Ecology Vocab

Question 1

study of interactions of organisms with each other and the physical environment

Answer 1

ecology

Question 2

all the members of the same species

Answer 2

population

Question 3

all the populations found in a particular area

Answer 3

community

Question 4

a community and its physical environment, including both abiotic and biotic components

Answer 4

ecosystem

Question 5

all the communities on earth whose members exist in air and water and on land

Answer 5

biosphere

Question 6

the place where an organism lives

Answer 6

habitat

Question 7

the number of individuals per unit area

Answer 7

population density

Question 8

the pattern of dispersal of individuals across an area of interest

Answer 8

population distribution

Question 9

abiotic and biotic components of an environment that support living organisms

Answer 9

resources

Question 10

environmental aspects that particularly determine where an organism lives

Answer 10

limiting factors

Question 11

the statistical study of a population, such as its density, distribution, or rate of growth, which is dependent on factors such as morality pattern and age distribution

Answer 11

demography

Question 12

the species composition of a community; a listing of various species found in that community

Answer 12

species richness

Question 13

includes species richness and evenness(relative abundance of the different species

Answer 13

species diversity

Question 14

a particular place where a species lives and reproduces

Answer 14

habitat

Question 15

the role a species plays in its community

Answer 15

ecological niche

Question 16

comprised of all the abiotic conditions under which a species could survive when adverse biotic conditions are absent

Answer 16

fundamental niche

Question 17

comprised of conditions under which a species does survive when adverse biotic interactions, such as competition and predation, are present

Answer 17

realized niche

Question 18

no two species can indefinitely occupy the same niche at at the same time

Answer 18

competitive exclusion principle

Question 19

decreases competition between two species, leading to increased niche specialization and less niche overlap

Answer 19

resource partitioning

Question 20

a living organism that feeds on another

Answer 20

predator

Question 21

a living organism that gets fed on by another

Answer 21

prey

Question 22

the ability to blend into the background

Answer 22

camoflauge

Question 23

when one species resembles another that possesses an overt antipredator defense

Answer 23

mimicry

Question 24

an organism that derives nourishment from another

Answer 24

parasite

Question 25

an organism that parasites derive nourishment from

Answer 25

host

Question 26

an association in which at least one of the species is dependent on the other

Answer 26

symbiosis

Question 27

abundance of one species increases, and the other is not affected

Answer 27

commensalism

Question 28

abundance of both species increases

Answer 28

mutualism

Question 29

a change involving a series of species replacements in a community

Answer 29

ecological succession

Question 30

the first species to begin secondary succession

Answer 30

pioneer species

Question 31

occurs in areas where there is no soil formation

Answer 31

primary succession

Question 32

occurs in an area where soil is present

Answer 32

secondary succession

Question 33

require only inorganic nutrients and an outside energy source to produce organic nutrients for their own use and for all the other members of a community

Answer 33

autotrophs

Question 34

photosynthetic organism at the start of the food chain that makes its own food

Answer 34

producer

Question 35

chemosynthetic autotrophic bacteria

Answer 35

chemoautotrophs

Question 36

need a preformed source of organic nutrients as the acquire food from a different (hetero) source

Answer 36

heterotroph

Question 37

the consume food generated by a producer

Answer 37

consumer

Question 38

animals that graze directly on plants or algae

Answer 38

herbivores

Question 39

feed on other animals

Answer 39

carnivores

Question 40

animals that feed on both animals and plants

Answer 40

omnivores

Question 41

organisms that feed on detritus (decomposing particles of organic matter)

Answer 41

detritivores

Question 42

organism that breaks down organic matter into inorganic nutrients that can be recycled for the environment

Answer 42

decomposer

Question 43

energy can neither be created nor destroyed

Answer 43

first law of thermodynamics

Question 44

with every transformation some energy is degraded into a less available form such as heat

Answer 44

second law of thermodynamics

Question 45

a diagram describing trophic relationships

Answer 45

food web

Question 46

a level of nourishment within a food chain or web

Answer 46

trophic level

Question 47

diagrams that show single path of energy flow in an ecosystem

Answer 47

food chain

Question 48

the flow of energy with large losses between successive trophic levels is sometimes depicted as this

Answer 48

ecological pyramid

Question 49

the number of organisms multiplied by the dry weight of the organic matter within one organism

Answer 49

biomass

Question 50

10% of the energy in one trophic level is available to the next

Answer 50

rule of 10’s

Question 51

water cycle

Answer 51

hydrologic cycle

Question 52

the amount of a substance that moves from one component of the environment to another within a specified period of time

Answer 52

transfer rate

Question 53

overenrichment

Answer 53

eutrophication

Question 54

organisms that carry out photon capture to acquire energy. They use the energy from light to carry out various cellular metabolic processes

Answer 54

phototrophs