Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Ch. 4 Biology Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Weather | The day-to-day condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place |
| Climate | Refers to the average, year-after-year conditions of temperature and precipitation in a particular region |
| Greenhouse Effect | The natural situation in which heat is retained by this layer of greenhouse gases |
| Polar zones | Cold areas where the sun's rays strike Earth at a very low angle |
| Temperate zones | Sit between the polar zones and the tropics and the climate ranges from hot to cold |
| Tropical zones | Near the equator and receives direct or nearly direct sunlight year-round, making the climate almost always warm |
| Biotic factor | The biological influences on organisms within an ecosystem |
| Abiotic factors | Physical, or nonliving factors that shape ecosystems |
| Habitat | The area where an organism lives |
| Niche | The full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions |
| Resource | Refers to any necessity of life |
| Competitive exclusion principal | States that no two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat a the same time |
| Predation | An interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another oraganism |
| Symbiosis | Any relationship in which two species live closely together |
| Mutualism | Both species benefit form the relationship |
| Commensalism | One member of the association benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed |
| Parasitism | One organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it |
| Ecological succession | Series of predictable changes that occurs in a community over time |
| Primary succession | Succession that occurs on surfaces where no soil exists |
| Pioneer species | The first species to populate and area |
| Secondary succession | Succession where community interactions tend to restore the ecosystem to its original condition |
| Biome | A complex of terrestrial communities that covers a large area and is characterized by certain soil and climate conditions and particular assemblages of plants and animals |
| Tolerance | Ability to survive and reproduce under conditions that differ from their optimal conditions |
| Microclimate | The climate in a small area that differ from the climate around it |
| Canopy | A dense covering formed by the leafy tops of tall trees |
| Understory | A second layer of short trees and vines formed below the canopy |
| Deciduous | A tree that sheds its leaves during a particular season each year |
| Coniferous | Trees or conifers that produce seed-bearing cones and most have leaves shaped like needles |
| Humus | A material formed from decaying leave and other organic matter that makes soil fertile |
| Taiga | Biome of dense evergreen forests of confierous trees |
| Permafrost | A layer of permanently frozen subsoil |
| Plankton | A general term for the tiny, free-floating organisms that live in bother freshwater and saltwater environments |
| Phytopplankton | Unicellular algae that are supported by nutrients in the water and form the base of many aquatic food webs |
| Zooplankton | Planktonic animals that feed on the phytoplankton |
| Wetland | An ecosystem in which water either covers the soil or is present at or near the surface of the soil for at least part of the year |
| Estuaries | Wetlands formed where rivers meet the sea |
| Detritus | Made up of tiny pieces or organic matter that provide food for organisms at the base of the estuary's food web |
| Salt marshes | Temperate-zone estuaries dominated by salt-tolerant grasses above the low-tide line, and by seagrasses under water. |
| Mangrove swamps | Coastal wetlands that are widespread across tropical regions |
| Photic zone | A well-lit upper layer that photosynthesis is limited to |
| Aphotic zone | A permanently dark zone below the photic zone |
| Zonation | The prominent horizontal banding of organisms that live in a particular habitat |
| Coastal ocean | Extends form the low-tide mark to the outer edge of the continental shelf, the relatively shallow border that surrounds the continents |
| Kelp forests | Named for their dominant organisms |
| Coral reefs | Named for the coral animals whose hard, calcium carbonate skeletons make up their primary structure |
| Benthos | Organisms that live attached to or near the bottom of the ocean floor |
Created by:
abwilliams
Popular Biology sets