Ecosystem Ecology: Carbon Cycle & Food Webs

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to ecosystem ecology, focusing on the carbon cycle and food webs.

Ecosystem Ecology

The study of processes that link physical and biological components on Earth and how they influence each other.

Keystone Species

A rare species with outsized influence on its ecosystem, maintaining competitive balance.

Richness

The number of different species present in a community.

Evenness

How equally abundant different species are within a community.

Short-term Carbon Cycle

Involves fast biological processes like photosynthesis and respiration cycling carbon over days to decades.

Long-term Carbon Cycle

Involves slower geological processes cycling carbon over thousands to millions of years.

Food Web

A network of feeding interactions among different species in an ecosystem that transfer carbon and energy.

Biomagnification

The increase in contaminant concentrations at higher levels in a food web due to persistence of substances that are not easily metabolized.

Photosynthesis

The process by which autotrophs convert CO2 and sunlight into carbohydrates and oxygen.

Respiration

The process of breaking down carbohydrates to release energy, CO2, and water.