chapter 4 Flashcards
ecosystem
a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life.
biotic factor
a living organism that shapes its environment
abiotic factor
a non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment
organism
to a living thing that has an organized structure, can react to stimuli, reproduce, grow, adapt, and maintain homeostasis.
species
a set of organisms that is adapted to a particular set of resources (niche) in the environment,
population
a group of individuals of the same species living and interbreeding within a given area.
community
a group of actually or potentially interacting species living in the same location.
habitat
an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism
natural selection
the process through which populations of living organisms adapt and change
evolution
a process of orderly and gradual change or development
adaptation
the process by which a species becomes fitted to its environment
artificial selection
the identification by humans of desirable traits in plants and animals
resistance
the sum of the environmental factors
archaea
any of a group of single-celled prokaryotic organisms
bacteria
Some bacteria thrive in extreme heat or cold, while others can survive under highly acidic or extremely salty conditions.
