Definitions Flashcards
Terrestrial
Habitat on earth
Aquatic
Habitat underwater
Atmosphere
Layer of gas surrounding the earth
Is a blanket to moderate temperature
Blocks solar radiation
Lithosphere
Earths solid outer layer
Makes up mountains,ocean floors etc
Hydrosphere
All earths water in solid liquid and gas forms
Biosphere
Life can exist within the lithosphere
Ecosystem
All living organisms that share a region and interact with each other and their non-living environment
Abiotic factors
Non- living components of an ecosystem
Biotic factors
Living components of an eco system
Community
A collection of all the populations in a habitat or ecosystem
Sustainability
The ability to maintain an ecological valence (without interruption )
Sustainable ecosystem
An ecosystem that is maintained through a natural process
Artificial ecosystem
Artificially created and maintained by human actions
Ecological niche
The role of species within its ecosystem including what it eats and behaves
Producer
An organism that produces its own food
Consumer
An organism that consumes other organisms for energy
Sequence of organisms
how energy is transferred from one organism to the other
Examples of consumers
Herbivore - eats plants and producers
Carnivore - eats other animals
Omnivore - eats both plants and animals
Scavenger - feeds on the remains
Trophic levels
the position of an organism along a food chain
Detritus
Waste from plants/ animals and dead remains
Food web
Representation of the feeding relationships within a community
Biomes
A large geographical region defined by climate (rain and temperature)
Oligotrophic
Body of water that is low in nutrients
Eutrophic
Body of water that is rich in nutrients
Watershed
Area of land through which water drains into a single river or lake
