zooplankton
Animal plankton. Small floating herbivores that feed on plant plankton (phytoplankton). Compare phytoplankton.
Subject:
Chapter 4 - Ecosystems: Components, Energy Flow, and Matter Cycling
water cycle
See hydrologic cycle.
Subject:
vertebrates
Animals that have backbones. Compare invertebrates.
Subject:
troposphere
Innermost layer of the atmosphere. It contains about 75% of the mass of earth's air and extends about 17 kilometers (11 miles) above sea level. Compare stratosphere.
Subject:
trophic level
All organisms that are the same number of energy transfers away from the original source of energy (for example, sunlight) that enters an ecosystem. For example, all producers belong to the first trophic level, and all herbivores belong to the second trophic level in a food chain or a food web.
Subject:
transpiration
Process in which water (1) is absorbed by the root systems of plants, (2) moves up through the plants, (3) passes through pores (stomata) in their leaves or other parts, and (4) evaporates into the atmosphere as water vapor.
Subject:
threshold effect
Harmful or fatal effect of a small change in environmental conditions that exceeds the limit of tolerance of an organism or population of a species. See law of tolerance.
Subject:
tertiary (higher level) consumers
Animals that feed on animal-eating animals. They feed at high trophic levels in food chains and webs. Examples are hawks, lions, bass, and sharks. Compare detritivore, primary consumer, secondary consumer.
Subject:
surface runoff
Water flowing off the land into bodies of surface water. See reliable runoff.
Subject:
sulfur cycle
Cyclic movement of sulfur in different chemical forms from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment.
Subject:
Pages
Need Help?
We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.
For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.
If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.
Need Notes?
While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!
