Nutrient Cycles Flashcards
1
Q
What is a saprobionts?
A
Organisms that secrete digestive enzymes onto the dead remains of other organisms
Digest biological molecules
Then absorb products of digestion
2
Q
What is decomposition?
A
The process in which the biological molecules in dead material and waste products are digested
3
Q
What does decomposition produce?
A
Carbon dioxide, water and inorganic ions
4
Q
What is a nutrient cycle?
A
How a chemical element moves from the abiotic environment into living organisms and then back into the abiotic environment
5
Q
What is ammonification?
A
The decomposition of amino acids in proteins, releasing ammonia as a product
6
Q
What is nitrification?
A
The 2 step oxidation of ammonium ions firstly to nitrate ions and then to nitrate ions
