Ecosystems Week 3

The process by which life supporting resources such as clean water, timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops are produced

A good produced by an ecosystem that humans can use directly

The farming of fish, shellfish, and seawood

All the land in an area that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland

The total amount of chemical energy that is stored by plants as carbon-containing sugars via photosynthesis. GPP = NPP + R

The process by which organisms release chemical energy from oxygen-containing molecules. R = GPP - NPP

The rate of energy storage by photosynthesizers in a given area, after subtracting the energy lost to respiration. NPP = GPP - R

The uppermost layer of the ocean where most photosynthesis takes place

Between 200 and 1,000 meters (656 and 3,281 feet) deep, dimly lit.

The layer of the ocean where no light at all penetrates, depths are more than 1,000 meters (3,281 feet). This comprises over 90 percent of the entire ocean area on Earth.

the total quantity or weight of organisms in a given area or volume.

A positive feedback loop occurs in nature when the product of a reaction leads to an increase in that reaction. If we look at a system in homeostasis, a positive feedback loop moves a system further away from the target of equilibrium. It does this by amplifying the effects of a product or event and occurs when something needs to happen quickly.

A negative feedback loop occurs in biology when the product of a reaction leads to a decrease in that reaction. In this way, a negative feedback loop brings a system closer to a target of stability or homeostasis. Negative feedback loops are responsible for the stabilization of a system, and ensure the maintenance of a steady, stable state.

involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water from deep water towards the ocean surface. It replaces the warmer and usually nutrient-depleted surface water.

Using resources in different ways, places, or at different times to reduce the negative impact of competition between species.

One organism benefits and the other is harmed.

both organisms benefit

one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed

Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air