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Chapter 5
Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Evolution | change over time |
| Gene | a sequence of DNA that codes for a particular trait |
| Mutations | are changes in DNA |
| Genetic Drift | biological evolution that occurs by chance |
| Natural Selection | is the process by which traits that improve an organism's chances for survival and reproduction are passed on more frequently to future generations than those that do not |
| Fitness | describes how reproductively successful an organism is in its environment |
| Adaptation | a heritable trait that increases an individual's fitness |
| Artificial Selection | this process of selection conducted under human direction |
| Speciation | the process by which new species are generated |
| Extinction | the disappearance of a species from Earth |
| Niche | describes its use of resources and its functional role in a community |
| Tolerance | is the ability to survive and reproduce under changing environmental conditions |
| Resource Partitioning | because the species partition, or divide, the resource they use in common by specializing in different ways |
| Predation | is the process by which an individual of one species, a predator, hunts, captures, kills, and consumes an individual of another species, the prey |
| Coevolution | is the process by which two species evolve in response to change in each other |
| Parasitism | is a relationship in which one organism, the parasite, depends on another, the host for nourishment or some other benefit |
| Symbiosis | as a long lasting and physically close relationship in which at least one organism benefits |
| Herbivory | the interaction in which an animal feeds on a plant |
| Mutualsim | a relationship in which two or more species benefit |
| Commensalism | describes a relationship in which one species benefits and the other is unaffected |
| Primary Producers | capture energy from the sun or from chemicals and store it in the bonds of sugars, making energy available to the rest of the community |
| Photosynthesis | is the process by which primary producers use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars, releasing oxygen along the way |
| Chemosynthesis | to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars |
| Consumers | organisms that rely on other organisms for energy |
| Cellular Respiration | is the process by which organisms use oxygen to release the chemical energy of sugars such as glucose, releasing carbon dioxide and water as a byproduct |
| Herbivores | organisms that consume producer |
| Carnivores | kill and eat other animals |
| Omnivores | eat both plant and animal food |
| Detritivores | consume detritus nonliving organic matter leaf litter, waste products, and the dead bodies of other community members |
| Decomposers | break down nonliving matter into simpler parts that can then be taken up and reused by primary producers |
| Trophic Level | is its rank in a feeding hierarchy |
| Biomass | is the total amount of living tissue it contains |
| Food Chain | is a linear series of feeding relationships |
| Food Web | is a visual map of feeding relationships and energy flow |
| Keystone Species | a species that has strong or wide reaching impact on a community |
| Succession | a community experiences a somewhat predictable series of changes over time |
| Primary Succession | when a disturbance is so severe that no vegetation or life remains |
| Pioneer Species | species that colonize the newly exposed land first |
| Secondary Succession | begins when a disturbance, such as a fire, logging, or farming dramatically alters an existing community but does not destroy all living things or all organic matter in the soil |
| Invasive Species | is a nonnative organism that spreads widely in a community |