Busy. Please wait.
Log in with Clever
or

show password
Forgot Password?

Don't have an account?  Sign up 
Sign up using Clever
or

Username is available taken
show password


Make sure to remember your password. If you forget it there is no way for StudyStack to send you a reset link. You would need to create a new account.
Your email address is only used to allow you to reset your password. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.


Already a StudyStack user? Log In

Reset Password
Enter the associated with your account, and we'll email you a link to reset your password.

Biology - Ecology Unit

Quiz yourself by thinking what should be in each of the black spaces below before clicking on it to display the answer.
        Help!  

Term
Definition
population   all the individuals of a single species that live in a specific area  
🗑
community   a combination of all the different populations that live and interact in the same environment  
🗑
biotic   the living parts of the environment  
🗑
abiotic   nonliving parts of the environment  
🗑
species   a group of organisms that share certain characteristics and can mate with one another, producing fertile offspring  
🗑
ecosystem   all the living and nonliving things that interact in a specific area; a subdivision of the environment  
🗑
niche   the specific role played by an organism in its ecosystem  
🗑
habitat   the place where an animal or plant lives  
🗑
autotroph   an organism that produces its own food; the source of energy for all other living things on Earth  
🗑
heterotroph   the organism that cannot make its own food; a consumer  
🗑
producer   an organism that makes its own food from light energy and inorganic materials  
🗑
consumer   an organism that obtains its energy from producers  
🗑
decomposer   an organism, generally a bacterium or fungus, that consumes dead organisms and organic waste  
🗑
herbivore   an organism that eats only plants  
🗑
carnivore   an organism that survives by eating animals  
🗑
tundra   characterized by permafrost (frozen subsoil), strong winds, low precipitation, short and soggy summers, long, cold and dark winters; poor soil  
🗑
taiga   biome with long cold winters and a few months of warm weather; dominated by coniferous evergreens; also called boreal forest  
🗑
desert   have less than 25 cm of rain annually, extreme daily temperature changes, soils rich in mineral but poor in organic material  
🗑
rainforest   2 meters of rain per year, tall trees from dense, leafy canopy, organic matter on forest floor is recycled and reused quickly so the soil is not very rich in nutrients  
🗑
grassland   aka savanna - receives more rain than deserts but less than dry forests, warm and hot summer, cold winter, fertile soils, frequent fires  
🗑
deciduous forest   trees that shed leaves during a particular season of each year  
🗑
pioneer organism   the first organisms to become established in a new habitat  
🗑
symbiosis   relationship in which two species live close together  
🗑
succession   changes over time (in an environment)  
🗑
saprophyte   a plant, fungus, or microorganism that lives on dead or decaying organic matter  
🗑
omnivore   organism that obtains energy by eating both plants and animals  
🗑
predator   an animal that hunts and kills other animals for food  
🗑
prey   an animal that is hunted and killed by predators  
🗑
food web   a representation of many interconnected food chains that shows the feeding relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers  
🗑
food chain   a representation that identifies the specific feeding relationships among organisms  
🗑
nitrogen fixing bacteria   process by which nitrogen forms compounds that be used by living things (bacteria in legumes that convert nitrogen to ammonia)  
🗑
nitrifying bacteria   group of aerobic bacteria that use inorganic chemicals as an energy source  
🗑
denitrifying bacteria   process by which bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas, which is released into the atmosphere  
🗑
parasite   an organism that survives by living and feeding on other organisms  
🗑
prey   an animal that is hunted and killed by predators  
🗑
host   the organism in a parasitic relationship that provides a home and/or food for the parasite  
🗑
legume   plants, such as peanuts and peas, that have bacteria on their roots used to convert nitrogen gas to ammonia (nitrogen fixation)  
🗑
lichen   symbiotic association between a fungus and a photosynthetic organism  
🗑
conifer   tree that produces seed-bearing cones and have thin leaves shaped like needles  
🗑
scavengers   a carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms  
🗑
commensalism   symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed  
🗑
mutualism   symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the relationship  
🗑
parasitism   symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it  
🗑
biome   large groups of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms; examples include the tundra, taiga, temperate forest, chaparral, tropical rain forest, desert, temperate grassland, tropical savanna grassland, and polar and high-mountain ice  
🗑
biosphere   all of Earth's ecosystems, collectively; the biologically inhabited portions of Earth, including all of the water, land, and air in which organisms survive  
🗑
transpiration   the process whereby plants absorb water through their roots and eliminate it through tiny pores on the undersides of their leaves  
🗑
competition   the struggle between organisms for the same limited resources in a particular area  
🗑
climax community   a relatively diverse and stable ecosystem that is the end result of succession  
🗑
selective breeding   the process of choosing a few organisms with desirable traits to serve as the parents of the next generation  
🗑
photosynthesis   the process by which some organisms are able to capture light energy and use it to make food from carbon dioxide and water  
🗑


   

Review the information in the table. When you are ready to quiz yourself you can hide individual columns or the entire table. Then you can click on the empty cells to reveal the answer. Try to recall what will be displayed before clicking the empty cell.
 
To hide a column, click on the column name.
 
To hide the entire table, click on the "Hide All" button.
 
You may also shuffle the rows of the table by clicking on the "Shuffle" button.
 
Or sort by any of the columns using the down arrow next to any column heading.
If you know all the data on any row, you can temporarily remove it by tapping the trash can to the right of the row.

 
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
Created by: WGZimm
Popular Biology sets