Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Ecology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Autotroph | An autotroph is an organism that produces its own organic food using inorganic substances (like CO\({}_{2}\)) and energy from sunlight or chemical reactions. Known as producers, they form the base of the food chain, |
| 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 specific natural environment—defined by a unique combination of biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) factors—that provides the necessary resources for a particular organism to survive, grow, and reproduce |
| Biotic factor | any living component of an ecosystem that shapes its environment, including organisms, their interactions, and their waste |
| Abiotic factor | a non-living physical or chemical component of an ecosystem that shapes its environment and influences the survival, growth, and distribution of organisms |
| 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 between living organisms (biotic factors)—including humans—and their physical environment (abiotic factors) |
| Immigration | the movement of individual organisms or people into a new area or population to reside permanently or temporarily |
| Emigration | the act of leaving a home region or country to settle elsewhere, driven by factors like economics, safety, or environment |
| Population density | a scientific measurement of the concentration of individuals of a species within a specific geographic area, typically calculated as the total number of individuals divided by the total land area |
| 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 striving for the same limited resources |
| Predation | an organism—typically an animal—that hunts, kills, and consumes other organisms (prey) to obtain energy and nutrients |
| Mutualism | a type of symbiotic relationship in science where two different species interact, and both organisms benefit from the interaction. |
| Commensalism | a type of symbiotic biological interaction between two species where one organism (the commensal) benefits—obtaining food, shelter, or transportation—while the other (the host) is neither helped nor harmed. |
| Parasitism | a type of symbiotic relationship in science where one organism (the parasite) lives on or inside another organism (the host), gaining nutrients and benefits at the host's expense |
| 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 hardy, fast-growing organisms that are the first to colonize barren 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 evolved to feed exclusively or primarily on plants, algae, and photosynthetic producers |
| Carnivore | an organism (animal, plant, or fungus) that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging |
| Omnivore | an organism that obtains energy and nutrients by consuming both plant and animal matter, along with fungi, algae, or bacteria. |
| 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 (\(N_{2}\)) is converted into reactive ammonia (\(NH_{3}\)) or related nitrogenous compounds. This vital process, essential for life, |
| 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 \(250\text{mm}\) (10 inches) per year. These regions are characterized by a severe moisture deficit, |
| Rain forest | a dense, high-biomass ecosystem characterized by a closed, continuous tree canopy, high humidity, and, typically, annual rainfall exceeding 1,800–2,000 mm (70–80 inches). |
| Emergent layer | the highest stratum of a tropical rainforest, consisting of the tallest trees that tower above the dense, continuous canopy layer |
| Canopy | the uppermost, more or less continuous layer of vegetation formed by the mature crowns of trees, branches, and leaves in a forest. |
| Understory | the layer of vegetation in a forest or woodland growing beneath the main canopy and above the forest floor |
| Grassland | a terrestrial biome or ecosystem dominated by a nearly continuous cover of grasses, sedges, and other herbaceous plants, rather than shrubs or trees |
| Savanna | a terrestrial biome or ecosystem dominated by a nearly continuous cover of grasses, sedges, and other herbaceous plants, rather than shrubs or trees |
| Deciduous tree | a plant that sheds all of its leaves annually or at the end of a growing season as part of its natural life cycle |
| Boreal forest | cold-hardy, cone-bearing (coniferous) tree species |
| Coniferous tree | a vascular, woody plant belonging to the division Pinophyta and the class Pinopsida, characterized by reproducing via seeds housed in cones rather than flowers |
| Tundra | a cold, treeless biome characterized by extremely low temperatures, short growing seasons, and limited drainage, where tree growth is hindered by frigid conditions and permafrost |
| Permafrost | Permafrost is defined by scientists as ground—soil, rock, or sediment—that remains at or below \(0^{\circ }\text{C}\) (\(32^{\circ }\text{F}\)) for at least two consecutive years. It is primarily found in high latitudes (Arctic/Antarctic). |
| Estuary | partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water |
| Intertidal zone | the coastal area between the highest high tide and lowest low tide, defined by being submerged at high tide and exposed to air at low tide |
| Neritic zone | of, relating to, inhabiting, or constituting the belt or region of shallow water adjoining the seacoast |
| Biogeograpy | the study of the spatial distribution of plants, animals, and other organisms across Earth over 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 organisms—such as seeds, spores, or animals—away from their birth site or from crowded populations to new areas. |
| Exotic species | a plant or animal organism that is not native to a specific, defined location and has been introduced—either intentionally or accidentally—into that new environment, often by human activity |
| Point source | single, identifiable, and localized origin—such as a pipe, ditch, ship, or smokestack—from which pollutants, energy, or waves are released. |
| Nonpoint source | contamination that does not originate from a single, discrete location (such as a pipe or factory), but rather from diffuse, widespread areas |
| Biodegradable | materials capable of being broken down into natural, innocuous substances—such as water, carbon dioxide, and biomass—by the action of microorganisms, fungi, or bacteria over time. |
| 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 | materials and components derived from the environment—such as air, water, soil, minerals, plants, and animals—that exist without human intervention |
| Crop rotation | the systematic, planned sequence of growing different types of crops (often from different botanical families) in the same area across successive growing seasons |
| Contour plowing | a sustainable agricultural practice of tilling, planting, and cultivating across a slope following its natural elevation contour lines, rather than up and down, to create perpendicular ridges. |
| Conservation plowing | a scientifically defined agricultural practice that leaves at least 30% of the soil surface covered with previous crop residue after planting, aiming to reduce soil erosion by over 30% compared to conventional tillage |
| Biodiversity | the variety and variability of all living organisms on Earth, including ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity |
| Keystone species | an organism that has a disproportionately large effect on its ecosystem relative to its low population size or biomass |
| Endangered species | population of organisms—animals, plants, or other living things—at very high risk of becoming extinct (disappearing forever) in the wild, often because their habitat is shrinking or their numbers have dropped drastically. |
| Threatened species | any plant or animal species likely to become endangered in 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 degradation of natural landscapes to a point where they can no longer support their native species |
| Habitat fragmentation | the process where large, continuous ecosystems are broken into smaller, isolated patches, predominantly due to human activities like urban development, agriculture, and road construction |
| Poaching | the illegal taking, killing, capturing, or harvesting of wild animals or plants in violation of local, state, federal, or international law. |
| Captive breading | the process of breeding animals in controlled environments—such as zoos, aquariums, and conservation centers—to increase population numbers and prevent extinction |
Created by:
user-2020282