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Intro to Ecology
Ch 18 - Intro to Ecology Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| ecology | the study of the interactions between organisms and the living and nonliving components of their environment |
| interdependence | the survival of organisms as a result of their interactions with other organisms and the non-living portion of their environment |
| ecological model | a model that represents or describes the relationships between the components of an ecological system |
| biosphere | The thin volume of Earth and its atmosphere that supports life; the broadest most inclusive level of organization |
| ecosystem | includes all of the organisms and the non-living environment found in a particular place |
| community | all the interacting organisms living in an area |
| population | includes all the members of a species that live in one place at one time |
| habitat | the place where an organism lives |
| biotic factor | the living components of the environment |
| abiotic factor | the non-living components of the environment |
| tolerance curve | the range of conditions that an organism can withstand |
| acclimation | organisms adjusting to their tolerance to abiotic factors |
| dormancy | a state of reduced activity |
| migration | move to a more favorable habitat |
| niche | the specific role, or way of life of a species within its environment |
| producer | manufacture their own food (autotrophs) |
| chemosynthesis | using energy stored in inorganic molecules to produce carbohydrates |
| gross primary productivity | the rate at which producers in an ecosystem capture the energy of sunlight by producing organic compounds |
| biomass | the organic material that has been produced in an ecosystem |
| net primary productivity | the rate at which biomass accumulates; units of energy/unit area/year [kcal/m2/yr] |
| consumer | obtain energy by consuming organic molecules made by other organisms |
| herbivore | eat producers |
| carnivore | eat other consumers |
| omnivore | eat both producers and consumers |
| detritivore | consumers that feed on the 'garbage' of an ecosystem |
| decomposer | cause decay by breaking down complex molecules into simpler molecules |
| trophic level | indicates the organism's position in the sequence of energy transfers |
| food chain | a single pathway of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem that results in energy transfer |
| food web | the interrelated food chains in an ecosystem |
| biogeochemical cycle | the flow of energy and matter through the biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem |
| groundwater | water in the soil or in underground formations of porous rock |
| water cycle | the movement of water between the atmosphere, oceans, and land |
| transpiration | water evaporating from the leaves of plants in terrestrial ecosystems |
| carbon cycle | the movement of carbon from the abiotic environment into biotic factors and back |
| nitrogen cycle | the process in which nitrogen circulates among the air, soil, water, plants, and animals in an ecosystem |
| nitrogen fixation | the process by which gaseous nitrogen is converted into nitrates; making N-N useable for organisms |
| nitrogen-fixing bacteria | bacteria that transform N-N gas into a usable form |
| ammonification | the conversion of organic nitrogen to ammonia and ammonium ions NH3 or NH4+ |
| nitrification | soil bacteria oxidizing ammonium into nitrites NO2- or nitrates NO3- |
| denitrification | nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere (N-N gas) |
| phosphorus cycle | the movement of phosphorus from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment |
| generalists | species with broad niches; they can tolerate a range of conditions and use a variety of resources |
| specialists | species with narrow niches; they can only tolerate a certain conditions and utilize specific resources |
| ecologist | someone who studies these relationships and interactions |
| interact | predation, cooperation, competition for resources (food, water, living space) between organisms |
| populations ecology | the study of why populations grow or shrink over time, depending on where they live |
| species | a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding |
| organism | an individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form |
| predator | an animal that naturally preys on others |
| competition | when two species in an ecosystem need to share a valuable and often limited resource |
| symbiosis | describes the way two different species living together in the same community, interact with each other over a long time period. |
| parasitism | one species benefits or gains something from the relationship an the other species is harmed in some way |
| mutual ism | occurs between any two species where both of the individuals benefit from the interaction |
| commensalism | one species benefits, while the other one is unaffected by the relationship |
| feeding | one species can use the other species as a food source |
| insectivore | a type of carnivore that eats mostly insects |
| energy pyramid | a graphical representation of the flow of energy through the organic matter in an ecosystem |
| food chain | a hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food |
| food web | a system of interconnected and interdependent food chains |
| primary consumer | an animal that feeds on plants; a herbivore |
| secondary consumer | organisms the eat primary consumers for energy; can be carnivores or omnivores |
| tertiary consumer | an animal that feed only on secondary consumers; a carnivore at the topmost level in a food chain |
| trophic level | step in a a nutritive series, or food chain, of an ecosystem |
Created by:
droesener
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