APES The Living World: Ecosystems

Textbook Chapter 3

Autotrophs

Organisms that make their own food from sunlight or chemicals.

Cellular respiration

A Process where cells break down food to release energy.

Consumers

Organisms that eat other organisms for energy.

Decomposers

Organisms that break down dead material into nutrients.

Detritivores

Animals that eat dead organic matter.

Ecosystem

A community of living things and their environment working together.

Evapotranspiration

The combined process of water evaporating from soil and transpiring from plants.

Food chain

A sequence showing who eats whom in an ecosystem.

Food web

A complex network of interconnected food chains.

Gross primary productivity

Total amount of energy captured by producers through photosynthesis.

Heterotrophs

Organisms that get energy by eating other organisms.

Hydrologic cycle

The movement of water through the environment.

Carbon cycle

The process of carbon moving through the air, land, water, and living things.

Phosphorus cycle

The movement of phosphorus through the environment.

Instrumental value

The usefulness of something to humans.

Intrinsic value

The worth something has on its own, regardless of use.

Intermediate disturbance hypothesis

The Idea that moderate disturbances increase biodiversity.

Limiting nutrient

A nutrient that restricts growth because it is scarce.

Net primary productivity

Energy left over after producers use some for themselves, available to consumers.

Primary consumers

Animals that eat plants (herbivores).

Photosynthesis

The Process by which plants make food using sunlight.

Producers

Organisms that make their own food, like plants.

Provisions

Products obtained from ecosystems that people use.

Restoration

The process of returning an ecosystem to its original condition.

Ecology

The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

Restoration ecology

Science of repairing damaged ecosystems.

Runoff

Water that flows over land into bodies of water.

Scavengers

Animals that eat dead organisms.

Secondary consumers

Animals that eat primary consumers.

Tertiary consumers

Animals that eat secondary consumers.

Transpiration

Process where plants release water vapor into the air.

Trophic levels

Steps in a food chain or web.

Trophic pyramid

A Diagram showing energy or biomass at different food levels.

Watershed

Land area that drains water into a particular river or lake.

Aphotic zone

Ocean layer with no sunlight.

Benthic zone

The bottom of a body of water.

Boreal forests

Forests in cold northern regions with mostly conifer trees.

Biomes

Large areas with similar climate, plants, and animals.

Chemosynthesis

Process of making food using chemical energy instead of sunlight.

Coral reefs

Underwater ecosystems made by coral animals.

Mangrove swamps

Coastal wetlands with salt-tolerant trees.

Permafrost

Permanently frozen soil.

Photic zone

Ocean layer with enough sunlight for photosynthesis.

Phytoplankton

Tiny photosynthetic organisms in water.

Salt marshes

Coastal wetlands flooded by salty water.

Savannas

Grasslands with scattered trees.

Subtropical deserts

Hot, dry areas near the tropics.

Temperate grassland

Grass-dominated areas with moderate rainfall.

Temperate seasonal forests

Forests with warm summers and cold winters.

Temperate rainforests

Wet forests in mild temperature regions.

Tropical seasonal forests

Forests with distinct wet and dry seasons near the tropics.

Tropical rainforests

Dense, wet forests near the equator.

Tundra

Cold, treeless biome with low-growing plants.

Woodland/shrubland

Areas dominated by shrubs and small trees.

Community ecology

Study of interactions among different species in an area.

Competition

When organisms fight for the same resources.

Competitive exclusion principle

The Idea that two species competing for the same resource cannot coexist.

Resource partitioning

Different species use resources in different ways to avoid competition.

Predation

When one animal eats another.

Herbivores

Animals that eat plants.

Parasitism

A Relationship where one benefits and the other is harmed.

Mutualism

A Relationship where both species benefit.

Commensalism

A Relationship where one benefits and the other is unaffected.

Symbiotic relationship

Close interaction between different species living together.