Across
- 3. Particles of plastic waste less than five millimeters in size that contaminate aquatic ecosystems.
- 6. The gross primary production minus the energy used by primary producers for their own autotrophic respiration.
- 8. The process by which atmospheric gases absorb and radiate infrared radiation back toward Earth, trapping heat.
- 10. Trophic level consisting of autotrophs that support all other levels in an ecosystem.
- 12. The physical laws stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed and that conversions are inefficient.
- 17. Nonliving organic material, such as the remains of dead organisms, feces, and fallen leaves.
- 18. A downward spiral in which inbreeding and genetic drift cause a small population to shrink until it becomes extinct.
- 19. A consumer that derives its energy from nonliving organic matter, also known as a decomposer.
- 22. An introduced species that establishes itself in a new region and causes environmental harm.
- 23. A carnivore that eats other carnivores.
- 25. A restoration strategy that uses organisms to add essential materials to a degraded ecosystem.
- 26. A species that is considered likely to become endangered in the near future.
- 28. The field of ecology that initiates or speeds up the recovery of degraded ecosystems.
- 29. The process of converting N2 to forms that can be used to synthesize organic nitrogen compounds.
- 30. The process by which a body of water becomes enriched in nutrients, often leading to oxygen depletion.
- 32. The total primary production in an ecosystem.
- 33. A species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or much of its range.
Down
- 1. An organism, such as a plant or algae, that supports all other trophic levels by converting solar energy into chemical energy.
- 2. A carnivore that eats herbivores.
- 4. An element that must be added for production to increase in a particular ecosystem.
- 5. The variety of life considered at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.
- 7. The use of organisms, such as prokaryotes or fungi, to detoxify polluted ecosystems.
- 9. Development that meets the needs of people today without limiting the ability of future generations to meet theirs.
- 11. An herbivore that eats primary producers.
- 13. Nutrient circuits that involve both biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem.
- 14. The harvesting of wild organisms at rates exceeding the ability of their populations to rebound.
- 15. The biological process that returns nitrogen to the atmosphere.
- 16. Our innate sense of connection to nature and all forms of life.
- 18. The one-way passage of energy through an ecosystem, entering as sunlight and leaving as heat.
- 20. The breaking of a large habitat into smaller, isolated patches, which increases edge habitat.
- 21. A narrow strip of habitat that connects otherwise isolated patches to promote dispersal.
- 24. The amount of chemical energy in consumers' food that is converted to their own new biomass.
- 27. The percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next, usually about ten percent.
- 31. The sum of all organisms in a given area and the abiotic factors with which they interact.