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Ecology
Death :)
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Autotroph | Autotroph: An organism that makes its own food (also known as a producer). |
| Heterotroph | Heterotroph: An organism that cannot make its own food and must eat other organisms. |
| Organism | Organism: Any living thing. |
| Habitat | Habitat: An environment that provides the specific things an organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce. |
| Biotic factor | Biotic factor: A living or once-living part of an organism’s habitat. |
| Abiotic factor | Abiotic factor: A nonliving part of an organism’s habitat (e.g., sunlight, water). |
| Species | Species: A group of similar organisms that can mate and produce fertile offspring. |
| Population | Population: All members of one species living in the same area. |
| Community | Community: All the different populations that live together in a particular area. |
| Ecosystem | Ecosystem: The community of organisms in an area, along with their nonliving environment. |
| Ecology | Ecology: The study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment. |
| Immigration | Immigration: Moving into a population. |
| Emigration | Emigration: Leaving a population. |
| Population density | Population density: The number of individuals in a specific area. |
| Limiting factor | Limiting factor: An environmental factor that causes a population to stop growing or decrease. |
| Carrying capacity | Carrying capacity: The largest population that a particular environment can support. |
| Natural selection | Natural selection: The process by which organisms best adapted to their environment are most likely to survive and reproduce. |
| Adaptation | Adaptation: An inherited behavior or physical characteristic that helps an organism survive. |
| Niche | Niche: How an organism makes its living and interacts with the biotic and abiotic factors in its habitat. |
| Competition | Competition: The struggle between organisms to survive as they use the same limited resources. |
| Predation | Predation: An interaction in which one organism kills another for food. |
| Mutualism | Mutualism: A relationship in which both species benefit. |
| Commensalism | Commensalism: A relationship in which one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed. |
| Parasitism | Parasitism: A relationship in which one organism lives with, on, or inside another and harms it. |
| Parasite | Parasite: The organism that benefits in a parasitism interaction. |
| Host | Host: The organism that a parasite lives on or in and provides energy for. |
| Succession | Succession: The series of predictable changes that occur in a community over time. |
| Primary succession | Primary succession: Changes that occur in an area where no soil or organisms exist. |
| Pioneer species | Pioneer species: The first species to populate an area during succession. |
| Secondary succession | Secondary succession: Changes that occur in an area where the ecosystem has been disturbed, but soil and organisms still exist. |
| Producer | Producer: An organism that can make its own food. |
| Consumer | Consumer: An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms. |
| Herbivore | Herbivore: A consumer that eats only plants. |
| Carnivore | Carnivore: A consumer that eats only animals. |
| Omnivore | Omnivore: A consumer that eats both plants and animals. |
| Scavenger | Scavenger: A carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms. |
| Decomposer | Decomposer: An organism that breaks down biotic wastes and dead organisms for energy. |
| Food chain | Food chain: A series of events in which one organism eats another to obtain energy. |
| Food web | Food web: The pattern of overlapping feeding relationships in an ecosystem. |
| Energy pyramid | Energy pyramid: A diagram showing the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another. |
| Nitrogen fixation | Nitrogen fixation: The process of changing free nitrogen gas into nitrogen atoms that plants can use. |
| Biome | Biome: A group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms. |
| Climate | Climate: The average annual conditions of temperature, precipitation, and winds in an area. |
| Desert | Desert: An area receiving less than 25 centimeters of rain per year. |
| Rain forest | Rain forest: Forests that receive large amounts of rain year-round. |
| Emergent layer | Emergent layer: The tallest layer of the rain forest receiving the most sunlight. |
| Canopy | Canopy: A leafy roof formed by tall trees in a rain forest. |
| Understory | Understory: A layer of shorter trees and vines that grows in the shade of a forest canopy. |
| Grassland | Grassland: An area populated mostly by grasses and nonwoody plants. |
| Savanna | Savanna: A grassland close to the equator that includes shrubs and small trees. |
| Deciduous tree | Deciduous tree: A tree that sheds its leaves during a particular season each year. |
| Boreal forest | Boreal forest: Dense evergreen forests located in northern regions (also called Taiga). |
| Coniferous tree | Coniferous tree: A tree that produces seeds in cones and has needle-shaped leaves. |
| Tundra | Tundra: An extremely cold, dry biome with short, cool summers. |
| Permafrost | Permafrost: Permanently frozen soil found in the tundra. |
| Estuary | Estuary: A wetland where fresh water from a river mixes with salty ocean water. |
| Intertidal zone | Intertidal zone: The area between the highest high-tide line and lowest low-tide line. |
| Neritic zone | Neritic zone: The shallow ocean area from the low-tide line to the edge of the continental shelf. |
| Biogeograpy | Biogeograpy: The study of where organisms live and how they got there. |
| Continental drift | Continental drift: The very slow motion of the Earth's continents. |
| Dispersal | Dispersal: The movement of organisms from one place to another. |
| Exotic species | Exotic species: An organism carried to a new location by humans. |
| Point source | Point source: A specific, identifiable source of pollution. |
| Nonpoint source | Nonpoint source: A widely spread source of pollution difficult to link to one origin. |
| Biodegradable | Biodegradable: Capable of being broken down by bacteria and decomposers. |
| Natural resource | Natural resource: Anything in the environment that is used by people. |
| Soil conservation | Soil conservation: The management of soil to prevent its destruction. |
| Crop rotation | Crop rotation: Planting different crops in a field each year to maintain fertility. |
| Contour plowing | Contour plowing: Plowing along the curves of a slope to prevent soil loss. |
| Conservation plowing | Conservation plowing: Leaving dead stalks in the ground to hold soil in place. |
| Biodiversity | Biodiversity: The total number of different species in an area. |
| Keystone species | Keystone species: A species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem. |
| Endangered species | Endangered species: A species in danger of becoming extinct in the near future. |
| Threatened species | Threatened species: A species that could become endangered in the near future. |
| Extinction | Extinction: The disappearance of all members of a species from Earth. |
| Habitat destruction | Habitat destruction: The total loss of a natural habitat. |
| Habitat fragmentation | Habitat fragmentation: The breaking of a habitat into smaller, isolated pieces. |
| Poaching | Poaching: Illegal killing or removal of wildlife. |
| Captive breading | Captive breeding: The mating of animals in controlled environments like zoos to protect the species. |
Created by:
KingNugz