Across
- 3. The second layer of Earth's atmosphere, located just above the troposphere; it contains the beneficial ozone layer that absorbs harmful incoming ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
- 4. All the interacting populations of different species that live, compete, and coexist in a specific geographic area at a given time (comprising only the biotic components).
- 6. The uppermost layer of the atmosphere (below the exosphere) characterized by highly ionized gases, auroras, and rapidly increasing temperatures due to the absorption of high-energy X-ray and UV radiation.
- 7. The process by which certain organisms (like specialized bacteria) synthesize organic energy compounds using energy derived from the oxidation of inorganic chemicals (like hydrogen sulfide) rather than from sunlight, commonly found in deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
Down
- 1. The hierarchical feeding steps within a food chain or food web, categorizing organisms based on their primary source of energy and their nutritional role (e.g., primary producers, primary consumers, apex predators).
- 2. The rigid outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and the solid, outermost part of the upper mantle, which is broken into shifting tectonic plates.
- 5. The lowest, densest layer of Earth's atmosphere; it contains most of the atmosphere's mass, holds nearly all of the atmospheric water vapor, and is where weather occurs.
- 8. A transitional zone where two distinct biological communities, ecosystems, or biomes meet and integrate, often exhibiting high biodiversity and species density due to the "edge effect."