Ecology Flashcards
Define ecology
The study of interactions that take place among organisms and their environment.
What is an organism?
One individual that belongs to a certain species.
What is a population?
All the organisms that belong to the same species living in a community.
Define community
All the populations of different species that live in an ecosystem.
Definition of ecosystem
All the living organisms that live in an area and the nonliving features of their environment
Define climax community
The stable, end stage of ecological succession is when the plants and animals of a community use resources efficiently and balance is maintained by disturbances such as a fire, volcano, or glacier.
A final stable community, (after either primary (no soil) or secondary succession-soil present)
Abiotic
the non-living physical features of the environment, including air, water,sunlight, soil (rocks), temperature, and climate. The pre-fix A means not (living).
Biotic
features of the environment that are alive or were once alive. The prefix bio means life.
Succession
A natural, gradual change in the type of species that live in an area. Succession can be primary or secondary.
Climate
Average weather conditions of an area over time, including wind, temperature, and rainfall or other types of precipitation such as snow or sleet.
Temperate Deciduous Forest
WE LIVE IN THIS BIOME! We usually have 4 distinct seasons with climax communities of deciduous trees (leaves fall off the branches).
Secondary Succession
A process started by an event such as a fire, glacial movement, a volcano erupting, hurricane, etc., which reduces an already established ecosystem to a smaller population of species.
Primary Succession
A process in which there is uninhabited (no one lives there) barren, no soil, habitat or that occurs where there is no habitat or vegetation.
Pioneer Species
a group of hardy organisms, such as lichens, found in the primary stage of succession and that begin an area’s soil-building process.
Limiting Factors
Anything that restricts the size of the population, including living and nonliving features of an ecosystem, such as predators or drought.
Predator
Consumers that capture and eat other consumers.
Prey
The organism that is captured by the predator.
Energy pyramid
A model that shows the amount of energy available at each feeding level in an ecosystem.
Soil
mixture of mineral and rock particles and also the remains of dead organisms, air, and water that forms the topmost layer of the Earth’s crust and supports plant growth.
Soil pH
The measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. Most plants grow between the 5.5-7 range of soil. If the soil is less than seven, then the soil is acidic. If the range is over 7-14, then the soil is base or alkaline.
