SUBSCRIBE
BIOS 135 Week 9 Vocab
1. ecosystem:
Answer An ecosystem is a community of living organisms and their interac- tions with each other and with their abiotic enviornment.
2. ecosystem ecologists:
Answer Study the flow of energy through ecosystems and the flow of nutrients through ecosystems.
3. trophic level:
Answer A position in a food web, determined by number of energy transfers from primary producers.
- primary
Answer First level.
5. primary consumers:
Answer Second level, such as herbivores and detitrivores.
6. secondary consumers:
Answer Third level, such as carnivores of herbivores and detrir- vores.
7. teritary consumers:
Answer Fourth level, carnivores of carnivores and detitrivores.
8. photosynthesis:
Answer Conversion of light energy from the sun into chemical energy.
9. respiration:
Answer The process by which cells break down simple food molecules to release the energy they contain.
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10. primary production:
Answer Production of new organic matter per unit area in an ecosystem during some period of time.
11. gross primary production:
Answer Total amount of primary production by all primary producers.
12. net primary production:
Answer Gross primary production minus respiration; the amount of biomass available to consumers.
13. secondary production:
Answer Biomass production by consumers during some period of time. (= ingestion - egestion
- excretion - respiration)
14. terrestrial primary production:
Answer Limited by temperature, moisture, and nutri- ents.
15. actual evapotranspiration (AET):
Answer Annual amount of water that evaporates and transpires off a landscape. Cold-dry ecosystems tend to have low AET, AET increases with increased precipitation and temperature.
16. nutrient availability:
Answer Influences aquatic primary production.
17. upwelling:
Answer A process in which deep cold water rises towards the surface, typically nutrient rich.
18. trophic cascade:
Answer Effects of predators on prey can alter more than one trophic level.
19. bottom up controls:
Answer Influences of physical and chemical factors of an ecosys- tem.
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