Mrs. Cleveland - Ch 3 Vocabulary - 1-24-12
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Created by:
Horizonboy on January 24, 2012
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19 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 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 | Process by which water changes from a liquid into an atmospheric gas |
| Transpiration | loss of water from a plant through its leaves |
| Nutrient | Chemical substance that an organism requires to live |
| 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 | 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 |
| Runoff | a stream-like path that water runs in that leads to a body of water like an ocean or lake. |
| Seepage (infiltration) | when water sinks down into the soil |
| ecology | the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment, or surroundings. |
| biosphere | contains the combined portions of the planet in which all of life exists, including land, water, and air, or atmosphere |
| species | a group of organisms so similar to one anoter that they can breed and produce fertile offspring |
| populations | groups of individuals that belong to the smae species and live in the same area |
| communities | assemblages of different populations that live together in a defined area |
| ecosystem | a collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving, or physical environment |
| biome | a group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities |
| autotroph | organism that can caputure energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it 2 produce its own food from inorganic compounds; also called ______ |
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