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Unit 1 Vocab
nature of biology and ecology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Acid rain | precipitation that is the result of air pollution. The causes from the high amount of gasses in the air joining with water molecules resulting in acid rain. Bad for forests and lake ecosystems. |
| Animalia | organisms in this kingdom are multicellular heterotrophs without cell walls |
| Archaebacteria | kingdom that includes bacteria that lie in extreme environments |
| Autotroph | an organism that can make its own food aka producer |
| Binomial Nomenclature | two-word naming system for all organisms developed by Linnaeus'; the scientific name consisting of genus and species name |
| Bioaccumulation | the increase in concentration of pollutants in the tissues of organisms as you move up trophic levels in an ecosystem aka biomagnification |
| Camouflage | an adaptation that enables a species to blend in with its environment |
| Carbon cycle | incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organism and the burning of fossil fuels |
| Carrying capacity | largest number of individuals that a population can support |
| Cell | smallest unit of life |
| Class | a group of closely related orders |
| Classic conditioning | learning by association; pavlov's dogs |
| Classification | the process of grouping organisms based on their physical similarities and DNA |
| Climate change | a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed rising levels of carbon dioxide and pollution; global warming |
| Competition | the struggle between organisms to survive in a habitat with limited resources |
| Consumer | an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms; heterotroph |
| Courtship | behavior used to attract a mate |
| Decomposer | organism that breaks down and obtains energy from dead organic matter; decomposition |
| Deforestation | the destruction of forests |
| Dichotomous key | a series of paired statements used to help identify an organism |
| Domain | the largest taxon; bacteria, archaea, eukarya |
| Estivation | a dormant state of lowered metabolism allowing organisms to survive long periods of high temperatures or drought |
| Eubacteria | kingdom that includes bacteria that live every where except in extreme environments |
| Eukaryote | a cell has a nucleus and other membrane bound organelles |
| Eutrophication | excessive nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plants or algae and death of animals from a lack of oxygen |
| Exponential growth | j-shaped; explosive pattern of population growth |
| External fertilization | process in which eggs are fertilized outside the females body |
| Family | a group of closely related genera |
| Fossil fuels | Coal, oil, and natural gas coming from the ancient remains of plants and animals; the burning of these is a major contributor to climate change |
| Fungi | kingdom that includes organisms which are heterotrophs that have cell walls made of chitin; molds, yeasts, and mushrooms |
| Greenhouse effect | normal warming effect caused when the sun's rays are trapped by gases in the earth's atmosphere; without this, earth would be frozen |
| Habitat destruction | the loss of natural habitat for species that can lead to extinction |
| Habituation | am organism's decreasing response to stimulus with repeated exposure to it |
| Heterotroph | an organism that must get food from its environment; consumer |
| Hibernation | a dormant state of lowered metabolism that is an adaptation for surviving winter; sleeping for a long time |
| Imprinting | the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life |
| Internal fertilization | process in which eggs are fertilized inside a female's body |
| Invasive species | plants and animals that are deliberately/ accidently introduced into an area whose populations explode because they have no known natural predators and out-compete native species for resources leading to their decline. |
| Kingdom | second largest taxonomic group; consisting of closely related phyla |
| Limiting factor | an environmental condition that restricts the size of the population; disease, predation, natural disasters |
| Multicellular | made of two or more cells |
| Mutualism | symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit |
| Nitrogen cycle | transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to the atmosphere |
| Nitrogen fixation | process of converting nitrogen in the air, into a form that plants and animals can use |
| Non-native species | a species that is not naturally found in an ecosystem, and that does not hinder the survival of other species there |
| Order | a group of closely related families |
| Organism | a living thing |
| Parasitism | form of symbiosis in which the parasite benefits and the host is harmed |
| Pheromone | a chemical released by one animal that affects the behavior of another animal of the same species |
| Phylum | group of closely related classes |
| Placenta | an organ in the uterus of a pregnant mammal that nourishes the fetus through the umbilical cord |
| Plantae | kingdom with organisms that are photosynthetic autotrophs and have cell walls made of cellulose |
| Predator | an animals that hunts other animals for food |
| Prey | an animals that is hunted and killed by another for food |
| Prokaryote | a bacterial cell; a cell that lacks a nucleus and membrane bound organelles |
| Protista | the most diverse kingdom;l plant-like, animal-like, fungus-like |
| Seed | a plant structure that contains an embryo and food source surrounded by a protective coat |
| Species | the smallest/most specific taxon; group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring |
| Spore | a reproductive cell with a hard, protective coating made by bacteria, fungi and some plants like ferns |
| Stewardship | commitment to the responsible management of natural resources and sustainable actions to help preserve the environment |
| Suckling | when a young mammal nurses from its mother |
| Symbiosis | a close relationship between two species living together |
| Taxis | movement toward or away from a stimulus |
| Taxonomy | branch of biology that involves classifying organisms into group based upon similar characteristics |
| Territoriality | behaviors that organisms display in order to defend a space; reduces conflict among members or species in an environment |
| Trial and error learning | behavior in which an animal learns to perform a behavior over and over again until success is achieved |
| tropism | growth response of a plant to a stimulus |
| Unicellular | made of one cell |
| Waste lagoon | body of water used to dispose animal wastes on farms; flood into rivers/drinking water supplies |
Created by:
dbhowmik
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