The Inhabitants of Earth, and Their Relationships

Question 1

ammonification

Answer 1

the production of ammonia or ammonium compounds in the decomposition of organic matter, especially through actions of bacteria

Question 2

assimilation

Answer 2

the process in which plants absorb ammonium (NH3), ammonia ions (NH4+) and nitrate ions (NO3), through their roots

Question 3

autotroph

Answer 3

producers, can make organic compounds from inorganic compounds, use energy from sun or from oxidation of inorganic substances

Question 4

bioaccumulation

Answer 4

the accumulation of a substance, such as a toxic chemical in various tissues of organisms

Question 5

biological extinction

Answer 5

true extermination of species, none left

Question 6

biomagnification

Answer 6

the process by which concentration of toxic substances increases up the food chain

Question 7

biosphere

Answer 7

the part of earth and atmosphere where living organisms exist or capable of living

Question 8

carnivore

Answer 8

consumes other animals

Question 9

chemotroph

Answer 9

chemoautotroph, organism like bacterium or protozoan, obtains nourishment through oxidation or inorganic chemical compounds, not photosynthesis

Question 10

climax community

Answer 10

a stable, mature community in a successive series that has reaches equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment

Question 11

combustion

Answer 11

the process of burning

Question 12

commercial or economic extinction

Answer 12

a few individuals exist but the effort needed to locate and harvest them in not worth the expense

Question 13

community

Answer 13

formed from population of different species occupying the same geographic area

Question 14

competitive exclusion

Answer 14

the process that occurs when two different species in a region compete and better adapted one wins

Question 15

consumer

Answer 15

must obtain food energy from secondary sources, like eating plants

Question 16

decomposer

Answer 16

bacteria or fungi that absorb nutrients from nonliving organic matter, wastes, corpses. Convert materials into inorganic forms

Question 17

denitrification

Answer 17

the process by which specialized bacteria, mostly anaerobic, convert ammonia to NO3, NO2 and N2, and release it into the atmosphere

Question 18

detritivore

Answer 18

organisms that derive energy from consuming nonliving organic matter, such as dead animals or fallen leaves. Earthworms, fungi

Question 19

ecological extinction

Answer 19

there are so few individuals of a species that this species can no longer perform its eco function

Question 20

ecological succession

Answer 20

transition in species composition of a biological community, often following ecological disturbance of that community, the establishment of a biological community in area barren of life

Question 21

edge effect

Answer 21

at ecosystem boundaries, greater species diversity and biological density than there is in the heart of ecological communities

Question 22

energy pyramid

Answer 22

the structure obtained in we organize the amount of energy contained in producers and consumers in an ecosystem by kilocalories per square meter, from largest to smallest

Question 23

evaporation

Answer 23

to convert or change into vapor

Question 24

evolution

Answer 24

change in genetic composition of a population during successive generations as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals and resulting in the development of new species

Question 25

extinction

Answer 25

death of entire species, permeant inactivity

Question 26

food chain

Answer 26

succession of organisms in community that constitutes a continuation of food energy from one to another as each consume lower member

Question 27

food web

Answer 27

complex of interrelated food chains in an ecological community

Question 28

Gause's principle

Answer 28

states that no two species can occupy the same niche at the same time, the species less fit to liver there will relocate, die or occupy a smaller niche

Question 29

Gross Primary Productivity

Answer 29

the amount of sugar that the plants produce in photosynthesis, and subtracting from it the amount of energy that plants need for growth, maintenance, repair and reproduction

Question 30

habitat

Answer 30

the area were an organism or ecological community normally lives

Question 31

habitat fragmentation

Answer 31

when the size of natural habitat is reduced, when development occurs

Question 32

heterotroph

Answer 32

organism depends on complex organic substances for nutrition

Question 33

indigenous species

Answer 33

species that originate and live, or occur naturally, in an area or environment

Question 34

invasive species

Answer 34

an introduced, nonnative species

Question 35

keystone species

Answer 35

a species whose very presence contributes to an ecosystem's diversity and whose extinction would consequently lead to the extinction of other life

Question 36

Law of Conservation of Matter

Answer 36

matter can't be created or destroyed

Question 37

mutualism

Answer 37

a symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit

Question 38

natural selection

Answer 38

process according to Darwin's theory of evolution, only the organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic characteristics in increasing numbers to succeeding generation, while those less adapted are eliminated

Question 39

Net Primary Productivity

Answer 39

the amount of energy that plants pass on to the community of herbivores in an ecosystem

Question 40

niche

Answer 40

the total sum of a species' use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment

Question 41

nitrification

Answer 41

the process where soil bacteria convert ammonium (NH4+) to a form that can be used by plants; nitrate or NO3

Question 42

nitrogen fixation

Answer 42

the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into compounds, such as ammonia, by natural agencies or various industrial processes

Question 43

omnivores

Answer 43

organisms that consume both producers and primary consumers

Question 44

parasitism

Answer 44

a symbiotic relationship in which one member is helped and the other is harmed

Question 45

photosynthesis

Answer 45

the process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct

Question 46

pioneer species

Answer 46

organisms in the first stages of succession

Question 47

population

Answer 47

a group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area

Question 48

predation

Answer 48

when one species feeds on another

Question 49

primary consumers

Answer 49

this category includes organisms that consume producers (plants and algae)

Question 50

primary succession

Answer 50

when ecologic succession begins in a virtually lifeless area, such as behind a glacier

Question 51

producer

Answer 51

an organism that is capable of converting radiant energy or chemical energy into carbohydrates

Question 52

realized niche

Answer 52

when a species occupies a smaller inch than it would in the absence of competition

Question 53

reservoir

Answer 53

a place where a large quantity of a resource sits for a long time.

Question 54

respiration

Answer 54

the process where animals and plants breathe and give off carbon dioxide from cellular metabolism

Question 55

residency time

Answer 55

the amount of time a resource spends in a reservoir or an exchange pool

Question 56

secondary consumers

Answer 56

organisms that consume primary consumers

Question 57

species

Answer 57

organisms that are capable of breeding with one another and incapable of breeding with other species

Question 58

symbiotic relationships

Answer 58

close, prolonged association between two or more different organisms of different species that bay benefit the members

Question 59

tertiary consumers

Answer 59

organisms that consume secondary consumers or other tertiary consumers

Question 60

transpiration

Answer 60

the act of transpiring, or releasing water vapor, especially through stomata of plant tissue or the pores of skin

Question 61

trophic level

Answer 61

each of the feeding levels in a food chain