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Ecology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Autotroph | an organism that produces its own food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide (photosynthesis) or chemical energ |
| Heterotroph | an organism that cannot produce its own food and must obtain energy and carbon by consuming other organisms, such as plants or animals |
| Organism | any individual living entity—such as a plant, animal, bacterium, protist, or fungus—capable of growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continuous self-maintenance |
| Habitat | the natural environment, place, or specific site where an organism, population, or community lives and grows |
| Biotic factor | the living components of an ecosystem that shape their environment |
| Abiotic factor | the non-living physical and chemical components of an ecosystem that affect living organisms and the functioning of the environment |
| Species | the basic unit of classification and taxonomic rank |
| Population | a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same geographic area at the same time and are capable of interbreeding |
| Community | public participation in scientific research, where volunteers—regardless of background—collaborate with scientists to collect data, analyze information, or solve environmental and local problems. |
| Ecosystem | a geographic area where biotic (living) organisms—like plants, animals, and microbes—interact with abiotic (nonliving) factors—such as sunlight, soil, water, and temperature—functioning together as a unit |
| Ecology | the scientific study of the relationships, interactions, and distributions of living organisms (biotic factors) with each other and their physical, non-living environment (abiotic factors) |
| Immigration | the process of individuals moving into a new country or region of which they are not natives, with the intent to settle, reside, or work there permanently or long-term |
| Emigration | the act of organisms or individuals leaving their native habitat or population to settle elsewhere, causing a decrease in the original population size |
| Population density | a scientific measurement of the number of individuals of a species (or people) living within a specific unit of area or volume |
| Limiting factor | any biotic (living) or abiotic (non-living) resource or environmental condition that restricts the growth, abundance, or distribution of an organism or a population within an ecosystem |
| Carrying capacity | the maximum population size of a species that a specific environment can sustainably support over time, considering available resources like food, water, and habitat |
| Natural selection | a fundamental mechanism of evolution where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring |
| Adaptation | the process by which a population of living organisms becomes better suited to its environment over generations through natural selection |
| Niche | the functional role and position of a species within an ecosystem, encompassing how it survives, reproduces, and interacts with its environment |
| Competition | an interaction between organisms or species that rely on the same limited resources |
| Predation | a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, hunts, kills, and consumes another organism, the prey, for energy and nutrients |
| Mutualism | a type of symbiotic, interspecific interaction where organisms from two different species both benefit from their association |
| Commensalism | a type of long-term biological interaction (symbiosis) between two species where one organism, the commensal, gains food, shelter, or transportation benefits, while the other, the host, is neither helped nor harmed |
| Parasitism | a symbiotic relationship between two species where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it harm while gaining benefits like nutrition, shelter, and reproduction |
| Parasite | an organism that lives on or inside another organism, known as the host, obtaining nutrients at the host's expense. |
| Host | a living organism—animal, plant, or microbe—that harbors another organism (a parasite, pathogen, or symbiont) inside or near its body. |
| Succession | the gradual, natural process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time. |
| Primary succession | the process of ecological change that occurs in newly formed, lifeless environments devoid of soil and vegetation, such as lava flows, retreating glaciers, or sand dunes |
| Pioneer species | the first hardy organisms—such as lichens, mosses, and microbes—to colonize barren, newly created, or disturbed environments |
| Secondary succession | the process of ecological recovery and community re-colonization in an area where a previous ecosystem was disturbed, removed, or destroyed, but where soil and nutrients already remain |
| Producer | organisms that create their own organic food—usually energy-rich sugars—using energy from sunlight (photosynthesis) or inorganic chemical reactions (chemosynthesis). |
| Consumer | an organism in a food chain or ecosystem that cannot produce its own food (heterotroph) and must eat other organisms—plants, animals, or organic matter—to obtain energy |
| Herbivore | an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to feed exclusively or primarily on plants, algae, and other photosynthetic producers |
| Carnivore | an organism, usually an animal, that fulfills its nutritional and energy needs through the consumption of animal tissue (meat) |
| Omnivore | an organism (animal) that obtains energy and nutrients from both plant and animal matter |
| Scavenger | an organism that feeds on dead animal biomass (carrion), decaying plant material, or refuse, acting as a crucial ecological cleaner |
| Decomposer | organisms—primarily bacteria, fungi, and invertebrates—that break down dead or decaying organic matter into simpler inorganic materials, such as nutrients |
| Food chain | a linear sequence that shows how energy and nutrients are transferred from one organism to another within an ecosystem |
| Food web | a natural, interconnected network of multiple food chains that shows how energy and nutrients circulate through an ecosystem |
| Energy pyramid | a graphical representation showing the flow of energy through trophic levels in an ecosystem. |
| Nitrogen fixation | Nitrogen fixation is the chemical process by which inert atmospheric nitrogen gas ( ) is converted into reactive compounds, such as ammonia ( ) or nitrates ( ), allowing plants and organisms to utilize it for biological functions. |
| Biome | a large, distinct geographical region characterized by its specific climate (temperature/precipitation), soil type, and dominant plant and animal life |
| Climate | the interdisciplinary study of Earth's climate system, focusing on the natural forces and human activities that influence it |
| Desert | A desert is scientifically defined as a landscape or biome that receives extremely low amounts of precipitation, typically less than (10 inches) per year. |
| Rain forest | A rainforest is a dense, high-biomass ecosystem characterized by a closed, continuous tree canopy, high humidity, and, typically, a high annual rainfall exceeding – mm ( – inches) |
| Emergent layer | the topmost layer of a tropical rainforest, consisting of the tallest trees that rise above the general, dense canopy layer. |
| Canopy | the upper, roughly continuous layer of foliage, branches, and stems formed by the crowns of mature trees and plants |
| Understory | the layer of vegetation in a forest ecosystem that grows beneath the main canopy and above the forest floor |
| Grassland | a terrestrial biome dominated by grasses, sedges, and other herbaceous plants rather than large shrubs or trees |
| Savanna | a mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterized by a continuous, herbaceous understory of grasses and a sparse, open canopy of trees that allows sunlight to reach the ground. |
| Deciduous tree | woody plants that shed all their leaves annually, typically in the autumn, as a natural adaptation to conserve water and survive cold or dry seasons. |
| Boreal forest | a vast, high-latitude coniferous biome (roughly 50°N–70°N) characterized by a cold climate, long winte |
| Coniferous tree | a vascular, woody, mostly evergreen plant belonging to the division Pinophyta (class Pinopsida). |
| Tundra | a cold, treeless biome characterized by extremely low temperatures, short growing seasons, and low precipitation (often below 10 inches annually) |
| Permafrost | Permafrost is scientifically defined as ground—soil, sediment, or rock, including ice and organic material—that remains at or below ( ) for at |
| Estuary | a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water |
| Intertidal zone | the coastal area submerged during high tide and exposed to air during low tide |
| Neritic zone | the relatively shallow part of the ocean extending from the low-tide mark to the edge of the continental shelf, usually reaching depths of about 200 meters (660 feet) |
| Biogeograpy | the scientific study of the distribution of species, ecosystems, and biodiversity across geographic space and through geological time. |
| Continental drift | the scientific theory that Earth's continents move gradually relative to each other over geologic time, riding on tectonic plates across the mantle |
| Dispersal | the movement of individual organisms—including animals, plants (via seeds/spores), fungi, and bacteria—away from their birth site to a new breeding site or location |
| exotic species | a plant or animal introduced by humans—intentionally or accidentally—to a new geographic area where it did not evolve and does not occur naturally |
| Point source | a single, localized, and identifiable source of energy, radiation, or pollution that has negligible spatial extent compared to the surrounding environment |
| Nonpoint source | water contamination that does not originate from a single, identifiable source like a pipe |
| Biodegradable | materials capable of being broken down and decomposed by microorganisms—such as bacteria, fungi, and algae—into natural, harmless elements like water, carbon dioxide, and biomass. |
| Natural resource | materials and components derived from the environment—such as air, water, soil, minerals, plants, and animals—that exist without human intervention |
| Soil conservation | the scientific management and protection of soil resources to prevent degradation, erosion, and fertility loss |
| Crop rotation | the agricultural science practice of growing different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons, rather than planting the same crop continuously |
| Contour plowing | a sustainable agricultural practice where soil is tilled and planted across a slope, following the land’s natural elevation contour lines rather than straight up-and-down rows |
| Conservation plowing | a soil management strategy that reduces erosion by keeping at least 30% of the previous crop's residue (like stalks or stubble) on the soil surface, minimizing soil disturbance |
| Biodiversity | the variety and variability of all living organisms on Earth, including ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity |
| Keystone species | an organism that helps hold the system together |
| Endangered species | a population of organisms facing a very high risk of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, typically due to sudden population decline or habitat loss |
| Threatened species | a plant or animal that is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range |
| Extinction | the complete disappearance of a species, subspecies, or group of organisms from Earth, occurring when the last surviving member dies |
| Habitat destruction | the process by which natural landscapes are rendered unable to support their native species, causing population declines and biodiversity loss |
| Habitat fragmentation | the ecological process where large, continuous habitats are divided into smaller, isolated patches, usually caused by human activity like land development |
| Poaching | the illegal hunting, capturing, or harvesting of wild animals or plants in violation of local, national, or international law |
| Captive breading | a conservation technique involving the breeding of rare or endangered species in controlled environments—such as zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens—to prevent extinction |
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