Front

acid rain

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rain containing nitric and sulfuric acids

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apex consumer

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organism at the top of the food chain

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assimilation

Back

consumed biomass that is passed on to the next trophic level

Front

biomagnification

Back

accumulation of toxins at successive levels of the food chain

Front

chemoautotroph

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organism capable of synthesizing its own food using energy from inorganic molecules

Front

eutrophication

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when nutrients become highly concentrated in a body of water, leading to increased growth of algae or cyanobacteria

Front

gross primary productivity (GPP)

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rate at which photosynthetic primary producers incorporate energy from the sun

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hydrosphere

Back

area of the Earth where water movement and storage occurs

Front

net consumer productivity (NCP)

Back

energy content available to the organisms of the next trophic level

Front

net primary productivity (NPP)

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energy that remains in the primary producers after accounting for the organisms' respiration and heat loss