type of symmetry in which there is only one plane of symmetry, so the left and right halves of an animal are mirror images

digestive juice produced by the liver; important for digestion of lipids

system of two-part scientific names for an organism, which includes genus and species names

study of the chemistry of biological organisms

variety of a biological system, typically conceived as the number of species, but also applying to genes, biochemistry, and ecosystems

concept originated by Norman Myers to describe a geographical region with a large number of endemic species and a large percentage of degraded habitat

concept originated by Norman Myers to describe a geographical region with a large number of endemic species and a large percentage of degraded habitat

study of energy flowing through living systems

microbial community that is held together by a gummy-textured matrix

cycling of mineral nutrients through ecosystems and through the nonliving world

study of the geographic distribution of living things and the abiotic factors that affect their distribution

process by which inorganic carbon is fixed by photosynthetic species that then die and fall to the sea floor where they cannot be reached by saprobes and their carbon dioxide consumption cannot be returned to the atmosphere

large molecule necessary for life that is built from smaller organic molecules.

conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia exclusively carried out by prokaryotes