Chapt 43 Bio Glossary

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biodiversity

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[Gk. bios, life] All species living in a defined region, ranging from the smallest habitat to the biosphere, in a specified interval.

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biogeochemical cycle

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Slow movement of an element from environmental reservoirs, through food webs, then back to the environment.

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biological magnification

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Ever increasing concentration of a nondegradable or slowly degradable substance in body tissues as it is passed along food chains.

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biomass

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Combined weight of all organisms at a given trophic level in an ecosystem.

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carbon cycle

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An atmospheric cycle. Carbon moves from reservoirs (sediments, rocks, the ocean), through the atmosphere (mostly as CO2), food webs, and back to the reservoirs.

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carnivore

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Animal that devours other animals.

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consumer

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[L. consumere, to take completely] A heterotroph that feeds on cells or tissues of other organisms (e.g., herbivores, carnivores).

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decomposer

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[L. dis-, to pieces] Prokaryotic or fungal heterotroph; gets carbon and energy from products, remains, of organisms. Helps cycle nutrients to producers in ecosystems.

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detritivore

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Heterotroph that feeds on decomposing particles of organic matter (e.g., crab, earthworm, roundworm).

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diversity of life

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Sum of all variations in form, function, and behavior in all lineages, from the time of life's origin to the present.

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ecosystem

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Array of organisms, together with their environment, interacting through a flow of energy and a cycling of materials.

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energy pyramid

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Pyramidal diagram of an ecosystem's trophic structure; it shows energy losses at each transfer to another trophic level.

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food chain

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Straight-line sequence of who eats whom in an ecosystem.

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food web

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Of ecosystems, cross-connecting food chains consisting of producers, consumers, and decomposers, detritivores, or both.

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global warming

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A long-term increase in the temperature of the Earth's lower atmosphere.

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greenhouse effect

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Atmospheric gases impede escape of infrared wavelengths (heat) from Earth's sun-warmed surface, absorb them, and radiate much of the heat back toward Earth.

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herbivore

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[L. herba, grass, + vovare, to devour] Plant-eating animal (e.g., snail, deer, manatee).

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hydrologic cycle

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Biogeochemical cycle, driven by solar energy, in which water moves slowly through the atmosphere, on or through surface land, to the ocean, and back to the atmosphere.

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nitrogen cycle

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Atmospheric cycle. Nitrogen moves from its largest reservoir (atmosphere), through the ocean, ocean sediments, soils, and food webs, then back to the atmosphere.

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omnivore

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[L. omnis, all, + vovare, to devour] Animal that eats at more than one trophic level.

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phosphorus cycle

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A sedimentary cycle; the movement of phosphorus (mainly phosphate ions) from land, through food webs, to ocean sediments, then back to land.

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primary producer

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Type of autotroph that secures energy directly from the environment and stores some in its tissues.

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trophic level

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All organisms the same number of transfer steps away from the energy input into an ecosystem.

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watershed

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Land area that delivers the water, sediment, and dissolved substances via small streams to a major stream (river).