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Ecology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Abiotic | All NONLIVING factors in an ecosystem (Oxygen, temperature, humidity…) |
| Autotroph | AKA PRODUCERS, they are the PHOTOSYNTHETIC organisms (Plants) in an ecosystem |
| Biodiversity | The concept that more species in an ecosystem produces stability |
| Biosphere | The portion of Earth where ALL LIVING THINGS EXIST (in air, water or ground) |
| Biotic | All LIVING organisms in an ecosystem (plants, predators….) |
| Carnivore | Animals that feed on other animals (MEAT) |
| Commensalism | Symbiotic relationship between two different organisms when one organism benefits and the other is unharmed |
| Consumer | Organism that obtain their nutrients from eating other organisms (AKA HETEROTROPHS) |
| Decomposer | Bacteria and fungi that RECYCLE NUTRIENTS of dead organisms by releasing them to the soil. They are the last step in any food chain |
| Ecological Succession | The progression from pioneer organisms in an area to the climax community |
| Ecology | The study of the interactions of organisms and their environment |
| Ecosystem | Community of organisms and the environment they occupy |
| Energy Pyramid | The concept that as you move up the food pyramid, the amount of energy available to organisms decreases due to loss of that energy to the environment as HEAT |
| Environment | Surroundings of any organism |
| Food Chain | A series of organisms through which energy is passed based on who eat who |
| Food Web | Interconnected food chains |
| Habitat | Part of the environment that an organism lives |
| Herbivore | An organism that eats only plants |
| Heterotroph | Organisms that cannot make their own food and rely on getting it from other organisms |
| Host | Organism on which another parasitic organism lives and gets nutrition |
| Interdependence | In ecology, the concept that all organisms in an ecosystem affect each other |
| Limiting Factors | BIOTIC (living) or ABIOTIC (non-living) things in an environment that cause a population to not increase in number |
| Mutualism | When two DIFFERENT organisms live together for the benefit of BOTH |
| Nutrient Cycles | The flow of substances necessary for life through an ecosystem |
| Parasite | Obtains nutrients from a host at the host's expense |
| Pioneer Species | An animal or plant species such as lichen that is the first to arrive in a depleted environment |
| Population | All individuals of the same species |
| Prey | Any ANIMAL that is fed on by a predator |
| Producer | AKA autotroph, organisms such as plants that make their own food through photosynthesis |
| Scavenger | CARNIVORE that FEEDS on animals PREVIOUSLY KILLED by others |
| Water Cycle | The pathways of water through an ecosystem consisting of evaporation, condensation, preciptation and run-off |
Created by:
hhazzard