Ecology Flashcards
Biotic factor
created by a living thing or any living component within an environment
Abiotic factor
can determine which species of organisms will survive in a given environment
Organism
any living thing that can react to stimuli, reproduce, grow, and maintain homeostasis
Species
group of closely related organisms that are very similar to each other
population
the number of organisms of the same species that live in a particular area
Community
group of various species in a common location
Habitat
place where an organism or a community of organisms lives
Natural selection
Darwin’s theory of evolution, only the organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive
Evolution
the process by which traits that enhance survival and reproduction become more common in successive generations of a population
Producers / autotrophs
An organism capable of producing compounds from the process of photosynthesis
Consumers / heterotrophs
an organism that generally obtains food by feeding on other organisms
Primary consumer
the living organism that eats the producers
Secondary consumer
as organisms which eat primary consumers
Tertiary consumer
a carnivore at the topmost level in a food chain
Herbivores
An animal that eats plants
Carnivores
An animal that eats meat
Omnivores
a kind of animal that eats either other animals or plants
Decomposers
are organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms
Food chain
a hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food
Food web
a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.
Energy pyramid
is a graphical model of energy flow in a community
Carbon cycle
the combined processes by which carbon as a component of various compounds cycles between its major reservoirs
Nitrogen cycle
a continuous series of natural processes by which nitrogen passes successively from air to soil to organisms and back to air
Ecological succession
the process by which the structure of a biological community evolves over time
Primary succession
is one of two types of biological and ecological succession of plant life, occurring in an environment in which new substrate devoid of vegetation and other organisms
Secondary succession
is a process started by an event that reduces an already established ecosystem
Pioneer species
are hardy species which are the first to colonize previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems
Climax community
populations of plants or animals remain stable and exist in balance with each other
Ecosystem
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
