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Ecosystems
- all interacting parts of a biological community, and that communities environment
- organisms can depend on multiple ecosystems to survive
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Sustainable Ecosystem
an ecosystem that is capable of withstanding pressure and giving support to a variety of organisms
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Biotic
- -all living or recently living parts of an ecosystem
- -includes all interactions among the living things in the ecosystem
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Abiotic
- -theseare the non-living parts of an ecosystem that organisms need to survive
- (water, air, light, chemical nutrients, soil)
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Lithosphere
- hard part of Earth's surface
- includes rock and soil
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Hydrosphere
- liquid part of Earth's surface
- salt ocean waters, fresh water lakes, rivers
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Atmosphere
- layer of gasses above Earth's surface
- air
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Biosphere
- living part of Earth's surface
- life in soil, water, and air
- not separate from other abiotic spheres
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Nutrients
Chemicals needed by a variety of organisms
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Eutrophication
the process of adding nitrogen or phosphorus to an ecosystem so it's pushed beyond sustainability
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Photosynthesis
conversion of solar energy to chemical energy to be used as food
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Trophic level
categories of organisms defined by how the organism gains energy
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Biomass
the total mass of a living organisms in a defined group or area
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Trophic efficiency
a measure of the amount of energy or biomass transfered from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level
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Bioaccumulation
- a process in which materials, especially toxins, are ingested by an organism at a rate greater than can be eliminated
- toxins from human made pollution can be destructive to a species
- e.i. DDT, PCB's
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Biomagnification
the increase in the concentration of a toxin as it moves from one trophic level to the next
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Cellular respiration
- consumes oxygen and produces carbon dioxide
- contrast to photosynthesis
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Fermentation
- when oxygen is absent or under anaerobic conditions and energy is needed
- humans fermentation is lactic acid
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Greenhouse gases
- water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane
- traps energy from the sun that would otherwise escape
- natural insulation so planet can sustain life
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Greenhouse effect
- burning of fossil fuels of biomass created by photosynthesis billions of years ago
- the burning releases the large amounts of energy stored inside
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Acid precipitation
- fossil fuels burning releases nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide
- these gasses combine with water in the atmosphere to form nitric acid and sulfuric acid
- these acids lower the normal pH of precipitation that eventually decends as acid precipitation
- e.i. rain, sleet, snow, hail
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