Unit 1 Flashcards
10% Rule
Most of the energy that is passed up the food chain is lost as heat according to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. Only about 10% of useful energy is passed up to the next trophic level.
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
Energy cannot be changed from one form to another without a loss of usable energy
Abiotic
nonliving
Ammonia
a small, very toxic molecule (NH3) produced by nitrogen fixation or as a metabolic waste product of protein and nucleic acid metabolism
Biogeochemical cycle
process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another
Biome
a group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms
Biotic
living things
Carbon sink
absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the ocean, soil and forests are the largest of these.
Cellular Respiration
process that releases energy by breaking down glucose and other food molecules in the presence of oxygen
Commensalism
a relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected
Community
all the different populations that live together in an area
Competition
the struggle between organisms to survive in a habitat with limited resources
Decomposition
The breaking down of organisms into nutrients and simple chemical products
The breaking down of organisms into nutrients and simple chemical products
Ecology
scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment
Ecosystem
a community of organisms and their abiotic environment
First Law of Thermodynamics
Energy can not be created or destroyed, only transformed.
Food chain
a series of steps in an ecosystem that shows the flow of energy from the sun to organisms that produce food energy to consumers
Food web
a network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem
Gross Primary Productivity
the total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time
Groundwater
water that is beneath the Earth’s surface and flows through bodies of rock known as aquifers
Hydrologic cycle
The cycle through which water in the hydrosphere moves; includes such processes as evaporation, precipitation and surface and groundwater runoff
Mutualism
a relationship between two species in which both species benefit
Negative feedback loop
causes a system to change in the opposite direction from which it is moving
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire
Nitrogen Fixation
process of converting nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds that plants can absorb and use
Nutrient
chemical substance that an organism needs to sustain life
Parasitism
A relationship in which one organism lives on or in a host and harms it.
Photosynthesis
process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbohydrates such as sugars and starches
Population
group of individual species living in a particular area
Positive feedback loop
causes a system to change further in the same direction
Primary Productivity
rate at which producers capture and store chemical energy as biomass in a given amount of time
Producer
creates complex and simple compounds through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis
Reservoir
a storage location or source of specific chemical (Carbon, Phosphorus, Nitrogen or Water)
Resource partitioning
the division of environmental resources by coexisting species such that the niche of each species differs by one or more significant factors from the niches of all coexisting species
Salinity
a measure of the amount of dissolved salts in a given amount of liquid
Symbiosis
a relationship in which two different organisms live in close association with each other
System
A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements or parts that function together as a whole to accomplish a goal.
Trophic Level
a position occupied in the food chain
Turbidity
the cloudiness of water
