Chapter 2 Vocabulary Flashcards
Abiotic
Pertaining to factors or things that are separate and independent from living things; nonliving
Biota
The sum total of all living organisms; usually applied to the setting of natural ecosystems
Species
All organisms (plant, animal, or microbe) of a single kind; the “single kind” is determined by similarity of appearance or by the fact that members do or can mate and produce fertile offspring; physical, chemical, or behavioral differences block breeding between species
Population
A group within a single species whose individuals can and do freely interbreed
Ecosystem
A grouping of plants, animals, and other organisms interacting with each other and with their environment in such a way as to perpetuate the grouping more or less indefinitely; have characteristic forms, such as deserts, grasslands, tundra, deciduous forsts, and topical rain forests
Ecology
The study of any and all aspects of how organisms interact with each other and with their environment
Ecotone
A transitional region between two adjacent ecosystems that contains some of the species and characteristics of each one and also certain species of its own
Biomes
A group of ecosystems that are related by having a similar type of vegetation governed by similar climatic conditions; excluding parries, deciduous forests, arctic tundra, deserts, and tropical rain forests
Biosphere
The overall ecosystem of Earth; the sum total of all the biomes and smaller ecosystems, which ultimately are all interconnected and interdependent through global processes such as the water cycle and the atmospheric cycle
Trophic structure
The major feeding relationships between organisms within ecosystems, organized into trophic levels
Photosynthesis
The chemical process carried on by green plants through which light energy is used to produced glucose from carbon dioxide and water; oxygen is released as a byproduct
Organic
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Inorganic
All things such as air, water, minerals, and metals, that are neither living organisms nor products uniquely produced by living things
Autotrophs
Any organism that can synthesize all its organic substances from inorganic nutrients, using light or certain inorganic chemicals as a source of energy; green plants
Heterotrophs
Any organism that consumes organic matter as a source of energy
Consumers
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Detritus feeders
Organisms such as termites, fungi, and bacteria that obtain their nutrients and energy mainly by feeding on dead organic matter
Primary consumers
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Herbivores
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Secondary consumers
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Carnivores
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Omnivores
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Predator
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Prey
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Parasites
Organisms (plant, animal, or microbial) that attach themselves to another organism, the host, and feed on it over a period of time without killing it immediately, but usually doing harm to it
Host
In feeding relationships, particularly parasitism, refers to the organism that is being fed upon
Detritus
The dead organic matter, such as fallen leaves, things, and other plant and animal wastes, that exist in any ecosystem
Food web
The combination of all the feeding relationships that exist in an ecosystem
Mutualism
A close relationship between two organism from which both derive a benefit
Symbiosis
The intimate living together or association of two kinds of organisms
Habitat
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Ecological niche
Like a habitat but more specific, the normal place an animal has (from Susie)
Abiotic factors
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Limiting factor
Any factor primarily responsible for determining the growth or reproduction of an organism or a population; may be a physical factor such as temperature or light, a chemical factor such as a particular nutrient, or a biological factor such as a competing species
Law of limiting factors
Law stating that a system may be limited by the absence or minimum amount (in terms of that needed) of any required factor
Climate
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Permafrost
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Neolithic Revolution
The development of agriculture begun by human societies around 12,000 years ago, leading to more permanent settlement and population increases
Industrial Revolution
During the 19th century, the development of manufacturing processes using fossil fuels and based on applications of scientific knowledge
Decomposers
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Producers
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