Raven Bio 112 Chapter 57

Front 1

Ecosystem

Back 1

All organisms living in a community as well as all the abiotic factors with which they interact.

Front 2

Dynamics of ecosystem

Back 2

The two processes of energy flow and chemical cycling.

Front 3

Trophic levels

Back 3

A level of organisms in a food chain.

Front 4

Autotrophs

Back 4

Primary producers, usually photosynthetic

Front 5

Heterotrophs

Back 5

Trophic levels above the primary producers and depend on autotroph's photosynthetic output.

Front 6

Primary consumers

Back 6

Herbivores that eat primary producers.

Front 7

Secondary consumers

Back 7

Carnivores that eat herbivores.

Front 8

Tertiary consumers

Back 8

Carnivores that eat secondary carnivores.

Front 9

Detritivores

Back 9

Decomposers (such as fungi), gets energy from non-living organic material.

Front 10

Primary production

Back 10

The amount of light energy converted to chemical energy.

Front 11

Photic Zone

Back 11

The upper part of the ocean where lots of light penetrate (coral reefs).

Front 12

Secondary production

Back 12

The amount of chemical energy in consumer's that is converted to their own new biomass during a time period.

Front 13

Production efficiency

Back 13

The relationship between energy used for growth v.s. the energy used for daily needs.

Front 14

Trophic efficiency

Back 14

The percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next.

Front 15

Pyramids of production

Back 15

The multiplicative loss of energy from a food chain.

Front 16

Biomass pyramids

Back 16

The ecological consequence of low trophic efficiencies.

Front 17

Water cycle

Back 17

The processes of evaporation, transpiration, condensation, and precipitation.

Front 18

Carbon cycle

Back 18

CO2 is taken up and released by photosynthesis and cellular respiration; additionally, volcanoes and burning of fossils fuels add CO2 to the atmosphere.

Front 19

Nitrogen cycle

Back 19

Nitrogen is added to the soil through Atmospheric deposition and Nitrogen fixation.

Front 20

Atmospheric deposition

Back 20

Usable nitrogen from the atmosphere is added to the soil through rain or dust.

Front 21

Nitrogen fixation

Back 21

Certain prokaryotes convert N2 to minerals that can be used to synthesize nitrogenous organic compounds like amino acids.

Front 22

Ammonification

Back 22

The product of nitrogen fixation is ammonia, which becomes ammonium, which plants can use.

Front 23

Nitrification

Back 23

Certain aerobic bacteria oxide ammonium into nitrate.

Front 24

Denitrification

Back 24

Certain bacteria get oxygen from the nitrate and release N2 back into the atmosphere.

Front 25

Phosphorous cycle

Back 25

Phosphorus occurs only in phosphate, which plants absorb and use for organic synthesis.

Front 26

Human disruption

Back 26

Soil nutrient depletion, adding toxins (fertilizers), atmospheric thickening through burning fossil fuels, and pollution is contaminating the trophic levels.