Unit 1- The Living World: Ecosystems

10%

Average amount of energy that is passed from one trophic level to the next.

Abiotic

Describes non-living factors in the environment such as temperature, water, light, and rock.

Adaptive radiation

An evolutionary pattern in which many species evolve from a single ancestral species.

Altitude

Distance above sea level; also called elevation.

Aquatic

Relating to water.

Aquifer

Body of permeable rock that can contain groundwater.

Arid

Extremely dry

Benthic

Refers to the bottom of a body of water.

Biomass pyramid

Diagram representing the amount of living organic matter at each trophic level; sometimes an inverted pyramid shape.

Biome

A group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms.

Biosphere

The part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and atmosphere.

Biotic

Describes living factors in the environment such as animals, plants, bacteria, leaves, feathers, and decaying organic matter.

Carnivore

A heterotroph that only eats other heterotrophs.

Cellular respiration

Process that releases energy in the form of ATP by breaking down glucose; carried out by animals and plants; releases carbon into atmosphere in the form of CO2.

Chapparal

A biome also known as scrubland dominated by small shrubs and characterized by mild, rainy winters and long, hot, dry summers.

Climate

The overall average conditions of the atmosphere such as temperature, precipitation, and winds, in an area.

Climatogram

A graph of both average temperature and precipitation year round in an area.

Coevolution

Process by which two species change over time in response to changes in each other.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected.

Community

All of the living things of different species interacting in an area.

Competition

A common demand by two or more organisms for a limited supply of a resource such as food, water, light, space, mates, or nesting sites.

Competitive exclusion

Idea that no two species can occupy the same exact niche in the same habitat at the same time; one will ultimately be better adapted to survive.

Condensation

The change of state from a gas to a liquid such as in the formation of clouds.

Conservation of energy

The principle stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can change form.

Conservation of matter

The principle stating that matter cannot be created or destroyed, but can change form.

Consumer

Heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by ingesting other organisms.

Decomposer

An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms; includes bacteria and fungi.

Decomposition

Process of breaking down organic matter into its constituent parts.

Denitrification

Process by which soil bacteria convert nitrate and nitrite ions into nitrogen gas that is released into the atmosphere.

Desert

Biome with very low precipitation; temperatures are very hot during the day and can get cold at night. Found near 30 degrees north and south latitude.

Detritivore

An organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and shed body parts; includes many worms and insects.

Ecological niche

The role an organism plays in its environment and all of the abiotic & biotic interactions it has.

Ecosystem

All the living and nonliving things that interact in an area.

Energy pyramid

A diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web- always a pyramid shape.

Estuary

The area where a freshwater stream or river merges with the ocean; salinity level is intermediate between fresh and marine.

Evaporation

The change of state from a liquid to a gas caused by an increase in temperature.

Food chain

A series of steps showing one possible path of energy transfer through an ecosystem.

Food web

A diagram showing all of the possible paths of energy transfer through an ecosystem.

Fundamental niche

The full potential range of factors a species can use and survive in.

Glacier

A large mass of slowly moving ice and snow on land.

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 fills the cracks and spaces in underground soil and rock layers.

Herbivore

A heterotroph that only eats producers.

Heterotroph

Organisms that cannot make their own food and must obtain nutrients from other organisms.

Humus

Dark, nutrient-rich material formed from decaying leaves and other organic matter.

Hydrologic

Referring to water.

Impervious surfaces

Surfaces that do not let water pass through it such as paved areas.

Infiltration

The process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil.

Inorganic

Relating to nonliving matter; not made of hydrocarbons.

Interspecific competition

The struggle between organisms of two different species for a shared limited resource.

Intraspecific competition

The struggle between organisms of the same species for a shared limited resource.

Largest reservoir of FRESH water

Glaciers and ice caps

Latitude

Distance north or south of the equator.

Leaching

Process in which substances in upper layers of soil are dissolved and carried to lower layers by water as it percolates.

Lentic

Refers to areas with standing water.

Limiting factor

Any biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the distribution of organisms.

Limiting factors

Abiotic and biotic conditions in the environment that put limits on where an organism can live.

Longitude

Distance east or west of the prime meridian.

Lotic

Refers to areas of flowing water.

Major Carbon sinks

Ocean and sedimentary rock

Major Nitrogen reservoir

Atmosphere

Major Phosphorus reservoir

Rock

Major water reservoir

Ocean

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the relationship.

Net Primary Productivity

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy lost through respiration; the rate of biomass accumulating in the ecosystem.

Nitrification

The process by which bacteria in the soil convert ammonia into nitrite and nitrate ions.

Nitrogen fixation

Process of bacteria converting atmospheric nitrogen gas into ammonia which is a form usable by plants and animals.

Omnivore

A heterotroph that eats both producers and consumers.

Organic

Relating to living matter; made of hydrocarbons.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship where one species benefits and the other is harmed.

Pelagic

Refers to the open areas of water in the ocean or very large lakes.

Percolation

The downward movement of water through soil and rock due to gravity.

Permafrost

Ground that is permanently frozen.

Photosynthesis

Conversion of light energy from the sun into chemical energy; captures atmospheric CO2 and fixes it in autotrophs as glucose.

Phytoplankton

Microscopic, free-floating, autotrophic organisms that function as producers in aquatic ecosystems.

Population

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area.

Precipitation

Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface, including snow, sleet, rain, or hail.

Primary productivity

The rate at which energy is converted by photosynthetic and chemosynthetic autotrophs to organic substances.

Producer/Autotroph

Organisms that can make their own food either through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.

Realized niche

The actual range of factors a species uses and survives in when in competition with other species.

Reservoir

The large, long-term stores of a substance in the environment.

Resource partitioning

The differentiation of niches that enables similar species to coexist in a community.

Riparian

Ecosystem along the banks of a river or stream.

Runoff

Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers as opposed to soaking into the ground.

Salinity

A measure of the amount of dissolved salts in water.

Savanna

Grassland biome that has more trees and bushes; found in Africa.

Scavenger

An organism that consumes already dead animals; includes vultures and hyenas.

Symbiosis

A relationship in which two different organisms live in close association with each other.

Taiga

Biome in which the winters are cold but summers are mild enough to allow the ground to thaw, dominated by evergreen trees. Also known as Boreal Forest or Coniferous Forest.

Temperate

Mild or moderate

Temperate grasslands

Biome dominated by open grasses with few trees and bushes. Temperatures vary with seasons and precipitation is relatively low. Deep, nutrient rich soils.

Temperate rainforest

Biome with moderate temperatures and high precipitation year-round.

Terrestrial

Relating to the land.

Transpiration

The loss of water from a plant through its leaves that enters the atmosphere as a gas.

Trophic level

A step in a food chain or food web.

Tropical rainforests

Biome with warm temperatures and a high precipitation; very high biodiversity and very nutrient-poor soil. Found near the equator.

Tundra

An extremely cold biome with little precipitation and permanently frozen ground found at the highest latitudes.

Turbidity

A measure of how clear water is.

Weather

The condition of Earth's atmosphere such as temperature, humidity, and precipitation, at a particular time and place.

Zooplankton

Microscopic heterotrophic organisms that swim or drift near the surface of aquatic environments and are primary consumers.