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ecology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| organism | Any individual living thing. |
| species | A group of similar organisms that can mate and produce offspring. |
| population | All the members of one species living in a specific area. |
| community | All the different populations (different species) living together in an area. |
| ecosystem | All the living things (biotic) and non-living things (abiotic) interacting in an area. |
| ecology | The study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment. |
| habitat | The specific place where an organism lives and gets what it needs to survive. |
| biotic factor | A living part of an ecosystem (plants, animals, bacteria). |
| abiotic factor | A non-living part of an ecosystem (sunlight, water, temperature). |
| autotroph | An organism that makes its own food (usually through photosynthesis). |
| heterotroph | An organism that must eat other things for energy. |
| herbivore | Eats only plants. |
| carnivore | Eats only animals (meat). |
| omnivore | Eats both plants and animals. |
| scavenger | A carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms |
| decomposer | Breaks down biotic wastes and dead organisms (like fungi or bacteria). |
| food chain | A single path showing who eats whom. |
| food web | A complex system of overlapping food chains. |
| energy pyramid | A diagram showing how energy decreases as it moves up the food chain. |
| immigration | Moving into a population. |
| emigration | Moving out of a population. |
| population density | The number of individuals in a specific amount of space. |
| limiting factor | Anything that keeps a population from growing (like food or space). |
| carrying capacity | The maximum number of individuals an area can support long-term |
| natural selection | The process where individuals best suited to their environment survive and reproduce. |
| adaptation | A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce. |
| niche | An organism’s particular "job" or role in its habitat. |
| competition | The struggle between organisms to survive as they use the same limited resources. |
| predation | When one organism (predator) kills another (prey) for food. |
| mutualism | A relationship where both species benefit. |
| commensalism | One species benefits, and the other is neither helped nor harmed. |
| parasitism | One species benefits (parasite) by living on or in another (host) and harming it. |
| parasite | The organism that benefits in parasitism. |
| host | The organism that is harmed in parasitism. |
| succession | The series of predictable changes that occur in a community over time. |
| primary succession | Succession that begins in an area with no soil (like bare rock). |
| pioneer species | The first species to live in an area during primary succession. |
| secondary succession | Succession following a disturbance (like a fire) where soil already exists. |
| nitrogen fixation | The process of changing free nitrogen gas into a form cells can use. |
| biogeography | The study of where organisms live and how they got there. |
| continental drift | The very slow movement of the continents over time. |
| dispersal | The movement of organisms from one place to another. |
| exotic species | A species carried into a new location by people. |
| biome | A species carried into a new location by people. |
| climate | The average annual conditions of temperature and precipitation. |
| desert | An extremely dry area with very little water and few plants. |
| rain forest | Forests in which large amounts of rain fall year-round. |
| emergent layer | The tallest layer of the rain forest that receives the most sunlight. |
| canopy | A leafy roof formed by tall trees. |
| understory | A layer of shorter plants that grow in the shade of the forest canopy. |
| grassland/savanna | Areas populated mostly by grasses; savannas have scattered trees. |
| deciduous tree | Trees that shed their leaves and grow new ones each year. |
| boreal forest | Trees that shed their leaves and grow new ones each year. |
| coniferous tree | Trees that produce cones and have needle-like leaves. |
| tundra | An extremely cold, dry biome. |
| permafrost | Soil that is frozen all year (found in the tundra). |
| estuary | Where fresh water from a river meets the salt water of the ocean. |
| intertidal zone | The area on a shore between the highest high-tide and lowest low-tide. |
| neritic zone | The shallow region of the ocean over the continental shelf. |
| point source | Pollution that comes from a specific, identifiable site. |
| nonpoint source | Pollution that comes from many sources rather than from a single, specific site. |
| biodegradable | Capable of being broken down by bacteria and other decomposers. |
| natural resource | Anything in the environment that is used by people. |
| soil conservation | Managing soil to prevent its destruction or loss. |
| crop rotation | Planting different crops in a field each year to maintain soil fertility. |
| contour plowing | Methods of plowing fields to reduce soil erosion. |
| biodiversity | The total number of different species in an area. |
| keystone species | A species that influences the survival of many others in an ecosystem. |
| endangered species | At risk of becoming extinct in the near future. |
| threatened species | At risk of becoming endangered in the near future. |
| extinction | The disappearance of all members of a species from Earth. |
| habitat destruction | Breaking up or destroying habitats, usually for human use. |
| poaching | Illegal killing or removal of wildlife from their habitats. |
| captive breeding | Mating animals in zoos or wildlife preserves to protect the species. |
Created by:
kj ulisse