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| typically convert energy from the sun to chemical bond energy and use it to synthesize organic compounds from simple materials |
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| all organisms in an ecosystem besides primary producers |
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| eat particles of decomposing organic matter |
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| break down organic remains and wastes of all organisms |
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| an array of of organisms and their physical environment, all interacting through a one-way flow of energy and cycling of the materials required to sustain life |
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| all organisms at a given trophic level are the same number of transfer steps away fro the energy input into an ecosystem- its a hierarchy of feeding relationships |
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| straight-line sequence of steps by which energy originally stored in autotroph tissues moves to higher trophic levels |
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| a number of food chains cross-connect with one another |
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| energy flows mostly into herbivores, carnivores, then decomposers |
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| energy from producers flows mainly into detritivores and decomposers |
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| a substance that degrades slowly or not at all becomes ever more concentrated in tissues of organisms at higher trophic levels of a food web |
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| the rate at which producers capture and store energy in their tissues during a given interval |
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| the gross primary production minus the energy used by the producers and soil detritivores and decomposers |
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| depicts the dry weight of all of an ecosystem's organisms at each tier |
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| illustrates how the amount of usable energy diminishes as it is transferred through an ecosytem |
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| an essential element moves from the environment, through ecosystems, then back to the environment |
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| a nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment |
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| water moves from the ocean to the atmosphere, land, and back |
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| any region where precipitation flows into a single stream or river |
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| a build-up of salt in soil that stunts crop plats and decreases yields |
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| soil and aquifers hold groundwater-water that sits in the ground |
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| removal of salt from water or seawater |
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| carbon moves through the lower atmosphere and all food webs on its way to and from its large reservoirs |
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| as heat builds up in the lower atmosphere, the air temperature near Earth's surface rises |
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| a long-term increase in temperature near Earth's surface |
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| gaseous nitrogen (N2) travels in an atmospheric cycle |
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| is the natural process, either biological or abiotic, by which nitrogen (N2) in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia (NH3) |
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| where bacteria and fungi break down nitrogenous materials, and ammonium forms |
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| is the biological oxidation of ammonia with oxygen into nitrite followed by the oxidation of these nitrites into nitrates |
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| is a microbially facilitated process of nitrate reduction that may ultimately produce molecular nitrogen (N2) through a series of intermediate gaseous nitrogen oxide products |
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| ions dissociate from soil particles, and then other ions in soil water replace them |
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| phosphorous passes quickly through the food webs as it moves from land to ocean sediments, then slowly back to dry land |
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| refers to the nutrient enrichment of any ecosystem that is otherwise low in nutrients- it is a process of natural selection- phosphorous inputs as fro agriculture can accelerate it |
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