Bio ecology definiti Word Scramble
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Term | Definition |
Community | All the populations in a defined area |
Ecosystem | A community plus all the non-living matter in the area, e.g a forest includes not only the inhabitants but also the non-living parts of the soil |
Heterotroph | Organism that obtains its energy by feeding on other organisms |
Consumer | Organism that feeds on other organisms or parts of other organisms which it kills in the process. |
Herbivore | Animal that feeds on plants |
Carnivore | Animal that feeds on other animals |
Omnivore | Animal that feeds on both plants and animals |
Parasite | Organism that feeds on another organism (the host) without killing it |
Decomposer | Organism that feeds on dead organic matter |
Energy and nutrient flow | The energy that drives an ecosystem is ultimately converted to heat which cannot be re-used and is radiated out into space. Energy flow through and ecosystem is thus linear. Matter on the other hand is recycled |
Food Chain | A series of organisms through which energy flows; first link is always a plant |
Grazing food chain | Food chain in which the first link is living plant matter and the second kink is a herbivore |
Detritus food chain | Food chain in which the first link is dead plant matter and the second link is a decomposer |
Food web | A system of interconnected food chains |
Trophic level | Position of an organism in a food chain; p;ants occupy the first trophic level, herbivores the second, ect |
Food pyrimid | A graphic representation of the structure of a food chain, depicted as a pyramid having a broad base formed by producers and tapering to a point formed by end consumers. |
Succession | Progressive change in the composition of a community over time, leading eventually to a stable climax community. Primary succession begins with initially hostile conditions that are gradually made more fertile as a result of colonisation in pioneer plants |
Stratification | Vertical layering of the vegetation in a forest into emergents, canopy, sub-canopy, shrub layer, ground layer |
Zonation | Change in the composition of a community along a physical environmental gradient, e.g up a rocky shore of up a mountain |
Habitat | The place where an organism lives |
Environment | The sum total of all the factors in the surroundings that influence an organism |
Niche | The way an organism makes its living, its role in the community |
Adaptation | Any inherited feature that increases the chances that an organism will survive and reproduce |
Physical environment | Includes factors such as temperature, light intensity, humidity, salinity, pH, wind, and waterflow |
Biotic environment | Includes factors such as food, organisms, competition, predation, paratism |
Created by:
brianalyonswh
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