nutrient

(noun)

a source of nourishment, such as food, that can be metabolized by an organism to give energy and build tissue

Related Terms

  • germinate
  • vitamin
  • catabolism
  • photosynthesis

Examples of nutrient in the following topics:

  • Energy Sources

    • The availability of nutrients in aquatic systems is also an important aspect of energy or photosynthesis.
    • In freshwater systems, the recycling of nutrients occurs in response to air temperature changes.
    • The nutrients at the bottom of lakes are recycled twice each year: in the spring and fall turnover, which recycles nutrients and oxygen from the bottom of a freshwater ecosystem to the top of a body of water.
    • As it rises, the sediments and nutrients from the lake bottom are brought along with it.
    • Ocean upwelling is an important process that recycles nutrients and energy in the ocean.
  • Essential Nutrients for Plants

    • These 20 elements are called essential nutrients.
    • Nutrients that plants require in larger amounts are called macronutrients.
    • The role of calcium is twofold: to regulate nutrient transport and to support many enzyme functions.
    • Depending on the specific nutrient, a lack can cause stunted growth, slow growth, or chlorosis.
    • Nutrient deficiency is evident in the symptoms these plants show.
  • Food Requirements and Essential Nutrients

    • Essential nutrients are those that cannot be created by an animal's metabolism and need to be obtained from the diet.
    • These nutrients are termed essential nutrients: they must be eaten as the body cannot produce them.
    • Minerals are inorganic essential nutrients that must also be obtained from food.
    • Each of these food sources provides different nutrients the body cannot make for itself.
    • Describe the essential nutrients required for cellular function that cannot be synthesized by the animal body
  • Inorganic Nutrients and Other Factors

    • Inorganic nutrients, soil structure, and aquatic oxygen availability are further abiotic factors that affect species distribution in an ecosystem.
    • Inorganic nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, are important in the distribution and the abundance of living things.
    • Plants obtain these inorganic nutrients from the soil when water moves into the plant through the roots.
    • Therefore, soil structure (the particle size of soil components), soil pH, and soil nutrient content play an important role in the distribution of plants.
    • Animals obtain inorganic nutrients from the food they consume.
  • Plant Nutrition

    • Plants meet their nutritional needs for growth by absorbing soil nutrients, water, and carbon dioxide, in addition to the required sunlight.
    • Plants are unique organisms that can absorb nutrients and water through their root system, as well as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
    • The combination of soil nutrients, water, and carbon dioxide, along with sunlight, allows plants to grow.
    • Second, the young seedling will eventually grow into a mature plant with the roots absorbing nutrients and water from the soil.
  • The Chemical Composition of Plants

    • Since plants require nutrients in the form of elements such as carbon and potassium, it is important to understand the chemical composition of plants.
    • Plants need water to support cell structure, for metabolic functions, to carry nutrients, and for photosynthesis.
    • Plant cells need essential substances, collectively called nutrients, to sustain life.
    • Plant nutrients may be composed of either organic or inorganic compounds.
  • The Role of the Circulatory System

    • The circulatory systems is a network of blood vessels supplying the body with oxygen and nutrients, while removing carbon dioxide and waste.
    • Most animals are complex, multicellular organisms that require a mechanism for transporting nutrients throughout their bodies and for removing waste products.
    • This extensive network supplies the cells, tissues, and organs with oxygen and nutrients, while removing carbon dioxide and waste, the byproducts of respiration.
    • Just as highway systems transport people and goods through a complex network, the circulatory system transports nutrients, gases, and wastes throughout the animal body.
  • Nutrients from Other Sources

    • Many species of plants are unable to make their food via photosynthesis and must acquire nutrients in a variety of additional ways.
    • The parasitic plant obtains water and nutrients through these connections.
    • Plants such as these use enzymes to convert organic food materials into simpler forms from which they can absorb nutrients .
    • The dodder is a holoparasite that penetrates the host's vascular tissue and diverts nutrients for its own growth.
    • A Venus flytrap has specialized leaves to trap insects, which it uses to supplement the low level of nutrients in the soil in which it lives.
  • Mycorrhizae: The Symbiotic Relationship between Fungi and Roots

    • Many plants form associations called mycorrhizae with fungi that give them access to nutrients in the soil, protecting against disease and toxicities.
    • A nutrient depletion zone can develop when there is rapid soil solution uptake, low nutrient concentration, low diffusion rate, or low soil moisture.
    • The fungus obtains nutrients, such as sugars, from the plant root.
    • Mycorrhizae help increase the surface area of the plant root system because hyphae, which are narrow, can spread beyond the nutrient depletion zone.
    • These hyphae greatly increase the surface area of the plant root, allowing it to reach areas that are not depleted of nutrients.
  • Digestive Systems

    • Animals use the organs of their digestive systems to extract important nutrients from food they consume, which can later be absorbed.
    • All living organisms need nutrients to survive.
    • While plants can obtain the molecules required for cellular function through the process of photosynthesis, most animals obtain their nutrients by the consumption of other organisms.
    • The conversion of the food consumed to the nutrients required is a multi-step process involving digestion and absorption.
    • The cells of the human body all require a wide array of chemicals to support their metabolic activities, from organic nutrients used as fuel to the water that sustains life at the cellular level.
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