Term | Definition |
Ecology | The study of interactions between living things and their environment |
Biosphere | The part of the planet containing living organisms |
Ecosystem | A group of clearly distinguished organisms that interact with their environment |
Habitat | The place where a plant or animal lives |
Population | All the members of the same species living in an area |
Community | All the different populations in an area |
Abiotic Factors | Non-living factors eg. Aspect, Altitude, Steepness |
Biotic Factors | Living factors eg. predation, parasitism, competition |
Climatic Factors | Refer to weather over a period of time eg, wind, light intensity, temperature |
Edaphic Factors | Refer to soil eg. soil pH, soil type, soil content |
Producers | Organisms that make their own food using photosynthesis |
Consumers | Organisms that get their food from other organisms |
Grazing Food Chain | A sequence of organisms in which each organism is eaten by the one after it eg. grass<greenfly<ladybird<thrush |
Trophic Level | A feeding stage in a food chain |
Food Web | Two or more interlinked food chains |
Pyramid of Numbers | The number of organisms at each trophic level |
Niche | The role of an organism in its community |
Nutrient Recycling | The way in which elements such as carbon or nitrogen are exchanged between living and non living components of an ecosystem |
Nitrogen Fixation | The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia, ammonium and nitrates |
Nitrification | The conversion of ammonia and amonnium to nitrites and then to nitrates |
Denitrification | The conversion of nitrates back to atmospheric nitrogen |
Pollution | Any harmful addition to the environment |
Pollutant | A substance that causes pollution |
Conservation | The wise management of natural resources |
Eutrophication | The adding of nutrients to fresh water |
Competition | When organisms fight for something in short supply |
Intra-specific Competition | Between members of the same species |
Inter-specific Competition | Between members of different species |
Contest Competition | Two organisms fight for something in short supply and one wins |
Scramble Competition | Two or more organisms fight for something in short supply and each get something |
Predation | The catching, killing and eating of an organism |
Predator | An organism that catches, kills and eats its prey |
Prey | The organism that is eaten by the predator |
Parasitism | When two organisms of different species live in close association where one gets its food from the other to the others disadvantage |
Parasite | Gets its food from and to the disadvantage of another organism, the host |
Host | The organism the parasite feeds on |
Symbiosis | Two organisms of different species living in close association where one gets its food from the other and at least one benefits |
Mutualism | Two organisms of different species living in close association where one gets its food from the other and both benefit |
Factors that Affect Population | War, Famine, Disease |
Capture-recapture Method | No.caught 1st day x No.caught 2nd day
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No. marked 2nd day |