ecology vocabulary Flashcards
Biotic
relating to or resulting from living things, especially in their ecological relations.
Abiotic
physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.
Population
all the inhabitants of a particular town, area, or country.
Community
a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.
Ecosystem
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
Biosphere
the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth (or analogous parts of other planets) occupied by living organisms.
Herbivore
an animal that feeds on plants.
Carnivore
an animal that feeds on flesh.
Omnivore
an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin.
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
An energy pyramid is a graphical model of energy flow in a community. The different levels represent different groups of organisms that might compose a food chain. From the bottom-up, they are as follows: Producers — bring energy from nonliving sources into the community.
Carrying capacity
the number or quantity of people or things that can be conveyed or held by a vehicle or container.
Prey
an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food.
Predator
an animal that naturally preys on others.
Mutualism
the doctrine that mutual dependence is necessary to social well-being.
Commensalism
an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.
Parasitism
the practice of living as a parasite in or on another organism.
Producers
a person, company, or country that makes, grows, or supplies goods or commodities for sale.
Decomposers
an organism, especially a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that decomposes organic material.
Desert
abandon in a way considered disloyal or treacherous.
Tundra
a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen.
Temperate deciduous forest
a type of forest characterized by trees that seasonally shed their leaves. The trees of deciduous forests usually produce nuts and winged seeds. Dictionary.com’s 21st Century Lexicon.
Tropical rainforest
a tropical woodland with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches and marked by lofty broad-leaved evergreen trees forming a continuous canopy — called also tropical rain forest.
Coniferous forest
Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the world with warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest.
Savanna
a grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees.
Temperate grassland
Temperate grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands are terrestrial biomes whose predominant vegetation consists of grass and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and ranges from semi-arid to semi-humid.
