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Ecology
All BS
Term | Definition |
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Ecology | the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings |
Trade Off | a balance achieved between two desirable but incompatible features; a compromise |
Deforestation | is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses |
Reforestation | is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation. |
Fossil Fuels | are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. |
Global Warming | term for the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system and its related effects |
Producer | An autotrophic organism that serves as a source of food for other organisms in a food chain |
Host | An organism that is infected with or is fed upon by a parasitic or pathogenic organism (for example, a virus, nematode, fungus |
Pollution | is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light |
Abiotic | non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems |
Biotic | The biotic factors in an environment include the organisms themselves as well as such items as predation, competition for food resources, and symbiotic relationships. |
Scavengers | an animal that feeds on carrion, dead plant material, or refuse |
Population | that deals with the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment |
Parasite | an organism that lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense |
Renewable Resources | Any resource, such as wood or solar energy, that can or will be replenished naturally in the course of time. |
Non-Renewable Resources | are resources for which there is a limited supply |
Autotrophs | "producer", is an organism that produces complex organic compounds from simple substances present in its surroundings, generally using energy from light or inorganic chemical reactions. |
Heterotrophs | that cannot manufacture its own food and instead obtains its food and energy by taking in organic substances, usually plant or animal matter |
Evaporation | The changing of a liquid into a gas, often under the influence of heat (as in the boiling of water). |
Precipitation | the fall of water, ice, or snow deposited on the surface of the Earth from the atmosphere |
Industrialization | The process in which a society or country (or world) transforms itself from a primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services. |