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Ecosystem
- Includes all of the interaction parts of a biological community and its environment
- E.g. forest, pond, arctic, sea, tundra, rain forest
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Sustainable Ecosystem
- An ecosystem that is capable of withstanding pressure and giving support to a variety of organisms
- E.g. any environment that doesn't require support from foreign interactions
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Biotic
- The living parts of an ecosystem
- E.g. producers(plants), consumers(carnivores, herbivores), decomposers(fungi)
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Abiotic
- The non-living parts of an ecosystem
- E.g. air, light, chemical nutrients, soil, sunlight
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Lithosphere
The hard part of the Earth's surface
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Hydrosphere
- All the water found on Earth, including lakes, oceans, and ground water
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Atmosphere
- The layer of gases above Earth's surface
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Biosphere
- The regions of Earth where living organisms exist
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Nutrient
- A chemical that is essential to living things and is cycled through ecosystems
- E.g. water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous
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Eutrophication
- A process in which nutrients levels in aquatic ecosystems increase, leading to an increase in the populations of primary producers
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Photosynthesis
- A process that changes solar energy into chemical energy
- E.g. carbon dioxide + water --> glucose + oxygen
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Trophic Level
- A category of organisms that is defined by by how the organisms gain their energy
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Biomass
- The total mass of living organisms in a defined group or area
- E.g. leaves, stems, roots, flower nectar
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Trophic Efficiency
- A measure of the amount of energy or biomass transferred from one trophic level to the next higher tropic level
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Bioaccumulation
- A process in which materials, especially toxins, are ingested by an organism at a rate greater than they are eliminated
- E.g. DDT's and PBC's destroying species
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Biomagnification
- A process in which the concentration of ingested toxins increases as it moves from one trophic level to the next
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Cellular Respiration
- A process that releases energy from organic molecules, especially carbohydrates, in the presence of oxygen
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Fermentation
- A process that releases energy from organic molecules, especially carbohydrates, in the absence of oxygen
- E.g. yeast
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Greenhouse Gases
- Atmospheric gases that prevent heat from leaving the atmosphere, thus increasing the temperature of the atmosphere
- E.g. water vapour, carbon dioxide, and methane
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Greenhouse Effect
- The warming of Earth as a result of greenhouse gases, which trap some of the energy that would otherwise leave Earth
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Acid Precipitation
- Rain, snow, or fog that is unnaturally acidic due to gases in the atmosphere that react with water to form acids
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