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Ecology definitions

TermDefinition
Ecology study of interactions between living things and their environment.
Ecosystem A group of organisms that interact with their environment.
Biosphere Part of the planet that contains living things
Habitat A place where a living thing lives.
Population All the members of the same species living in an area.
Community All the different populations in an area.
Niche The functional role of an organism in an ecosystem. Eg – How it feeds, what it eats, who eats it etc
Abiotic Factors Non-living factors E.g. Temperature, light intensity, soil pH
Biotic Factors Living Factors e.g. Food, predation, competition, human influence
Climatic Factors Refers to weather over a long period of time.
Edaphic factors Aspects of the soil that influence an ecosystem such as the soil pH, soil type,moisture, air and mineral content of soil.
Producers Autotrophs that carry out photosynthesis.
Consumers Organisms that take in food from other organisms.
Primary Consumers Organisms which feed directly on producers. Eg – Rabbits feed on grass
Secondary Consumers Carnivores that feed on primary consumers. Eg – Foxes feed on rabbits
Tertiary Consumers Carnivores that feed on secondary consumers. Eg – Wolves feed on Foxes
Food chain The flow of energy in a food chain
Food web 2 or more interlinked/interconnected food chains.
Trophic level Is a feeding stage/energy level of an organism in a food chain.
Pyramid of numbers Based on numbers of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain.
Nutrient recycling The way in which elements (Carbon and Nitrogen) are exchanged between the living and non-living components of an ecosystem.
Nitrogen Fixation Conversion of nitrogen gas into ammonia (NH3), ammonium (NH4+) or nitrate ( NO3−)
Nitrification The ammonia is converted to nitrites and then to nitrates by nitrifying bacteria.
De-nitrification Conversion of nitrates to nitrogen gas. It is carried out by denitrifying bacteria in the soil.
Pollution Any harmful addition to the environment.
Pollutants Substances that cause undesirable change to the environment.
Conservation The wise management of our natural resources.
Competition Occurs when organisms actively struggle for a resource that is in short supply.
Intra-specific competition This takes place between members of the same species. Eg – Buttercups compete with each other for light,water and minerals.
Inter-specific competition Occurs between members of different species. Eg – Foxes and thrushes compete for earthworms.
Contest competition Involves an active physical contest between 2 individuals where one wins all of the resource. (e.g - two stags competing for a female deer)
Scramble competition Involves all the competing organisms getting some of the resources. Eg – Seedlings competing for space around the parent plant.
Adaptations Ways in which organisms are specialised either in structure/behavior to survive competition.
Predation An organism that lives by catching, killing and consuming other living things. Eg – Ladybirds kill greenflies.
Parasitism Living organism that feeds on another living organism of a different species known as host, generally causing harm to the host.
Ectoparasites/Exoparasites Live on the body of the host. Eg – greenfly on rose bushes.
Endoparasites Live on the inside of the body of the host. Eg – Disease causing bacteria in the human body (Streptococcus)
Symbiosis Relationship between 2 organisms of different species that live in close association to the benefit of both organisms.
Saprophytes a plant, fungus, or microorganism that lives on dead or decaying organic matter.
Quantitative study A study to find out the number of organisms that exist in an ecosystem.
Qualitative study A study to find out the type(s) of organisms that exist in an ecosystem.
Created by: ronanm
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