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Glossary Ecosystems

autotroph An organism that makes its own food using an environmental energy source and
carbon from carbon dioxide.
biological A nondegradable or slowly degradable substance becomes more concentrated in
magnification body tissues as it moves up through food chains.
carbon cycle Movement of carbon from the atmosphere, through food webs and the ocean's
waters and rocks, and back into the atmosphere.
consumer A heterotroph that obtains carbon and energy by feeding on tissues of other
organisms.
decomposer Fungal or bacterial heterotroph that obtains carbon and energy from remains,
products, or wastes of organisms.
desalinization Removal of salt from seawater.
detrital food web Food web in which energy flows from producers to detritivores and decomposers.
detritivore Heterotroph that feeds on particles of decaying organic matter (e.g., an
earthworm).
ecosystem An array of species and their physical environment.
energy pyramid Diagram of an ecosystem's trophic structure; shows usable energy at each trophic
level.
eutrophication Nutrient enrichment of a body of water (e.g., a lake or pond).
food chain A linear flow of energy captured by primary producers (autotrophs) into ever higher
trophic levels of an ecosystem.
food web Cross-connecting food chains.
global warming Long-term rise in the temperature of the Earth's lower atmosphere.
grazing food web Food web in which energy flows from producers to herbivores, then to carnivores.
greenhouse effect Warming of the Earth's lower atmosphere as greenhouse gases reradiate heat
energy back toward the Earth's surface.
heterotroph Organism unable to make its own organic compounds; feeds on autotrophs, other
heterotrophs, or organic wastes.
hydrologic cycle Driven by solar energy, water evaporates from the ocean into the atmosphere,
moves onto the land, then back to the ocean.
ion exchange The replacement of ions associated with soil particles by other ions; usually leads
to loss of nutrients vital to plant growth.
nitrogen cycle Movement of nitrogen from the atmosphere, through the ocean, ocean sediments,
soils, and food webs, then back to the atmosphere.
nitrogen fixation Conversion of nitrogen gas to forms that plants can take up from soil.
phosphorus cycle Movement of phosphorus from land, through food webs, to ocean sediments, then
back to land.

pollutant Natural or synthetic substance with which an ecosystem has no prior evolutionary
experience, in terms of kinds or amounts; it has accumulated to disruptive or
harmful levels.

primary producer Type of autotroph that secures energy directly from the environment and stores
some in its tissues.
primary Of ecosystems, the rate at which primary producers capture and store energy in
productivity their tissues during a specified interval.
salinization Salt buildup in soil through poor drainage, evaporation, and heavy irrigation.
trophic level All organisms the same number of transfer steps away from the energy input into an
ecosystem.
water table Upper level at which the ground is fully saturated.
watershed Region from which water drains into a single stream or river

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