Chapter 3 The Biosphere Julia Bogart
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16 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Ecology | the branch of biology concerned with the relations between organisms and their environment |
| Biospphere | living planet- all life forms are connected to it |
| Species | a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring |
| Population | a group of organisms of the same species populating a given area |
| Community | a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other |
| Ecosystem | a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment |
| Biome | a major biotic community characterized by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate |
| Biogeochemical cycle | process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another |
| Evaporation | the process of extracting moisture |
| Transpiration | the passage of gases through fine tubes because of differences in pressure or temperature |
| Nutrient | any substance that can be metabolized by an organism to give energy and build tissue |
| Ninrogen fixation | converted nitrogen gas intioammonia |
| Denitrification | process in which fixed nitrogen compounds are converted back into nitrogen gas and returned to the atmosphere |
| Primary productivity | rate at which organic matter is created by producers in an ecosystem |
| Limiting nutrient | single nutrient that either is scarce or cycles very slowly, limiting the growth of organisms in an ecosystem |
| 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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