Ecosystem
A particular location on Earth distinguished by its mix of interacting biotic & abiotic components.
Producers
An organism that uses the energy of the sun to produce usable forms of energy.
Photosynthesis
The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.
Cellular Respiration
The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide and water.
Consumers
An organism that must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms.
Primary Consumers
An individual incapable of photosynthesis must obtain energy by consuming other organisms.
Tertiary Consumers
A carnivore that eats secondary consumers.
Trophic Levels
Levels in the feeding structure of organisms.
Food Chain
The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers.
Food Web
A complex motel of how energy and matter move between trophic levels.
Scavengers
A carnivore that consumes dead animals.
Detritivores
An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles.
Decomposers
Fungi or bacteria that recylcle nutrients from dead tissues and wastes back into an ecosystem.
GPP
The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time.
NPP
The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire.
Biomass
The total mass of all living matter in a specific area.
Standing Crop
The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time.
Ecological Efficiency
The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another.
Trophic Pyramid
A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels.
Biosphere
The region of our planet where life resides the combo of all ecosystems on earth.
Biogeochemical Cycles
The movements of matter within and between ecosystems.
Hydrologic Cycle
The movement of water through the biosphere.
Transpiration
The release of water from leaves during photosynthesis.
Runoff
Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers.
Macronutrients
The 6 key elements that organisms need in relatively amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulfur.
Limiting Nutrient
A nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients.
Nitrogen Fixation
A process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia.
Leaching
The transportation of disolved molecules through the solid via ground water.
Watershed
All land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake or wetland.
Resistance
A measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem.
Resilience
The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance.
Restoration Ecology
The study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems.
Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis
The hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels.
Instrumental Value
Something that has worth as in instrument or a tool that can be used to accomplish a goal.
Intrinsic Value
It has worth independent of any benefit it may provide to humans.
Provision
A good that humans can use directly.