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T#9 Ecology
This stack includes both terms/defs AND "target practice" with images.
Term | Definition |
---|---|
ecology | study of how organisms relate with each other and with their non-living environment (ety: ecos = taking care of the house, ology = study of) |
biotic factor | all the living parts of an ecosystem |
abiotic factor | all the non-living parts of an ecosystem |
population | a group of organisms of the same species living together in an area |
community | a group of organisms of different species living together in an area |
ecosystem | a community plus all the abiotic factors around them |
biosphere | all the ecosystems on Earth together as a group |
population density | measurement of the number of organisms living in a certain area. |
limiting factor | anything that keeps a population from growing out of control |
carrying capacity | the largest number of organisms an area can support for a long period of time |
sustainability | when natural resource renewal is balanced with human consumption and other human impacts on the environment |
symbiosis | any close relationship between two organisms of different species |
mutualism | a symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit |
commensalism | a symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is unaffected |
parasitism | a symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is hurt |
habitat | the physical location where an organism lives |
niche | the ecological role of an organism in its habitat (decomposer, consumer, or producer…and its place in the food web) |
food chain | a way of showing how food/energy passes from one organism to another |
food web | a bubble-map showing all the food/energy connections between different species in a community |
ecological pyramid | a model that shows how food/energy travels through the biosphere: energy gets used up by organisms along the way up from producers to higher level consumers |
water cycle | the paths water follows in the environment through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation |
evaporation | when water changes from its liquid phase to gas phase (without boiling!) |
condensation | when water changes from its gas phase to liquid phase (the way clouds form) |
precipitation | when condensed water from clouds falls from the sky as rain or snow |
matter | the stuff things are made of...it has mass and takes up space |
energy | the ability to do work...comes in forms such as motion, heat and chemical |
producer | organism in an ecosystem that makes its own food by doing photosynthesis |
consumer | organism in an ecosystem that must eat to get energy for life |
decomposer | organism in an ecosystem that breaks down dead material |