Chapter 15 - Ecosystems And The Biosphere

Front 1

greenhouse effect

Back 1

the result of a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (e.g., through the burning of fossil fuels) in which carbon dioxide traps solar heat beneath the atmospheric layers, leading to increased global temperatures and changes in climatic patterns

Front 2

trophic level

Back 2

a particular feeding level in a community or ecosystem

Front 3

primary producer

Back 3

an organism that produces all the biological molecules required for its growth from nonliving substances taken directly from the environment; autotrophic organisms

Front 4

primary consumer

Back 4

in an ecosystem, an organism that eats producers; herbivores (plant eaters like cows and caterpillars) are primary consumers

Front 5

secondary consumer

Back 5

in an ecosystem, an organism that consumes herbivores; carnivores (meat eaters) are secondary consumers

Front 6

tertiary consumer

Back 6

in an ecosystem, a carnivore that eats other carnivores

Front 7

detritivore

Back 7

a consumer organism that obtains energy from dead organisms and/or organic waste matter

Front 8

detritus

Back 8

a collective term for dead organisms and organic waste matter

Front 9

decomposer

Back 9

a type of consumer, also called a detritivore, that obtains energy and materials from organic wastes and dead organisms that accumulate from all trophic levels

Front 10

food chains

Back 10

the levels of feeding relationships among organisms in a community

Front 11

food webs

Back 11

complex, interconnected feeding relationships between all the species in a community or ecosystem

Front 12

gross primary productivity

Back 12

the percent of sunlight that producers convert to chemical energy in the form or organic compounds

Front 13

net primary productivity

Back 13

the amount of chemical energy producers actually store as organic molecules in the form of new leaves, roots, stems, flowers, fruits, and other structures and compounds

Front 14

energy pyramids

Back 14

the energy relationships between different trophic levels in an ecosystem

Front 15

biomass

Back 15

the total dry weight of organic matter present at a particular trophic level in a biological community

Front 16

pyramid of biomass

Back 16

the relationship between the total masses of various groups of organisms in a food chain, in which there is usually less mass, hence less stored energy, at each successive trophic level

Front 17

biological magnification

Back 17

the tendency for toxic substances to increase in concentration as they move up the food chain

Front 18

water cycle

Back 18

a sun-driven global exchange involving evaporation, precipitation, runoff, and transpiration that cycles water from the atmosphere to Earth’s surface, through organisms, and back again

Front 19

transpiration

Back 19

the loss of water from plants by evaporation, mainly through the stomata on stems and leaves

Front 20

nitrogen cycle

Back 20

the cycling of nitrogen from the atmosphere to Earth’s surface, through organisms, and back again

Front 21

phosphorous cycle

Back 21

the cycling of phosphorus between organisms and soil, rocks, and water

Front 22

eutrophic

Back 22

an aquatic environment with high phosphorous and other nutrient levels, characterized by dense blooms of algae and other aquatic plants and a decrease in dissolved oxygen

Front 23

eutrophication

Back 23

in an aquatic environment, an oversupply of nutrients that support primary production

Front 24

carbon cycle

Back 24

the global flow of carbon atoms from plants through animals to the atmosphere, water, soil, and back to plants

Front 25

weather

Back 25

the condition of the atmosphere at any particular place and time, including its temperature, humidity, wind speed, and precipitation

Front 26

climate

Back 26

the accumulation of seasonal weather patterns in an area over a long period of time

Front 27

trade winds

Back 27

predictable surface winds caused by a moving air mass that interacts with the rotating Earth

Front 28

biomes

Back 28

large terrestrial geographic regions containing distinctive plant communities; major ecological community types, such as a desert, rain forest, or grassland

Front 29

tropical rain forest

Back 29

a lush forest biome that occurs near the equator in Central and South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, where rainfall is 200 to 400 cm (80 to 160 in.) per year and temperatures average about 25°C (77°F)

Front 30

savanna

Back 30

a tropical grassland biome, containing stunted, widely spaced trees, that is situated between tropical forests and deserts

Front 31

desert

Back 31

a very dry, often barren biome characterized by temperature extremes and by widely spaced plants with thick, waxy leaves and often protective spines

Front 32

grassland

Back 32

a treeless temperate region dominated by grass species; known as prairies in North America, pampas in South America, steppes in Asia, and veldt in Africa; this biome is wetter than deserts but drier than forests

Front 33

chapparal

Back 33

a biome that borders deserts and grasslands; characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters, and low woody shrubs that are often fragrant and have generally thick, waxy, evergreen leaves

Front 34

temperate forest

Back 34

a biome that occurs north or south of subtropical latitudes; characterized by generally a mild climate and varied populations of evergreen and deciduous trees

Front 35

coniferous forest

Back 35

a biome that occurs across much of Canada, northern Europe, and Asia with vast forests of coniferous trees growing at latitudes with cold, snowy winters and short summers

Front 36

tundra

Back 36

a biome at the northern boundary of the coniferous forest characterized by low vegetation; this cold, treeless plain has annual temperatures of 5°C or less

Front 37

polar ice caps

Back 37

icy, treeless regions at our planet’s highest latitudes

Front 38

marine

Back 38

characteristic of oceans and seas

Front 39

estuary

Back 39

the area where a river meets an ocean; estuaries are some of Earth’s most productive ecosystems

Front 40

intertidal zones

Back 40

a region that lies at the ocean’s edge that is underwater at high tide, exposed to air at low tide, and pounded by waves and wind

Front 41

coral reefs

Back 41

underwater structures, sometimes enormous, produced by reef-building corals in the shallow ocean zones of the tropics

Front 42

oceanic zone (open ocean)

Back 42

water beyond the continental shelf and covering the deep abyssal plane, which is nearly deserted, even in the sunniest supper regions near the surface

Front 43

ozone layer

Back 43

a zone encircling Earth several miles above its surface that absorbs about 99 percent of the ultraviolet light that would otherwise penetrate and destroy many biological molecules, including DNA

Front 44

sustainability

Back 44

balancing the human population and economic growth against the abilities of the environment to provide a constant level of resources