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Biology Vocabulary
Biology Vocabulary UNIT 3
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Biodiversity | The full range of living things in a particular area or region at various levels, including the range of different species, the genetic diversity or the diversity of ecosystems present in a larger area. |
| Ecosystem | A self-sustaining unit consisting of the interactions between the species in a community and the environment. |
| Species | The lowest taxon in Linnaean classification; it is always italicised and combined with genus. |
| Endemic | Native and restricted to one place eg. endemic to Australia |
| Biotic Factors | the living components of anc ecosystem including animals, plants and bacteria. |
| Abiotic Factors | The non-living components of an ecosystem including the physical landscape, minerals and weather conditions |
| Photosynthesis | the process of using light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen |
| Food web | a diagram of interconnecting food chains that shows how different organisms feed on each other, thereby transferring energy through an ecosystem |
| Species richness | the number of species present in an ecosystem |
| Relative species abundance | the number of individuals present for each species in an ecosystem |
| Percentage cover | the percentage of the quadrat that a species occupies |
| Percentage frequency | the percentage of quadrats in which a species appears |
| Simpson's diversity index | the combined ratio of individuals in each species to the total individuals in an ecosystem - a quantitative measure of biodiversity |
| Quadrat | a 1m x 1m square that is placed over a location to provide a boundary for sampling in ecology |
| Population | A group of the same species living together |
| Community | A group of organisms that live together and interact |
| Biome | Large areas on Earth with similar conditions, such as similar climates and similar living organisms. Eg. tundras, deserts, tropical rainforests etc. |
| Biosphere | The part of the Earth's surface and immediate atmosphere wher organisms live |
| Niche | Refers to the role or function of an organism or species. |
| Habitat | The part of the environment which is occupied (or inhabited) by an animal or plant. |
| CHNOPS | Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorous and Sulfur |
| DKPCOFGS "Do Kids Prefer Candy Over Fresh Green Salad" | Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species |
| Spatial Sscale | How much area a studied ecosystem covers |
| Temporal scale | The time period over which an ecosystem is studied |
| Macro-level ecosystem | a large area of land or water (typically a whole continent or ocean) and its inhabitants |
| Meso-level ecosystem | a medium-sized area of land or water (typically a single-named location, such as a desert or lake) and its inhabitants |
| Micro-level ecosystem | a small area of land or water (typically a single biome, such as temperate rainforest) and its inhabitants |
| Predation | a species interaction in which one species kills and eats another |
| Competition | a species interaction in which two or more individuals compete for the asme resource in the same area |
| Producer | an organism, such as a plant, that converts energy to sugars |
| Consumer | an organism that eats other organisms for nutrition |
| Diurnal | active during the daylight hours |
| Nocturnal | active during the night-time hours |
| Limiting factor | an aspect of the environment that restricts an organism's ability to live there |
| Taxonomy | a system of classification, particularly biological; or the study of these systems |
| Hierarchy | a system categorised by the specific arrangement of information into 'layers' |
| Taxon | a level in a hierarchical classification system eg. kingdom, family or genus |
| Domain | the highest ranking taxon in Linnaean Classification eg. Eukarya |
| Kingdom | the second-highest taxon in linnaean classification eg. Animalia |
| Phylum | the third-highest taxon in Linnaean classification eg. Chordata |
| Division | the third-highest taxon in Linnaean classifications of plants eg. Tracheophyta (vascular plants) |
| Class | the fourth-highest taxon in Linnaean classification eg. Mammalia |
| Order | the fifth-highest taxon in Linnaean classification eg. Carnivora |
| Family | the sixth-highest taxon in Linnaean classification eg. Felidae |
| Genus | the seventh-highest taxon in Linnaean classification - it is always italicised. eg. Felis |
| Species | the lowest taxon in Linnaean classification - it is always italicised and combined with genus eg. Felis catus (pretend it's italicised) |
| Eukaryote | a complex type of cell with a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles; a member of the domain Eukarya |
| Organelle | a cellular structure that performs a specific function in a partitioned space within the cell |
| Prokaryote | a simple type of cell that lacks a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles; a member of domains Archaea or Bacteria |
| Binomial Nomenclature | a naming system in which each individual is given a two-part name, such as genus and species or first name and surname |
| Eutherian (placental) | a mammal that gives birth to a fully developed or very near fully developed live young eg. dog |
| Marsupial | a mammal that gives birth to undeveloped live young, who complete their development in their mother's ouch eg. kangaroo |
| Monotreme | a mammal that does not give birth to live young, but lays eggs eg. platypus |
| r/K selection | a form of mathematical classification based on the number of offspring a species produces and the level of parental involvement required to care for them. |
| Amino Acid | a simple organic compound that contains both amino and carboxyl groups that combine to make proteins |
| Common ancestor | a species of organism whose offspring diverged over time. |
| Phylogenetic tree | a branching diagram showing evolutionary relationships |
| Dichotomous | having two branches, two opposing aspects |
| Extant | currently in existence, not extinct |
| clade | a group comprising of the descendants of a particular ancestor organism |
| Evolution | the process by which, over many generations, the genetic composition of populations change as organisms adapt to their environment. |
| Cladogram | a phylogenetic tree in which all organisms are grouped according to their most likely evolutionary relationships |
| Cladistics | a taxonomic technique that arranges organisms by clade |
| Plesiomorphic | having characteristics or traits that are common among their evolutionary relatives but are not unique to their clade e.g. members of class reptilia usually have many legs as do many organisms not in that class |
| Apomorphic | having a characteristic or trait unique to a particular group of organisms that is different from their evolutionary relatives e.g. snakes have no legs (class reptilia) |
| Character Matrix | a table of characteristics used for classification |
| node | a point in a diagram where lines branch or intersect |
| Molecular homology | the identification of shared biomolecular elements - generally genes - used to test the relationships between organisms, which can demonstrate common ancestry |
| Comparative genomics | the study of DNA similarities across species |
| conserved sequence | a DNA or protein sequence that is preserved across species due to optimal function |
| residue | a single unit that makes up a polymer, e.g. a single amino acid in a protein sequence |
| mutation rate | the estimated number of base pair changes per nucleotide site per generation of a population |
| bioinformatics | the digital storage, retrieval, organisation and analysis of biological data |
| molecular phylogeny | the study of evolutionary relationships using comparative genomics |
| biological species concept | the definition of a species based on the capacity of individuals to interbreed |
| hybrid | an organism resulting from the interbreeding of two different species |
| morphological species concept | the definition of a species based on physical characteristics |
| phylogenetic species concept | the definition of a species based on the smallest group of individuals having a common ancestor, of determined through genetic analysis |
| zygote | the first cell of a new individual, which is formed by fusion of a sperm and ovum at fertilisation |
| symbiosis | a relationship between individuals of two or more species in which at least one organism benefits from the interaction |
| prey | an organism that is hunted by another organism for food |
| host | an organism that is infected with a pathogen or parasite |
| pathogen | an organism that causes disease resulting in damage or death, such as a bacterium or virus |
| parasite | an organism that causes long-term disease while leaving the host alive, such as protozoa and worms |
| terrestrial | of land |
| humus | the dark brown organic matter in soil, derived from decomposed plant and animal remains |
| aqutic | of water |
| marine | of salt water |
| photic zone | the first 200m of ocean depth |
| eutrophication | increased concentration of nutrients, such as phosphates and nitrates, in a waterway that promotes algal bloom |
| stratified sampling | a statistical sampling technique that divides an area into strata for separate sampling |
| stratum | a layer or subsection of a whole |
| transect | a narrow section taken straight across an area, along which observations or measurements are made |
| transform | to charge from one type to another |
| cellular respiration | the process of releasing chemical energy from the bonds of glucose molecules |
| autotroph | an organism that can produce its own organic compound from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide |
| trophic level | a level in the food chain of an ecosystem based on feeding relationships |
| biomass | the total mass of living matter in an ecosystem |
| photosynthetic efficiency | how well a producer converts light energy into the chemical energy of carbohydrates |
| gross primary productivity (GPP) | the total organic matter produced annually in an area by photosynthesis |
| Net primary productivity (NPP) | the amount of organic matter made available to herbivores annually; equals gross primary productivity minus the energy required by the producers themselves |
| heterotroph | an organism that cannot convert sunlight to useful energy and must consume other organism for food |
| biomass pyramid | a pyramid diagram that shows the relative proportions of each trophic level in an ecosystem |
| food chain | a chain of organisms where one organism occupying a trophic level is consumed by the next organism in a higher trophic level |
| endothermic | when the internal body temperature of an organism is regulated and maintained higher than the temperature of the surroundings |
| ectothermic | when the internal body temperature of an organism reflects and fluctuates along with the surroundings |
| detritivore | an organism, such as a worm, that consumes detritus, the dead tissues of once-living organisms |
| decomposer | an organism, such as a fungus, that grows on and absorbs nutrients from dead tissues |
| nutrient cycle | the cyclic movement of key elements and molecules through the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem e.g the water cycle (aka) biogeochemical cycles |
| anaerobic | in the absence of oxygen |
| sink | an area where atoms naturally accumulate away from the normal nutrient cycle |
| nitrogen-fixing bacteria | bacteria that absorb elemental nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it to nitrates or ammonium ions |
| ion | an atom or group of atoms that has either lost of gained valence electrons acquiring a net positive or negative charge |
| nodule | a small swelling or bump |
| ecological niche | the role and space that an organism fills in an ecosystem, including all its interactions with the biotic and abiotic factors of its environment |
| arboreal | mostly tree-dwelling |
| findamental niche | the widest potential niche that a species could ideally occupy without competitors, predators or parasites |
| realised niche | the actual niche that a species occupies, given the restrictions placed on it by interactions with other species |
| resource partitioning | the creative use of space and time that reduces competition between species and allows many unique ecological niches to exist in the same area |
| competitive exclusion principle | a key ecological principle that states that no two species can occupy exactly the same niche in an ecosystem |
| carrying capacity | the greatest density of organisms that an area or resource can potentially support |
| keystone species | a plant or animal that plays a unique and crucial role in the way an ecosystem functions |
| Population | a group of individuals belonging to the same species living in a particular place at the same time |
| Migration | the movement of individuals of a species from one place to another |
| Immigration | The movement of individuals of a species into a place |
| Emigration | the movement of individuals of a species out of a place |
| Direct observation | a method used to measure abundance, e.g recording sightings at particular intervals; can be time-consuming and dangerous |
Created by:
Caitlyn_01
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