Science Grade 7 - Unit 1: Interactions and Ecosystems
The total mass of all organisms in an ecosystem
Biomass
The order of consumers
Primary, secondary, tertiary
Liquid changes to water vapor
Evaporation
water is taken through plants' roots and evaporates
transpiration
vapor changes into liquid
condensation
liquid water falls back to the ground
precipitation
the water cycle in order
transpiration, evaporation, condensation, precipitation
the gradual process in which some species replace others in an ecosystem
succession
the gradual growth of organisms in an area that was bare, such as rock
primary succession
the gradual growth of organisms in an area that previously had a number of organisms
secondary succession
an organism is only lost in a large region, but not entirely extinct
extirpated
a way to check the condition or health of an ecosystem by comparing the results of investigations done at different times, AKA environmental monitoring
ecosystem monitoring
uses satellites to track changes in landscape over time
physical monitoring
tracks changes in climate, temperature, and weather patterns
environmental monitoring
assesses air, soil, and water quality
chemical monitoring
tracks changes in organisms or populations of organisms over time
biological monitoring
a species that is sensitive to environmental change and is the first to be affected; they help to monitor the overall health of our environment
indicator species
a starting point of data that allows scientists to go back and see if changes have occured
baseline data
study areas that scientists always return to
permanent plots
a report that outlines how an activity will affect the environment
environmental impact assessment