1.
(biological) community: all the populations of different species that live in a particular place
2.
(third) higher level consumers: animals that feed on animal-eating animals. they feed at high trophic levels in food chains and webs
3.
abiotic: a component that makes up the biosphere and its ecosystems that consists of nonliving components
4.
aquatic life zones: the watery parts of the biosphere that each contain numerous ecosystems
5.
atmosphere: a thin spherical envelope of gases surrounding the earth's surface
6.
biomes: large regions with distinct climates and certain species adapted to them
7.
biosphere: the parts of the Earth's air, water, and soil where life is found
8.
biotic: a component that makes up the biosphere and its ecosystems that consists of living and once living biological components
9.
carbon cycle: the organic circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into organisms and back again
10.
cell theory: the idea that all living things are composed of cells (the most widely accepted scientific theory in Biology)
11.
cells: the smallest and most fundamental structural and functional units of life
12.
chemosynthesis: process in which certain organisms extract inorganic compounds from their environment and convert them into organic nutrient compounds without the presence of sunlight
13.
consumers (heterotrophs): organism that cannot synthesize the organic nutrients it needs and gets it organic nutrients by feeding on the tissue of other consumers
14.
decomposers: the organisms that break the remains of dead organisms into smaller pieces and digest them with chemicals
15.
ecology: the study of how organisms interact with their living environment of other organisms with their nonliving environment
16.
ecosystem: a community of different species interacting with one another and with their nonliving environment
17.
food chain: series of organisms in which each eats or decomposes the preceding one
18.
food web: complex network of many interconnected food chains and feeding relationships
19.
genetic diversity: when individuals vary slightly in their genetic makeup, and do not look or act alike
20.
geosphere: the earth's intensely hot core, a thick mantle composes of mostly rock, and a thin outer crust
21.
GPP (gross primary productivity): rate at which an ecosystem's producers capture and store a given amount of chemical energy as biomass in a given length of time
22.
greenhouse gases: Water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane in the air that trap heat and thus warm the lower atmosphere
23.
habitat: the place where a population or an individual organism normally lives
24.
hydrologic cycle: The process by which water is continuously exchanged between earth's various water sources
25.
hydrosphere: all of the water on or near the earth's surface
26.
limiting factors: single factor that limits the growth, abundance, or distribution of the population of a species in an ecosystem
27.
natural greenhouse effect: The absorption of thermal energy by the atmosphere. It keeps the earth's temperature within a certain range.
28.
nitrogen cycle: the transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to the atmosphere
29.
NPP (net primary productivity): Rate at which all the plants in an ecosystem produce net useful chemical energy.
30.
omnivores: animal that can use both plants and other animals as food sources
31.
phosphorus cycle: The movement of phosphorus atoms from rocks through the biosphere and hydrosphere and back to rocks.
32.
photosynthesis: complex process that takes place in cells of green plants, it makes food for plants
33.
population: a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same place
34.
primary consumers (herbivores): organism that feeds on all parts of plants or on other parts of producers
35.
producers: organism that uses solar energy or chemical energy to manufacture the organic compounds it needs
36.
range of tolerance: range of chemical and physical conditions that must be maintained for populations of a particular species to stay alive
37.
secondary consumers (carnivores): organisms that feed on only primary consumers
38.
species: a set of individuals that can mate and produce fertile offspring
39.
sulfur cycle: The chemical and physical reactions by which sulfur moves into or out of storage and through the environment.
40.
transpiration: process by which plants that release water into the atmosphere from small pores on their leaves known as stomata
41.
trophic level: all organisms that are the same number of energy transfers away from the original source of energy that enters an ecosystem
42.
troposphere: the inner layer of the atmosphere that extends between 1-17 kilometers above sea level
