Ecology key words Flashcards
Abiotic factors
Non-living factors which affect a community
Abundance
An indication of how common or rare a particular type of organism is in a given environment
Adaptations
Special features which make an organism particularly well suited to the environment where it lives
Algae
Simple aquatic organisms which make their own food by photosynthesis
Apex predator
A carnivore at the top of the food chain with no predators
Aphids
Insects that penetrate the plant phloem and feed on the dissolved nutrients. They act as plant pathogens and are also vectors that carry pathogens to healthy plant tissues
Asexual reproduction
Reproduction involving only one individual. The offspring is identical to the parent. There is no fusion of gametes or mixing of genetic information
Biotic factors
Living factors which affect communities
Biodiversity
A measure of the variety of all the different species of organisms in a given environment
Biomass
The amount of biological material in an organism
Carbon cycle
The cycling of carbon through the living and non-living world
Carnivore
An animal which feeds on meat
Causal mechanism
Something that explains how one factor influences another
Cellulose
The complex carbohydrate that makes up plant and algal cell walls and gives them strength
Community
A group of interdependent living organisms in an ecosystem
Competition
The process by which living organisms compete with each other for limited resources
Correlation
An apparent link or relationship between two factors
Decomposers
Microorganisms that break down waste products and dead bodies
Deforestation
Large scale clearing of trees and forests
Distribution
Where particular types of organisms are found within an environment
Ecosystem
The interaction of a community of living organisms and the non-living parts of their environment
Extremophile
An organism that can survive and reproduce in extreme conditions such as high temperature, pressure or salt concentration
Food chain
A simple diagram which shows the feeding relationship within a community. All food chains start with a producer
Food security
Having enough food to feed a population
Global warming
A gradual increase of the overall temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere. Increasing levels of carbon dioxide and methane are contributing to this
Fusarium
Fungus used for producing mycoprotein, a protein rich food suitable for vegetarians
Gravitropism
The response of a plant to gravity
Habitat
The natural environment of a plant or animal
Herbivore
An animal that feeds on plants
Incident energy
Light from the sun arriving from the sun of the earth
Interdependence
The network of relationships between different organisms within a community, for example each species depends on other species for food, shelter, pollination, seed dispersion etc
Limiting factors
Factors which restrict/limit the rate of a reaction, for example light intensity in photosynthesis
Peat bogs
An area of very wet land without trees where many types of moss grow. Decomposition is very slow and so peat has formed from partially decayed plants
Phototropism
The response of a plant to light, controlled by auxin
Primary consumer
Animals that eat producers
Producers
Organisms such as plants and algae that can make food using photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. Producers are eaten by primary consumers
Pollution
A substance which has harmful or poisonous effects. It can occur from water, in air and on land and from toxic chemicals. Pollution kills plants and animals which can reduce biodiversity
Quadrat
A piece of equipment used to measure the abundance and distribution of organisms in the field
Quantitative sampling
Recording the number of the organisms rather than just the type
Secondary consumer
Animals that eat the primary consumer
Species
The smallest group of clearly identified organisms in Linnaeus’s classification system, often describes as a group of organisms that can breed together and produce fertile offspring
Transects
A measured line or area along which ecological measurements are made
Trophic level
Feeding levels in an ecosystem
Tropism
The responses of plant roots and shoots to environmental stimuli such as light and gravity
