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Biology HSA Q4
Evolution & Ecology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| species | a group of organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring |
| variation | differences among members of the same species |
| inheritable characteristic | a trait that can be passed on to any offspring of the organism |
| natural selection | process in which organisms best suited to their environment as a result of favorable characteristics survive and reproduce |
| overproduction | most organisms produce more offspring than are able to survive |
| adaptation | a trait that improves an organism's chance for survival and reproduction |
| extinction | the end of a species |
| evolution | the process of change over time |
| kingdom | large, broad categories that group living things by the structure of their cells |
| prokaryote | organism with cell that lacks a membrane-bound nucleus or organelles |
| eukaryote | organism with cells that contain a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles |
| fossil | preserved remains of an organism that lived many years ago |
| homologous structures | similar structures that began from a common ancestor; provide evidence of close evolutionary relationship |
| DNA fingerprint | DNA fragments separated according to size, may give information about how closely related organisms are |
| ecology | the study of the interactions among living things and their environment |
| abiotic factors | physical factors in an ecosystem; not alive; light, water, weather, soil |
| biotic factors | factors in an ecosystem that are alive; all of the living things in an ecosystem |
| ecosystem | a collection of organisms and their relationships with the biotic and abiotic factors that affect their lives |
| symbiosis | a permanent relationship between two different organisms |
| mutualism | both organisms benefit in this symbiotic relationship |
| commensalism | one organism benefits, the other is unaffected in this symbiotic relationship |
| parasitism | one organism benefits and the other (host) is harmed |
| predator | an animal that feeds on another animal |
| prey | the animal that is killed and eaten by a predator |
| niche | an organism's role in the environment |
| producers | organisms capable of making own food; plants |
| consumers | organisms that eat other organisms to obtain food |
| herbivores | organisms that eat only plants |
| carnivores | organisms that eat only animals |
| omnivores | organisms that eat both plant and animals |
| scavenger | organisms that feed off other organisms that have already been killed or have died |
| decomposers | organisms that break down the remains of dead organisms |
| food chain | describes the flow of energy from producers to consumers to decomposers |
| food web | interconnected food chains |
| ecological succession | when one community is entirely replaced by another |
| climax community | the final community that results from ecological succession; diverse, stable and in balance with the environment |
| pioneer species | the first group of plants to appear in a bare region |
| population | all of the members of the same species that inhabit a specific area |
| limiting factors | environmental factors that limit the size of a population |
Created by:
plaun
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