©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS
10/3/2024 9:54 PM
Brock Biology of Microorganisms Chapter
20-30 Terms
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) - answer✔the microbial oxygen-consuming properties of a
water sample
Biofilm - answer✔colonies of microbial cells encased in a porous organic matrix and attached to
a surface
Biogeochemistry - answer✔the study of biologically mediated chemical transformations in the
environment
Community - answer✔two or more cell populations coexisting in a certain area at a given time
Ecosystem - answer✔a dynamic complex of organisms and their physical environment
interacting as a functional unity
Epilimnion - answer✔the warmer and less dense surface waters of a stratified lake
Extreme piezophile - answer✔an organism requiring several hundred atmospheres of pressure
for growth
Guild - answer✔metabolically similar microbial populations that exploit the same resources in a
similar way
Habitat - answer✔part of the ecosystem best suited to one or a few populations
Hydrothermal vents - answer✔warm or hot water-emitting springs associated with crustal
spreading centers on the seafloor
Hypolimnion - answer✔the colder, denser, and often anoxic bottom waters of a stratified lake
Microbial mat - answer✔a thick, layered, diverse community nourished either by light in a
hypersaline or an extremely hot aquatic environment, in which cyanobacteria are essential; or by
chemolithotrophs growing on the surface of sulfide-rich marine sediments
, ©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS
10/3/2024 9:54 PM
Microenvironment - answer✔a micrometer-scale space surrounding a microbial cell or group of
cells
Niche (in ecological theory) - answer✔the biotic and abiotic characteristics of the
microenvironment that contribute to an organism's competitive success
Obligotroph - answer✔an organism that grows only or grows best at very low levels of nutrients
Oxygen Maximum Zone (OMZ) - answer✔an oxygen-depleted region of intermediate depth in
the marine water column
Piezophile - answer✔an organism that grows best under a hydrostatic pressure greater than 1 atm
Piezotolerant - answer✔able to grow under elevated hydrostatic pressures but growing best at 1
atm
Population - answer✔a group of organisms of the same species in the same place at the same
time
Primary Producer - answer✔an organism that synthesizes new organic material from CO2 and
obtains energy from light or from oxidation of inorganic compounds
Prochlorophyte - answer✔a bacterial oxygenic phototroph that contains chlorophylls a and b but
lacks phycobiliproteins
Proteorhodopsin - answer✔a light-sensitive protein present in some pelagic Bacteria that fuels a
proton pump that yields ATP
Rhizosphere - answer✔the region immediately adjacent to plant roots
Species abundance - answer✔the proportion of each species in a community
Species richness - answer✔total number of different species present in a community
Stratified Water Column - answer✔a body of water separated into layers having distinct physical
and chemical characteristics
Denitrification - answer✔the biological reduction of nitrate (NO3-) to gaseous N compounds
Global Warming - answer✔the predicted and ongoing warming of the atmosphere and oceans
attributed to anthropogenic release of greenhouse gases, primarily CO2, that trap infrared
radiation emitted by Earth
10/3/2024 9:54 PM
Brock Biology of Microorganisms Chapter
20-30 Terms
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) - answer✔the microbial oxygen-consuming properties of a
water sample
Biofilm - answer✔colonies of microbial cells encased in a porous organic matrix and attached to
a surface
Biogeochemistry - answer✔the study of biologically mediated chemical transformations in the
environment
Community - answer✔two or more cell populations coexisting in a certain area at a given time
Ecosystem - answer✔a dynamic complex of organisms and their physical environment
interacting as a functional unity
Epilimnion - answer✔the warmer and less dense surface waters of a stratified lake
Extreme piezophile - answer✔an organism requiring several hundred atmospheres of pressure
for growth
Guild - answer✔metabolically similar microbial populations that exploit the same resources in a
similar way
Habitat - answer✔part of the ecosystem best suited to one or a few populations
Hydrothermal vents - answer✔warm or hot water-emitting springs associated with crustal
spreading centers on the seafloor
Hypolimnion - answer✔the colder, denser, and often anoxic bottom waters of a stratified lake
Microbial mat - answer✔a thick, layered, diverse community nourished either by light in a
hypersaline or an extremely hot aquatic environment, in which cyanobacteria are essential; or by
chemolithotrophs growing on the surface of sulfide-rich marine sediments
, ©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS
10/3/2024 9:54 PM
Microenvironment - answer✔a micrometer-scale space surrounding a microbial cell or group of
cells
Niche (in ecological theory) - answer✔the biotic and abiotic characteristics of the
microenvironment that contribute to an organism's competitive success
Obligotroph - answer✔an organism that grows only or grows best at very low levels of nutrients
Oxygen Maximum Zone (OMZ) - answer✔an oxygen-depleted region of intermediate depth in
the marine water column
Piezophile - answer✔an organism that grows best under a hydrostatic pressure greater than 1 atm
Piezotolerant - answer✔able to grow under elevated hydrostatic pressures but growing best at 1
atm
Population - answer✔a group of organisms of the same species in the same place at the same
time
Primary Producer - answer✔an organism that synthesizes new organic material from CO2 and
obtains energy from light or from oxidation of inorganic compounds
Prochlorophyte - answer✔a bacterial oxygenic phototroph that contains chlorophylls a and b but
lacks phycobiliproteins
Proteorhodopsin - answer✔a light-sensitive protein present in some pelagic Bacteria that fuels a
proton pump that yields ATP
Rhizosphere - answer✔the region immediately adjacent to plant roots
Species abundance - answer✔the proportion of each species in a community
Species richness - answer✔total number of different species present in a community
Stratified Water Column - answer✔a body of water separated into layers having distinct physical
and chemical characteristics
Denitrification - answer✔the biological reduction of nitrate (NO3-) to gaseous N compounds
Global Warming - answer✔the predicted and ongoing warming of the atmosphere and oceans
attributed to anthropogenic release of greenhouse gases, primarily CO2, that trap infrared
radiation emitted by Earth
