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Ecology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ecology | Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment |
| Biosphere | Consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life exists |
| Species | A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring. |
| Populations | groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area |
| Communities | Assemblages of different populations that live together in a defined area |
| Ecosystem | A system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment |
| Biome | A group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms |
| Biotic Factors | All the living organisms that inhabit an environment |
| Abiotic Factors | Non-living factors including temperature |
| Habitat | Place where an organism lives |
| chemosynthetic organisms | an organism that captures energy from certain chemicals and uses it to produce food |
| Autotrophs | Organisms that are able to make their own food(producers) |
| Photosysthesis | The process by which some organisms capture the energy from the sun (solar) and transform it into energy (chemical) that can be used by living things. |
| Heterotrophs | An organism that obtains organic food molecules by eating other organisms or their by-products.(consumers) |
| Herbivores | An organism that eats only plants. |
| Carnivores | Consumers that eat only animals |
| Omnivores | An organism that eats both plants and animals. |
| Detrivores | Consumers that feed at every trophic level |
| Decomposers | Fungi and bacteria that break complex organic material into smaller molecules |
| Food Chain | a community of organisms where each member is eaten in turn by another member |
| Food Web | a community of organisms where there are several interrelated food chains |
| Trophic Level | Each step in a food chain or food web |
| Pyramid of Energy | Total amount of incoming energy at each level in an ecosystem. The area at the bottom represents the greatest amount of energy in an ecosystem. |
| Pyramid of Biomass | Shows the total amount of living material available at each trophic level/ The area at the bottom corresponds to the producer level. It represents the greatest amount of living material. |
| Biogeochemical Cycle | Process in which elements |
| Evaporation | The change of a liquid to a gas |
| Transpiration | Evaporation of water from the leaves of a plant |
| Condensation | The change from a gas to a liquid |
| Precipitation | Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface. |
| Nutrients | Compounds in food that the body requires for proper growth |
| Denitrification | Conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas |
| Nitrogen Fixation | Process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia |
| Niche | Full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions |
| Competition | A common demand by two or more organisms upon a limited supply of a resource; for example |
| Symbiosis | A close relationship between two species that benefits at least one of the species. |
| Mutualism | A relationship between two species in which both species benefit |
| Commensalism | A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefited |
| Parasitism | A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits and the other is harmed |
| Ecological Succession | Gradual change in living communities that follows a disturbance |
| Primary Succession | An ecological succession that begins in an area where no biotic community previously existed |
| Pioneer Species | First species to populate an area during primary succession |
| Secondary Succession | Changes that occur after a disturbance in an existing ecosystem. |
| Carrying Capacity | Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support |
Created by:
pb200
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