Apes

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abiotic

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Nonliving. Compare biotic.

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ammonification

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Production of ammonia or ammonium compounds in the decomposition of organic matter, especially through the action of bacteria.

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autotroph

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see producer: Organism that uses solar energy (green plant) or chemical energy (some bacteria) to manufacture the organic compounds it needs as nutrients from simple inorganic compounds obtained from its environment. Compare consumer, decomposer.

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biodiversity

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Variety of different species (species diversity), genetic variability among individuals within each species (genetic diversity), variety of ecosystems (ecological diversity), and functions such as energy flow and matter cycling needed for the survival of species and biological communities (functional diversity).

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biomass

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total dry weight of all living organisms that can be supported at each trophic level in a food chain or web; dry weight of all organic matter in plants and animals in an ecosystem

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biome

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Terrestrial regions inhabited by certain types of life, especially vegetation. Examples are various types of deserts, grasslands, and forests.

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biosphere

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Zone of earth where life is found. It consists of parts of the atmosphere (the troposphere), hydrosphere (mostly surface water and groundwater), and lithosphere (mostly soil and surface rocks and sediments on the bottoms of oceans and other bodies of water) where life is found. Sometimes called the ecosphere.

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biotic

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Living organisms. Compare abiotic.

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commensalism

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An interaction between organisms of different species in which one type of organism benefits and the other type is neither helped nor harmed to any great degree. Compare mutualism.

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community

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Populations of all species living and interacting in an area at a particular time.

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competition

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Two or more individual organisms of a single species (intraspecific competition) or two or more individuals of different species (interspecific competition) attempting to use the same scarce resources in the same ecosystem.

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Competitive Exclusion Principle

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a theory which states that two species competing for the same resources cannot stably coexist, if the ecological factors are constant. Either of the two competitors will always take over the other which leads to either the extinction of one of the competitors or its evolutionary or behavioural shift towards a different ecological niche.

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consumer

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Organism that cannot synthesize the organic nutrients it needs and gets its organic nutrients by feeding on the tissues of producers or of other consumers; generally divided into primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivores), tertiary (higher-level) consumers, omnivores, and detritivores (decomposers and detritus feeders). In economics, one who uses economic goods.

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decomposer

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Organism that digests parts of dead organisms and cast-off fragments and wastes of living organisms by breaking down the complex organic molecules in those materials into simpler inorganic compounds and then absorbing the soluble nutrients. Producers return most of these chemicals to the soil and water for reuse. Decomposers consist of various bacteria and fungi. Compare consumer, detritivore, producer.

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denitrification

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the loss or removal of nitrogen or nitrogen compounds ; specifically : reduction of nitrates or nitrites commonly by bacteria (as in soil) that usually results in the escape of nitrogen into the air

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detritus

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Parts of dead organisms and cast-off fragments and wastes of living organisms.

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detritus feeder

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Organism that extracts nutrients from fragments of dead organisms and their cast-off parts and organic wastes. Examples are earthworms, termites, and crabs. Compare decomposer.

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doubling time

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The time it takes (usually in years) for the quantity of something growing exponentially to double. It can be calculated by dividing the annual percentage growth rate into 70.

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ecological footprint

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Amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply each person or population with the renewable resources they use and to absorb or dispose of the wastes from such resource use. It measures the average environmental impact of individuals or populations in different countries and areas.

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ecology

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Study of the interactions of living organisms with one another and with their nonliving environment of matter and energy; study of the structure and functions of nature.

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ecosystem

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the complex of a community of organisms and its environment functioning as an ecological unit

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environmental science

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an interdisciplinary study that uses information from the physical sciences and social sciences tolerant how the earth works, how we interact with the earth, and how to deal with environmental problems.

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eutrophication

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the process by which a body of water becomes enriched in dissolved nutrients (as phosphates) that stimulate the growth of aquatic plant life usually resulting in the depletion of dissolved oxygen

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exponential growth

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Growth in which some quantity, such as population size or economic output, increases at a constant rate per unit of time. An example is the growth sequence 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and so on; when the increase in quantity over time is plotted, this type of growth yields a curve shaped like the letter J. Compare linear growth.

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First Law of Thermodynamics

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In any physical or chemical change, no detectable amount of energy is created or destroyed, but in these processes energy can be changed from one form to another; you cannot get more energy out of something than you put in; in terms of energy quantity, you cannot get something for nothing (there is no free lunch). This law does not apply to nuclear changes, in which energy can be produced from small amounts of matter. See second law of thermodynamics.

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food chain

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Series of organisms in which each eats or decomposes the preceding one. Compare food web.

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food web

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Complex network of many interconnected food chains and feeding relationships. Compare food chain.

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habitat

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Place or type of place where an organism or population of organisms lives. Compare ecological niche.

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heterotroph

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See consumer: Organism that cannot synthesize the organic nutrients it needs and gets its organic nutrients by feeding on the tissues of producers or of other consumers; generally divided into primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivores), tertiary (higher-level) consumers, omnivores, and detritivores (decomposers and detritus feeders)

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infiltration

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Downward movement of water through soil.

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insoluble

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incapable of being dissolved in a liquid and especially water ; also : soluble only with difficulty or to a slight degree

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ion

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Atom or group of atoms with one or more positive (+) or negative (-) electrical charges. Compare atom, molecule.

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junk science

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Scientific results or hypotheses presented as sound science but not having undergone the rigors of the peer review process. Compare frontier science, sound science.

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Law of Conservation of Matter

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In any physical or chemical change, matter is neither created nor destroyed but merely changed from one form to another; in physical and chemical changes, existing atoms are rearranged into different spatial patterns (physical changes) or different combinations (chemical changes).

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leaching

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Process in which various chemicals in upper layers of soil are dissolved and carried to lower layers and, in some cases, to groundwater.

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mutualism

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Type of species interaction in which both participating species generally benefit. Compare commensalism.

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niche

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Total way of life or role of a species in an ecosystem. It includes all physical, chemical, and biological conditions a species needs to live and reproduce in an ecosystem. See fundamental niche, realized niche.

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nitrogen fixation

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Conversion of atmospheric nitrogen gas into forms useful to plants by lightning, bacteria, and cyanobacteria; it is part of the nitrogen cycle.

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nitrification

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the oxidation (as by bacteria) of ammonium salts to nitrites and the further oxidation of nitrites to nitrates

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nonpolar

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consisting of molecules not having a dipole

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parasite

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Consumer organism that lives on or in and feeds on a living plant or animal, known as the host, over an extended period of time. The parasite draws nourishment from and gradually weakens its host; it may or may not kill the host. See parasitism.

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percolation

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Passage of a liquid through the spaces of a porous material such as soil.

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photosynthesis

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Complex process that takes place in cells of green plants. Radiant energy from the sun is used to combine carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) to produce oxygen (O2) and carbohydrates (such as glucose, C6H12O6) and other nutrient molecules. Compare aerobic respiration, chemosynthesis.

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polar

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having a charge

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population

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Group of individual organisms of the same species living in a particular area.

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producer

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Organism that uses solar energy (green plant) or chemical energy (some bacteria) to manufacture the organic compounds it needs as nutrients from simple inorganic compounds obtained from its environment. Compare consumer, decomposer.

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Rhizobia

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any of a genus (Rhizobium) of small heterotrophic soil bacteria capable of forming symbiotic nodules on the roots of leguminous plants and of there becoming bacteroids that fix atmospheric nitrogen

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sound science

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Scientific data, models, theories, and laws that are widely accepted by scientists considered experts in the area of study. These results of science are very reliable. Compare frontier science, junk science.

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species

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Group of organisms that resemble one another in appearance, behavior, chemical makeup and processes, and genetic structure. Organisms that reproduce sexually are classified as members of the same species only if they can actually or potentially interbreed with one another and produce fertile offspring.

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species richness

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Number of different species contained in a community.

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sustainability

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Ability of a system to survive for some specified (finite) time.

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Tragedy of the Commons

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Depletion or degradation of a potentially renewable resource to which people have free and unmanaged access. An example is the depletion of commercially desirable fish species in the open ocean beyond areas controlled by coastal countries. See common-property resource.

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trophic levels/structure

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All organisms that are the same number of energy transfers away from the original source of energy (for example, sunlight) that enters an ecosystem. For example, all producers belong to the first trophic level, and all herbivores belong to the second trophic level in a food chain or a food web.

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weathering

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Physical and chemical processes in which solid rock exposed at earth's surface is changed to separate solid particles and dissolved material, which can then be moved to another place as sediment. See erosion.