chpt 29 - Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycling in Ecosystems

Flashcards focusing on key vocabulary terms related to energy flow and nutrient cycling in ecosystems.

Ecosystem

A community of living organisms and their nonliving environment interacting as a system.

Producer

Organisms that make their own food through photosynthesis (autotrophs).

Consumer

Organisms that obtain energy by consuming other organisms (heterotrophs).

Trophic Level

The position an organism occupies in a food chain, based on feeding relationships.

Net Primary Production

The energy stored in producers, expressed as biomass dry weight.

Biogeochemical Cycles

Pathways by which nutrients move through ecosystems from the nonliving environment to living organisms and back.

Nitrogen Fixation

The process by which bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen gas into ammonia, usable by plants.

Eutrophication

Excess nutrients in water bodies leading to algal overgrowth, oxygen depletion, and harm to aquatic life.

Detritivore

Organisms (e.g., worms) that consume detritus (decomposing organic matter) to recycle nutrients.

Decomposer

Microorganisms (e.g., fungi, bacteria) that break down dead organic material, returning nutrients to the environment.