Ecology Unit Vocabulary Flashcards
Ecology
Ecology - the study of organisms and their interactions with the environment.
Biosphere
Biosphere - life supporting region of the Earth; all land, water, and air in which organisms live.
Biotic factors
Biotic factors - all of the living parts of an ecosystem.
Abiotic factors
Abiotic factors - all of the nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
Organism
Organism - an individual member of a species within a population.
Population
Population - all of the organisms in an ecosystem that belong to the same species.
Community
Community - all of the populations in an ecosystem.
Ecosystem
Ecosystem - all of the organisms living in an area and the nonliving features of their environment.
Habitat
Habitat - the place in which an organism lives.
Niche
Niche - 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.
carrying capacity
carrying capacity - the largest number of individuals of one species that an ecosystem can support over time.
limiting factors
limiting factors - anything that restricts the number of individuals in a population.
Predator
Predator - consumers that capture and eat other consumers.
Prey
Prey - the organism that is captured and consumed by the predator.
Producers/Autotrophs
Producers/Autotrophs- organisms such as plants and algae, which through the process of photosynthesis create energy-rich food.
Consumers/Heterotrophs
Consumers/Heterotrophs- an organism that cannot make its own food and feeds on other organisms.
Herbivore
Herbivore- a consumer that only eats plants.
Carnivore
Carnivore- a consumer that feeds only on other animals.
Omnivore
Omnivore- a consumer that feeds on plants and animals.
Scavengers
Scavengers- a consumer that eats organisms that have already died
Decomposers
Decomposers- a consumer that breaks down the complex compounds of dead and decaying plants and animals into simpler molecules that can be more easily absorbed.
Food chain
Food chain- a diagram that shows the flow of energy and matter between animals in a community.
Food web
Food web- shows all the possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a community.
Trophic level
Trophic level- a feeding step in a food chain, or ecological energy pyramid.
Ecological energy pyramid
Ecological energy pyramid- shows how energy flows through an ecosystem.
Symbiosis
Symbiosis- a relationship of dependence or mutual benefit between organisms of the same ecosystem.
Mutualism
Mutualism- a relationship where both organisms benefit.
Commensalism
Commensalism- a relationship where one organism benefits and the other organism is not affected.
Parasitism
Parasitism- a relationship where one organism benefits and the other organism is harmed.
Ecological Succession
Ecological Succession- Natural, gradual changes in the types of species that live in an area; can be primary or secondary
Primary Succession
Primary Succession- 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.
Secondary Succession
Secondary Succession- the process of restabilization that follows a disturbance in an area where life has formed an ecosystem. SOIL IS ALREADY PRESENT.
