| Term | Definition |
|---|
| ecology | scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their enviroment |
| biosphere | contains the combined portions of the planet in which all life exists, including land, water, and atmosphere |
| species | group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring |
| population | groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area |
| community | assemblages of different populations that live in a defined area |
| ecosystem | collection of all organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving, or physical environment |
| biome | group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities |
| autotroph | organsms that capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use that energy to produce food |
| producer | organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce food from inorganic compounds; also called an autotroph |
| photosynthesis | process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to convert water and carbon into oxygen and high energy carbohydrates such as sugars and starches |
| chemosynthesis | process by which some organisms, such as certain bacteria, use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates |
| heterotroph | organism that obtains energy from the food it consumes; also called a consumer |
| consumer | another word for heterotrophs |
| herbivore | obtain energy from eating only plants |
| carnivore | eat animals |
| omnivore | eat both plants and animals |
| detritivore | feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter |
| decomposer | breaks down organic matter |
| food chain | a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten |
| food web | network of complex interactions, links all food chains in an ecosystem together |
| trophic level | step in a food chain or food web |
| ecological pyramid | diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a food chain or food web |
| biomass | total amount of living tissue with a given trophic level |
| 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 where water changes from liquid form to an atmospheric gas |
| transpiration | process where water enters the atmosphere by evaporating from leaves of plants |
| nutrient | chemical substance that an organism needs to survive & sustain life |
| nitrogen fixation | process where nitrogen gas is converted into ammonia |
| denitrification | process where nitrate is converted into nitrogen gas |
| primary productivity | rate at which organic matter is created by producers |
| limiting nutrient | ecosystem limited by single nutrient that is scarce or cycles slowly |
| algal bloom | an immediate increase in the amount of algae and other producers which results from a large input of a limiting nutrient |
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