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Ecology Smith
Rinehart Notecards
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Ecology | the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between their environment and surroundings |
| Biosphere | contains the combined portions of the planet in which all of life exists, including lamd, water, and air(atmosphere) |
| Species | a group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring |
| Populations | groups of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area |
| Communities | assemblages of different populations that live together in a defined area |
| Ecosystem | a collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their non-living, or physical, environment |
| Biomes | a group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities |
| SECTION 2 | SECTION 2 |
| Autotrophs | organisms that can capture energy from sunlight to use as food |
| Producers | organisms that make their own food |
| Photosynthesis | the process in which autotrophs harness solar energy |
| Chemosynthesis | when organisms use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates |
| Heterotrophs | organisms that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply |
| Consumers | another word for heterotrophs |
| Herbivores | obtain energy by only eating plants |
| Carnivores | obtain energy by only eating other animals |
| Omnivores | eat both plants and animals |
| Detritivores | feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter |
| Decomposers | break down organic matter |
| Food Chain | a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten |
| Food Web | when the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem form a network of complex interactions |
| Trophic Level | each step in a food chain or food web |
| Ecological Pyramid | a diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a food chain or food web |
| Biomass | the total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level |