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Ecology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| abiotic | nonliving factor |
| biotic | anything living |
| organism | one living thing |
| population | a group of the same species that live in one place at one time |
| community | all of the living organisms in the same place at the same time |
| ecosystem | contains both abiotic and biotic factors interacting together in an environment |
| biosphere | the part of the earth that can support life |
| biome | large geographical area with similar climate and similar plant and animal species |
| aquatic | in water |
| terrestrial | on land |
| water cycle | movement of water between various reservoirs |
| biogeochemical cycle | cycling of abiotic factors of the environment, such as carbon or nitrogen, between components of the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere |
| habitat | the natural environment in which an organism lives; includes abiotic and biotic factors |
| niche | the role or function of an organism or species in an ecosystem |
| evaporation | adds water as vapor to the atmosphere |
| transpiration | evaporation of water through plants |
| precipitation | water leaving the atmosphere- come in different forms |
| condensation | particles come together into clouds |
| ground water | water in the soil or in underground formations of porous rock |
| tundra | biome of low-growing vegetation that forms a continuous belt across North America, Europe, and Asia |
| taiga | forested biome characterized by cone-bearing evergreen trees |
| temperate deciduous forest | a biome characterized by trees that shed their leaves |
| temperate grassland | biome dominated by grasses and have rich, fertile soil |
| desert | area where rainfall averages less than 25 cm per year |
| savanna | subtropical or tropical grassland with scattered trees and shrubs |
| tropical rainforest | biome near the equator characterized by large amounts of rain and sunlight |
| carbon cycle | photosynthesis and cellular respiration are the basis of this cycle |
| combustion | act of burning, such as fossil fuels |
| nitrogen cycle | complex pathway that nitrogen follows within an ecosystem |
| nitrogen fixation | process of converting nitrogen gas to nitrate |
| nitrogen-fixing bacteria | organisms rely on the action of bacteria to put nitrogen into usable forms |
| ammonification | decomposers break down dead organic matter and release nitrogen they contain as ammonia |
| nitrification | bacteria in soil take up ammonia and put it into nitrites and nitrates |
| denitrification | returning nitrogen back into the atmosphere |
| producers | capture light energy to make organic molecules (food) |
| chemosynthesis | produce carbohydrates by using energy from inorganic molecules |
| biomass | organic material in an ecosystem |
| gross primary productivity | rate at which producers in an ecosystem capture energy |
| net primary productivity | rate at which biomass accumulates |
| consumers | heterotrophs are called |
| herbivores | eat plants |
| carnivores | eat other consumers |
| omnivores | eat both plants and animals |
| detritivore | feeds on "garbage" of an ecosystem |
| decomposers | cause decay by breaking down the complex molecules in deed tissues and wastes into simpler molecules |
| trophic level | indicates position in the sequence of energy transfers |
| food chain | single pathway of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem that results in energy transfer |
| food web | interrelated food chains in an ecosystem |
| symbiosis | close interactions between organisms |
| predator | captures, kills, and consumes other organisms |
| prey | the organism captured |
| mimicry | defense mechanism, that a harmless species resembles a poisonous or distasteful species |
| parasitism | one individual in harmed while the other organism benefits (feeds on its host) |
| competition | results from niche overlap- using the same limited resources |
| mutualism | cooperative relationship in which both organisms benefit |
| commensalism | one organism benefits, other organism is not affected |
| population size | number of individuals within a given area |
| population density | measures how crowded a population is per area or volume |
| dispersion | spatial distribution of individuals within the population; can be clumped, even or random |
| birth rate | number of births within a given time |
| death rate | number of deaths within a given time |
| life expectancy | how long on average an individual is expected to live |
| age structure | distribution of individuals among different ages in a population |
| survivorship curve | likelihood of survival at different ages throughout the lifetime of the organism (Type I, Type II, Type III) |
| growth rate | shows how the population's size changes within a given time |
| immigration | movement of organisms into a population |
| emigration | movement of organisms leaving a population |
| exponential growth model | describes a population growing rapidly |
| limiting factors | restrains the population growth |
| logistic model | this model show the influence of limiting factors |
| carrying capacity | number of individuals that the environment can support over a period of time |
| density independent factors | factors include weather, floods, or fires |
| density dependent factors | include resources such as food, or nesting sites |
| succession | the gradual, sequential regrowth of species |
| primary succession | development of a community in an area that has not supported life previously, such as bare rock, a sand dune, or an island formed by volcanic rock |
| secondary succession | sequential replacement of species that follows disruption of an existing community |
| pioneer species | first species |
| invasive species | a nuisance organism that is introduced to a new environment |
Created by:
onceamustang
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