Biology Unit 9 - Ecology

Ecology flashcards

Producers

photosynthetic organisms

Secondary consumers

usually carnivores that eat the primary consumers {Ex: Fox eating a rabbit}

Tertiary consumers

carnivores that eat other carnivores. {Ex: Owls eating snakes}

Apex consumers

Organisms at the top of the food chain

Grazing food web

has plants or other photosynthetic organisms at its base, followed by herbivores and various carnivores

Detrital food web

a base of organisms that feed on decaying organic matter, including decomposers and detritivores

Gross primary productivity

The rate at which photosynthetic producers incorporate energy from the Sun

Net primary productivity

the energy that remains in the producers after accounting for these organisms’ respiration and heat loss.

Biomagnification

the increasing concentration of persistent, toxic substances in organisms at each successive trophic level.

Biogeochemical cycle

the recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their nonliving environment

hydrosphere

the area of Earth where water movement and storage occurs {lakes, rivers, oceans}

Subduction

Carbon sediments from the ocean floor are taken deep within Earth / the movement of one tectonic plate beneath another.

Dead zone

an area in lakes and oceans near the mouths of rivers where large areas are periodically depleted of their normal flora and fauna

Fallout

Sulfer falling directly from the atmosphere

Biome

Large scale community of organisms, primarily defined on land by the dominant plant types that exist in geographic regions of the planet with similar climatic conditions.

Resistance

The ability of an ecosystem to remain at equilibrium in spite of disturbances

Resilience

The speed at which an ecosystem recovers equilibrium after being disturbed

Trophic level

Energy level / its position in the food chain or food web.

Primary consumers

The organisms that consume the producers are herbivores {Ex: Grasshopper eating grass}

Carbon cycle

nature's way of reusing carbon atoms, which travel from the atmosphere into organisms in the Earth and then back into the atmosphere.

Water cycle

the path that all water follows as it moves around Earth in different states

Nitrogen cycle

how nitrogen moves between plants, animals, bacteria, the atmosphere, and soil in the ground.

Phosphorus cycle

the movement of phosphorus from the rocks where it's found into the environment and, finally, into the plants and animals that need it.

Sulfur cycle

the movement of sulfur through the geosphere and biosphere.

Autotroph

an organism that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals.

Heterotroph

an organism that consumes other organisms in a food chain.

Carbon sink

anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases

Carbon Source

burning of fossil fuels like gas, coal and oil, deforestation and volcanic eruptions.

Carbon store

fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, oil shale, and carbonate based sedimentary deposits like limestone.

Nitrogen fixation

When nitrogen is taken from its molecular form (N2) in the atmosphere and converted into nitrogen compounds useful for other biochemical processes. {triple covalently bonded nitrogen → animals and plants can’t break it down}

Denitrification

Bacteria breaking down triple covalently bonded nitrogen and releasing it back into the atmosphere for organisms to use.

Eutrophication

a natural process that results from accumulation of nutrients in lakes or other bodies of water. (algae bloom)