Unit 8 Key Vocabulary - Energy Flow through Ecosystems

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Across
  1. 4. Cascade: The indirect effects of predators on lower trophic levels, where changes in the abundance or behavior of top predators can lead to changes in populations of intermediate predators, herbivores, and ultimately plants.
  2. 5. Organisms, such as bacteria and fungi, that break down dead organic matter and waste materials, returning nutrients to the ecosystem.
  3. 7. Energy: The energy possessed by an object due to its motion.
  4. 8. An organism that generates and maintains its body temperature through internal metabolic processes.
  5. 11. Law of Thermodynamics: The law stating that energy transformations result in an increase in entropy in the universe, meaning that energy becomes less available to do work over time.
  6. 13. Production: The production of organic compounds and biomass by heterotrophs through the consumption of autotrophs or other heterotrophs.
  7. 14. Production: The production of organic compounds and biomass by autotrophs in an ecosystem through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.
  8. 16. Rate: The rate at which an organism carries out metabolic processes, often expressed as the amount of energy expended per unit of time.
  9. 19. Pyramid: A graphical representation of the trophic levels in a food chain or food web, showing the energy transfer and biomass accumulation at each level.
  10. 20. A rule of thumb in ecology stating that only about 10% of the energy available at one trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level, with the rest being lost as heat or used for metabolic processes.
  11. 22. The process by which certain bacteria and archaea use chemical energy derived from inorganic compounds to produce organic compounds.
  12. 24. An animal that has a mixed diet and consumes both plant and animal material.
  13. 27. An organism whose body temperature is primarily regulated by the external environment.
  14. 29. An animal that primarily feeds on plants or plant material.
  15. 30. An organism that produces its own organic compounds and biomass through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, forming the base of the food chain.
  16. 31. Diversity Index: A measure of species diversity that takes into account both species richness (number of species) and species evenness (relative abundance of each species) in a community or ecosystem.
Down
  1. 1. The variety and abundance of different species, genetic variation within species, and the variety of ecosystems present in a given area or on Earth.
  2. 2. Composition: The identity and relative abundance of different species within a community or ecosystem.
  3. 3. Diversity: The measure of the variety and richness of species in a given area, often taking into account species richness and evenness.
  4. 6. Chain and Food Web: A food chain represents the linear transfer of energy and nutrients from one organism to another in a specific ecosystem, while a food web depicts a more complex network of interconnected food chains.
  5. 9. A measure of the disorder or randomness in a system, often associated with the concept of energy transformation and the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
  6. 10. An animal that primarily feeds on the flesh or other animal tissues.
  7. 12. An organism that obtains organic compounds and energy by consuming other organisms or their products.
  8. 14. The process by which autotrophs convert light energy into chemical energy (glucose) using carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen as a byproduct.
  9. 15. Respiration: The metabolic process by which cells convert organic molecules into usable energy (ATP) through the oxidation of glucose or other substrates.
  10. 17. Law of Thermodynamics: Also known as the law of conservation of energy, it states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another.
  11. 18. Primary Production: The total amount of energy captured by autotrophs through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis in an ecosystem.
  12. 21. Energy: The stored energy possessed by an object or system, such as chemical energy or gravitational potential energy.
  13. 23. Organisms that consume detritus, dead organic matter, and debris, playing a crucial role in decomposition and nutrient cycling.
  14. 25. Primary Production: The amount of energy or biomass produced by autotrophs after subtracting the energy used for their own respiration (R) from the gross primary production (GPP).
  15. 26. The sum of all chemical reactions and processes occurring within an organism to maintain life, including energy production, growth, and reproduction.
  16. 28. The total mass of living organisms (plants, animals, microorganisms) in a given area or ecosystem.