29
biogeography
substances by the extent of their actions under standardized conditions on
living organisms. Certain organisms can be used as accumulators of chemical compounds, which may otherwise be vety difficult to measure, and also
to rank toxic pollutants in order of toxicity. An example of a bioassay is the
monitoring of the water quality (~toxicity) of the river Rhine with trout as a
"reagent" for the determination of the maximal allowable concentration (MAC).
biochemical cycles ~biogeochemical cycles.
biocoenosis (syn. biocoenose) community of organisms of different species
living together with mutual interactions in an ecosystem.
bioenergetics quantitative description of energy flow or flux components in organisms, populations or ecosystems, usually expressed in joules, kcal or g C m- 2
y -1, sometimes in terms of P, N, etc. In an energy budget I = R + Ll. W + U + F + E,
where I is the quantity of food ingested, R is the quantity dissimulated in
respiration, Ll. W is the gain in body weight, while U, F, and E stand for the
quantities lost in urine, feces, and excretion, all per unit of time. Note that
Ll. W may include reproductive materials.
biofacies ~facies.
biogenic sediment sediment produced directly by the physiological activities of
organisms, either plant or animal. Most biogenic sediments consist primarily of the remains of organisms, such as parts of skeletons or tissues of animals. Examples: coral reefs, ooze, peat.
biogeochemical cycles (or biochemical cycles) more or less closed-circle paths of chemical elements, including all the essential elements for protoplasm passing
through from environment to organisms and vice versa. ~carbon cycle,
~nitrogen cycle, ~phosphorus cycle and ~sulfur cycle.
biogeocoenosis (syn. geobiocoenosis) ecosystem, a community interacting with its
abiotic environment.
biogeography describes the distribution of organisms on earth and analyzes the
causes of the geographical distribution of living and extinct taxa; biogeography of the animal kingdom is called zoogeography. Biological life occupies
the whole earth surface but taxa occur clustered in their own habitat and not
uniformly distributed. The explanation of discontinuous ranges is based on
the assumption that two taxa (species or groups of higher rank) have never
developed independently in widely separate areas. The following realms or
regions with different assemblages of organisms were previously distinguished: Pale arctic (Europa, North Africa and northern Asia), Ethiopian (Africa
biogeography
substances by the extent of their actions under standardized conditions on
living organisms. Certain organisms can be used as accumulators of chemical compounds, which may otherwise be vety difficult to measure, and also
to rank toxic pollutants in order of toxicity. An example of a bioassay is the
monitoring of the water quality (~toxicity) of the river Rhine with trout as a
"reagent" for the determination of the maximal allowable concentration (MAC).
biochemical cycles ~biogeochemical cycles.
biocoenosis (syn. biocoenose) community of organisms of different species
living together with mutual interactions in an ecosystem.
bioenergetics quantitative description of energy flow or flux components in organisms, populations or ecosystems, usually expressed in joules, kcal or g C m- 2
y -1, sometimes in terms of P, N, etc. In an energy budget I = R + Ll. W + U + F + E,
where I is the quantity of food ingested, R is the quantity dissimulated in
respiration, Ll. W is the gain in body weight, while U, F, and E stand for the
quantities lost in urine, feces, and excretion, all per unit of time. Note that
Ll. W may include reproductive materials.
biofacies ~facies.
biogenic sediment sediment produced directly by the physiological activities of
organisms, either plant or animal. Most biogenic sediments consist primarily of the remains of organisms, such as parts of skeletons or tissues of animals. Examples: coral reefs, ooze, peat.
biogeochemical cycles (or biochemical cycles) more or less closed-circle paths of chemical elements, including all the essential elements for protoplasm passing
through from environment to organisms and vice versa. ~carbon cycle,
~nitrogen cycle, ~phosphorus cycle and ~sulfur cycle.
biogeocoenosis (syn. geobiocoenosis) ecosystem, a community interacting with its
abiotic environment.
biogeography describes the distribution of organisms on earth and analyzes the
causes of the geographical distribution of living and extinct taxa; biogeography of the animal kingdom is called zoogeography. Biological life occupies
the whole earth surface but taxa occur clustered in their own habitat and not
uniformly distributed. The explanation of discontinuous ranges is based on
the assumption that two taxa (species or groups of higher rank) have never
developed independently in widely separate areas. The following realms or
regions with different assemblages of organisms were previously distinguished: Pale arctic (Europa, North Africa and northern Asia), Ethiopian (Africa