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chapter 5 vocab
nun rlly
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| evolution | as a general term means "change over time" |
| gene | is a sequence of DNA that codes for a particular trait |
| mutation | are changes in dna |
| genetic draft | biological evolution that occurs by chance is called |
| natural selection | is the process by which traits that improve an organisms chance 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 enviroment |
| adaptation | a heritable trait that increases an individuals fitness is called |
| artificial selection | this process of selection conducted under human direction is termed |
| speciation | the process by which new species are generated is called |
| extinction | the disappearance of a species from earth is called |
| niche | describes its use of resources and its functional role in a community |
| tolerance | is the ability to survive and reproducde under changing enviromental conditions |
| resource partitioning | because the species partition or divided 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 and kills and consumes and individuals 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 interactions in which an animal feeds on a plant called |
| mutalism | a relationship in which two or more species benefit is called |
| 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 convert to carbon dioxide and water into sugars releasing oxygen along the way |
| chemosynthesis | instead primary producers such as bacteria use energy stored in the bonds of hydrogen sulfide to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars in a process called |
| consumers | organisms that rely on other organisms for energy and nutrients are called |
| cellular resperation | 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 | most primary consumers such as deer and grasshoppers eat plants and are called |
| carnivores | most secondary consumers and tertiary consumers kill and eat other animals they are called |
| omnivores | animals that eat both plants and animals food are called |
| detritivores | such as millipedes and soil insects consumes detritus nonliving organic matter including leaf litter wast products and the dead bodies of other community members |
| decomposers | such as fungi and bacteria break down nonliving matter into simpler parts that can then be taken up and reused by primary producers |
| tropic level | is its rank up in feeding hierarchy |
| biomass | is the total amount of living tissue it contains so although a snake weighs more than a mouse the total snake biomass is much less than the total biomass of mice |
| food chain | is a linear series of feeding relationships |
| food webs | is a visual map of feeding relationships and energy flow showing the many paths by which energy and nutrients pass among organisms as they consume one another |
| keystones species | a species that has strong or wide reaching impact on a community is called a |
| succesion | when this occurs a community experiences a somewhat predictable series of changes over time that ecologist call |
| primary succesion | when a disturbance is so severe that no vegatation or soil life remains |
| pioneer species | this can occur when glaciers retreat lakes dry up or volcanic lava or ash spreads across the landscape |
| secondary succesion | unlike primary 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 |