| Term | Definition |
|---|
| ecology | the study of living things and their environments |
| biosphere | Thin zone of the earth that supports all life |
| species | a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring |
| population | all the members of one species in a particular area |
| community | all the populations that live in a certain place |
| ecosystem | all the living and nonliving things that interact in an area |
| biome | a large group of ecosystems that share the same type of climax community |
| autotroph (producer) | an organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food from inorganic compounds |
| photosynthesis | process by which plants use the sun's energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars |
| chemosynthesis | when organisms use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates |
| heterotroph (consumer) | An organism that obtains organic food molecules by eating other organisms or their by-products. |
| herbivore | a plant-eating animal |
| carnivore | a flesh-eating animal |
| omnivore | an animal that eats both plants and animals |
| detritivore | an organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter |
| decomposer | an organism that breaks down the wastes or remains of other organisms |
| food chain | series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten |
| food web | a complex interlocking series of individual food chains in an ecosystem. |
| trophic level | each step in a food chain or food web |
| ecological pyramid | A diagram that shows the biomass of organisms at each trophic level |
| biomass | the total mass of living matter in a given unit area |
| biogeochemical cycle | the circulation of substances through living organisms from or to the environment |
| evaporation | the change of a substance from a liquid to a gas |
| transpiration | evaporation of water from a plant's leaves |
| nutrient | Any molecule necessary for or contributing to an organism's metabolism, growth, or other functioning. |
| nitrogen fixation | process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia |
| denitrification | conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas |
| primary productivity | rate at which organic matter is created by producers in an ecosystem |
| limiting nutrient | An element that must be added for production to increase in a particular area |
| algal bloom | an immediate increase in the amount of algae and other producers that results from a large input of a limiting nutrient |
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