Ecology Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

Food chain

A

one possible path that energy and nutrients may take as they move through the ecosystem.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Food web

A

consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Producers

A

make their own food and do not depend on any other organism for nutrition.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Autotrophs

A

make their own food and do not depend on any other organism for nutrition.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Consumers

A

eat other organisms for food.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

trophic level

A

the grouping of organisms in a food web based on their role.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

carnivore

A

animals that eat other animals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

omnivore

A

animals that eat both animals and plants

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Herbivores

A

eat plants, algae, and other producers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

primary consumer

A

are herbivores, eat plants and other producers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Secondary consumers

A

eat the herbivores or other primary consumers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Tertiary consumers

A

eat the secondary consumers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

apex predators

A

eat other consumers, They may be at the fourth or fifth trophic level. top consumer or top predator.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

detritivores

A

are organisms that eat nonliving plant and animal remains? For example, scavengers such as vultures eat dead animals. Dung beetles eat animal feces.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

decomposers

A

They complete the cycle of life, returning nutrients to the soil or oceans for use by autotrophs. This starts a whole new series of food chains.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

scavenger

A

are organisms that eat nonliving plant and animal remains? For example, scavengers such as vultures eat dead animals. Dung beetles eat animal feces.

17
Q

environment

A

all the living and nonliving things that surround an organism

18
Q

ecosystem

A

all of the living and nonliving parts of the environment that interact with each other.

19
Q

ecology

A

the study of how organisms interact with their environment and with other organisms.

20
Q

dominant species

A

a group of organisms that outnumbers/dominates the other species in the area.

21
Q

biosphere

A

that part of Earth in which life can exist

22
Q

habitat

A

the location in which an organism lives

23
Q

species

A

a group of organisms that share similar characteristics and can mate with each other to produce offspring

24
Q

population

A

the group of organisms of the same species living in the same area

25
Q

community

A

a group of different populations that live together and interact in an environment

26
Q

niche

A

the place or role that an organism has in its habitat

27
Q

competition

A

the interaction between organisms or species that use the same resources in which the health of one is negatively affected by the presence of the other

28
Q

biotic

A

all of the living parts of an ecosystem

29
Q

abiotic

A

all of the nonliving parts of an ecosystem

30
Q

predator

A

an animal that hunts and eats another animal

31
Q

prey

A

an animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal

32
Q

parasite

A

A parasite is an organism that lives on or in another organism. It takes nourishment from its victim. Some parasites do not harm the host organism. Others may actually cause it to die or become weak and sickly.

33
Q

host

A

organism that is parasitized or subject to attack by one or more parasites

34
Q

symbiosis

A

relationship between two species that interact in ways that influence each other’s evolution

35
Q

parasitism

A

a certain type of non-mutual relationship found between two different species in which one organism known as the parasite benefits at the expense of the other organism