ch 3 vocab Flashcards
part of earth in which life exists, including land, water, and air or atmosphere
Biosphere
Scientific study of interactions among organisms in between their environment
ecology
Group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring
Species
Group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area
Population
assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area
Community
All the organisms that live in a place together with their nonliving environment
Ecosystem
Any living part of the environment with organisms who might interact
Biotic factors
Physical or nonliving factors that shapes an ecosystem
Abiotic factors
Thin layers of gases that surround earth
Atmosphere
All of the salt, water and freshwater in the form of liquid, ice, or vapor above and below earth surface, and in the atmosphere
Hydrosphere
All the rock at and below earth surface
Geosphere
Day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere, including temperature, precipitation, and other factors
Weather
Average year to year conditions of temperature and precipitation in an area over a long period of time
Climate
process in which certain gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapors) trap, sunlight, energy, and earths atmosphere as heat
Greenhouse effect
Group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms
Biome
Dense covering formed by the leafy tops of tall rainforest trees
Canopy
layer in a rainforest formed underneath the canopy formed by shorter trees
understory
A material formed from decaying leaves another organic material
Humus
biome with long cold winters, and a few months of warm weather dominated by coniferous evergreens also called boreal forest
taiga
A layer of permanently, frozen subsoil
Permafrost
as deep as 200 m in tropical seas were photosynthesis can occur but just a few meters in rivers and swamps
photic zone
photosynthesis cannot occur in dark layer of the oceans below the photic zone light cannot penetrate
aphotic zone
microscopic organisms that live in aquatic environments, including both phytoplankton and zooplankton
Plankton
Ecosystem in which water either covers the soil or is present at or near the surface at least part of the year
Wetland
Kind of wetland formed where river meets the ocean
Estuary
