consumes dead animals.
Detritivore
An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles.
Decomposers
Fungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystem.
Gross primary productivity (GPP)
The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time.
Net primary productivity (NPP)
The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire.
Biomass
The total mass of all living matter in a specific area.
Standing crop
The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time.
Ecological efficiency
The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another.
Trophic pyramid
A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels.
