Glossary
Biodiversity
The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem. It encompasses the diversity of genes, species, and ecosystems.
Example:
The Amazon rainforest is renowned for its immense biodiversity, hosting millions of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms.
Energy Flow
The movement of energy through an ecosystem, typically starting with solar energy captured by producers and then transferred to consumers at different trophic levels.
Example:
The energy flow in a grassland ecosystem begins with the sun, moves to grasses, then to grazing animals like bison, and finally to predators like wolves.
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)
The total amount of solar energy captured by producers (like plants) through photosynthesis over a given period. It represents the ecosystem's total energy intake before any energy is used by the producers themselves.
Example:
A lush tropical rainforest has a very high Gross Primary Productivity because its abundant plant life captures a vast amount of sunlight.
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
The energy remaining in an ecosystem after producers have accounted for their own respiration. It is the actual energy available for growth, reproduction, and consumption by other organisms in the ecosystem.
Example:
A healthy coral reef exhibits high Net Primary Productivity, providing ample energy to support its diverse fish, invertebrate, and algal populations.
Photosynthesis
The process used by producers to convert light energy, usually from the sun, into chemical energy in the form of glucose. This process uses carbon dioxide and water.
Example:
During photosynthesis, a sunflower plant uses sunlight to transform carbon dioxide and water into sugars, releasing oxygen as a byproduct.
Producers
Organisms, primarily plants and algae, that produce their own food through photosynthesis, converting solar energy into chemical energy. They form the base of most food webs.
Example:
In an aquatic ecosystem, phytoplankton are the primary producers, converting sunlight into energy that supports the entire food web.
Respiration
The process by which organisms, including producers, release energy from organic molecules for their own metabolic needs. A portion of the energy captured by producers is lost as heat during this process.
Example:
Even a giant redwood tree performs respiration, using some of the energy it captured from the sun to maintain its cells and grow.
Trophic Levels
The successive levels of organisms in a food chain, indicating their position based on how they obtain energy. Examples include producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and so on.
Example:
In a forest, deer occupy the primary consumer trophic level, feeding on plants, while wolves are at a higher level, preying on the deer.