Chapter 4 Key terms Flashcards
ecosystem
a community of organisms and their abiotic environment
biotic factor
an environmental factor that is associated or results from the activities of living organisms
abiotic factor
describe the nonliving part of the environment including water rocks light and temperature
organism
a living thing anything that can carry out the life process independently
species
a group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to produce fertile offspring also the level of classification below a genus and above subspecies
population
a group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific geographical area and interbreed
community
a group of various species that live in the same habitat and interact with each other
habitat
the place where an organism usually lives
natural selection
the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well-adapted individuals do a theory to explain the mechanism of evolution
evolution
a heritable change in the characteristics within a population from one generation to the next the development of new types of the organism from preexisting types of organisms over time
adaptation
the process of becoming adapted an environment an anatomical physiological or behavioral change that improves a populations ability to survive
artificial selection
the selective breeding or organisms by humans for specific desirable characteristics
resistance
in biology the ability of an organism to tolerate a chemical or disease-causing agent
archaea
prokaryotes mosy which are known to live in extreme environments that is distinguished from other prokaryotes by differences in their genetics and in the makeup of their cell wall members of the domain archaea singular ar chaeon
bacteria
an extremely small single-celled organism that usually has a cell wall and reproduces by cell division
fungus
an organism whose cells have nuclei rigid cells wall and no chlorophyll and that belongs to the kingdom fungi
protist
an organism that belongs to the kingdom Protista
gymnosperm
a woody vascular seed plant whose needs are not enclosed by an ovary or fruit
angiosperm
a flowering plant that produces seeds within a fruit
invertebrate
an animal that does not have a backbone
vertebrate
an animal that has backbone includes mammals birds reptiles amphibians and fish
