click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Ch5
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Evolution | in general terms, change over time, |
| Gene | a sequence of DNA that codes for a particular trait, |
| Mutation | A change in DNA |
| Genetic Drift | biological evolution that occurs by chance, |
| Natural Selection | the process by which traits that improve an organism's chances for survival and reproduction are passed on more frequently to offspring than those that do not, |
| Fitness | the degree to which an organism can reproduce successfully in its environment, |
| Adaptation | a heritable trait that increases the likelihood of an individual's survival and reproduction, |
| Artificial Selection | a human-controlled process to produce individuals with certain traits, |
| Speceiation | the process by which new species are generated, |
| Extintion | All of a species die out |
| Niche | an organism's habitat, resource use, and fundamental role in a community, |
| Tolerance | the ability to survive and reproduce under changing environmental conditions, |
| Resource Partitioning | : a process that allows different species to share common resources, |
| Predation | the process by which individuals of one species (the predators) hunt, capture, and feed on individuals of another species (the prey), |
| Coevolution | the process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other, |
| Parasitism | a relationship between two organisms from different species in which one organism (the parasite) depends on the other (the host) for nourishment or some other benefit, |
| Symbiosis | long-term and physically close relationship between two organisms from different species in which at least one organism benefits; commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism are all symbiotic relationships, |
| Herbivory | he act of feeding on a plant, |
| Mutualism | relationship between two organisms from different species in which both organisms benefit, |
| Commensilism | relationship between two organisms from different species in which one benefits and the other is unaffected, |
| Primary Producer | organism that can capture energy from the sun or from chemicals and store it; also called autotroph, |
| Photosynthesis | he process by which primary producers use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars, releasing oxygen, |
| Chemosynthesis | e process by which bacteria use energy stored in bonds of hydrogen sulfide to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars, |
| Consumer | an organism that relies on other organisms for energy and nutrients; also called heterotroph, |
| Cellular Respiration | the process by which organisms use oxygen to release the chemical energy of sugars, producing carbon dioxide and water, |
| Herbivore | Eats plants |
| Carnivore | Eats Meat |
| Omnivore | Eats plants and animals/meat |
| Detrivore | n organism (e.g., a millipede or soil insect) that scavenges the waste products or dead bodies of other community members, |
| Decomposer | Something that decomposes other things |
| Trophic Level | a rank in a feeding hierarchy, |
| Biomass | he total amount of living tissue in a trophic level, |
| Food Chain | linear series of feeding relationships, |
| Food Web | diagram of feeding relationships and energy flow showing the paths by which nutrients and energy pass from organism to organism as one consumes another, |
| Keystone Species | species that has a strong or wide-ranging impact on a community, |
| Succession | a somewhat predictable series of changes over time in a community, |
| Primary Succession | e somewhat predictable series of changes in a community that follows a disturbance so severe that no vegetation or soil life remains, |
| Pioneer Species | one of the first species to colonize newly exposed land, |
| Secondary Succession | somewhat predictable series of changes in a community that follows a disturbance (e.g., a fire, logging, or farming) that dramatically alters the community but does not destroy all vegetation or soil life, |
| Invasive Species | nonnative species that spreads widely in a community, |