Ecology Flashcards

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1
Q

Ecology

A

the study of organisms and their interactions with the environment.

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2
Q

Biosphere

A

life supporting region of the Earth; all land, water, and air in which organisms live.

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3
Q

Biotic factors

A

all of the living parts of an ecosystem.

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4
Q

Abiotic factors

A

all of the nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

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5
Q

Organism

A

an individual member of a species within a population.

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6
Q

Population

A

all of the organisms in an ecosystem that belong to the same species.

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7
Q

Community

A

all of the populations in an ecosystem.

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8
Q

Ecosystem

A

all of the organisms living in an area and the nonliving features of their environment.

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9
Q

Habitat

A

the place in which an organism lives.

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10
Q

Niche

A

how an organism survives, how it obtains food and shelter, how it finds a mate and cares for its offspring, and how it avoids danger.

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11
Q

carrying capacity

A

the largest number of individuals of one species that an ecosystem can support over time.

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12
Q

limiting factors

A

anything that restricts the number of individuals in a population.

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13
Q

Predator

A

consumers that capture and eat other consumers.

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14
Q

Prey

A

the organism that is captured and consumed by the predator.

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15
Q

Producers/Autotrophs

A

organisms such as plants and algae, which through the process of photosynthesis create energy-rich food.

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16
Q

Consumers/Heterotrophs

A

an organism that cannot make its own food and feeds on other organisms.

17
Q

Herbivore

A

a consumer that only eats plants.

18
Q

Carnivore

A

a consumer that feeds only on other animals.

19
Q

Omnivore

A

a consumer that feeds on plants and animals.

20
Q

Scavengers

A

a consumer that eats organisms that have already died.

21
Q

Decomposers

A

a consumer that breaks down the complex compounds of dead and decaying plants and animals into simpler molecules that can be more easily absorbed.

22
Q

Food chain

A

a diagram that shows the flow of energy and matter between animals in a community.

23
Q

Food web

A

shows all the possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a community.

24
Q

Trophic level

A

a feeding step in a food chain, or ecological energy pyramid.

25
Q

Ecological energy pyramid

A

shows how energy flows through an ecosystem.

26
Q

Symbiosis

A

a relationship of dependence or mutual benefit between organisms of the same ecosystem.

27
Q

Mutualism

A

a relationship where both organisms benefit.

28
Q

Commensalism

A

a relationship where one organism benefits and the other organism is not affected.

29
Q

Parasitism

A

a relationship where one organism benefits and the other organism is harmed.

30
Q

Ecological Succession

A

Natural, gradual changes in the types of species that live in an area; can be primary or secondary

31
Q

Primary Succession

A

begins in an area where NO SOIL is present. The development of an ecosystem in an area that has never had a community living within it.

32
Q

Secondary Succession

A

the process of restabilization that follows a disturbance in an area where life has formed an ecosystem. SOIL IS ALREADY PRESENT.

33
Q

Climax Community

A

a mature, stable community that is the final stage of ecological succession. Conditions, biotic and abiotic factors, including resources, are suitable for an ecosystem to exist. (End result of succession.)