Ecology 2 Flashcards
Habitat
The place where a plant or animal lives (and is also the local area of study)
Qualitative study
Records the presence or absence of organisms
Quantitative study
Records the numbers of organisms that are present
Adaption
Any alteration that improves an organisms chances of survival and reproduction
Key
A means of naming organisms by answering a series of questions with alternative answers
Percentage cover
An estimate of the amount of ground in a quadrat covered by each species
Frequency
The chance of finding a named species with any one throw of a quadrat
Ecology
The study of interactions between living things (organisms) and between organisms and their environment
Biosphere
The parts of the planet containing living organisms
Ecosystem
A group of clearly distinguished organisms that interact with their environment as a unit
Population
All the members of the same species living in an area
Community
All the different populations of an area
Abiotic factors
Non-living factors of an area
Biotic factors
Living factors
Climatic factors
Weather over a long period of time
Edaphic factors
Relate to soil
Producers
Organisms that carry out photosynthesis
Flora
All the plants in an ecosystem
Consumers
Organisms that take in food from other organisms
Fauna
All the animals in an ecosystem
Decomposers
Organisms that feed on dead organic matter
Detritus feeders
Organisms that feed on small pieces of dead organic matter
Food chain
A sequence of organisms in which each one is eaten by the next member in the chain
Food web
Consists of two or more interlinked food chains
