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31 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Ecology
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is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their enviorment, or surroundings
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Biosphere
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contains the combined portions of the planet in which all of life exists, including land, water, air, or atmosphere
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Species
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is a group of organisms so similiar to one anotehr that they can breed and produce fertile offspring
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Populations
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groups of individuals taht belong to the same species and live in the same area
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Communities
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assemlages of different populations that live together ina defined area
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Ecosystem
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is a collection of all the organisms that live in a particulare place
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Biome
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is a group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communites
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Autotrophs
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use evergy from the evniornment to fuel the assembly of simple inorganic compunds inot complez organic molecules
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Producers
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those that capture evergy from sunlight and those that capture chemical energy are essential to the flow of evergy throu the biosphere
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Photosynthesis
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these autotrophs use light to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen
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Chemosynthesis
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when organisms use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates
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Heterotrophs
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organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply, and is also called consumers
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Herbivores
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obtain energy by eating only plants
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Carnivores
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eat animals
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Omnivores
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eat both plants and animals
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Detritivores
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feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter
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Decomposeres
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break down organic matter
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Food Chain
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a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eaten and being eaten
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Food Web
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links all the food chains in an ecosystem together
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Trophic Level
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each step in a food chain or food web
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Ecological Pyramid
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is a diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a food chain or food web
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Biomass
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the total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level
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Bigeochemical Cycles
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when elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to anther
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Evaporation
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the process by which water changes from liquid form to an atmosphere gas
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Transpirtation
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Water can also enter the atmosphere by evaporating from the leaves of plants
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Nutrients
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all the chemical substances that an organism needs to sustain life
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Nitrogen Fixation
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convert nitrogen gas into ammonia
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Denitrification
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this process releases nitrogen into the atmosphere once again
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Primary productivity
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is the rate at which organic matter is created by producers
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Limiting nutrient
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when an ecosystem is limited by a single nutrient that is scarce or cycles very slowly
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Algal Bloom
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increase in the amount of algae and other producers
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