ecosystems Flashcards
biologically community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
Ecosystem
all living organisms in an ecosystem
Biotic Factor
all nonliving chemical and physical parts of the environment that effect living organisms and functioning of ecosystems
Abiotic Factor
an individual animal, plant or single-celled life form
Organism
group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding
Species
group of individuals of same species in the same area
Population
two or more different species in the same area
Community
natural home or environment of organisms
Habitat
process which organisms better adapted to environment tend to survive and produce more offspring
Natural Selection
the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.
Evolution
an organism that is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide.
producers/ autotrophs
gets nutrients by eating other animals
consumers/ heterotrophs
first animal that eats autotrophs (herbivores)
primary consumer
animals that eat the primary consumer
secondary consumer
top carnivore eats other carnivores
tertiary consumer
only eat plants
herbivores
only eat meat
carnivores
eat plants and animals
omnivores
break down dead and decaying organisms
decomposers
- A succession of organisms in an ecological community that are linked to each other through the transfer of energy and nutrients, beginning with an autotrophic organism such as a plant and continuing with each organism being consumed by one higher in the chain.
food chain
a series of organisms related by predator-prey and consumer-resource interactions; the entirety of interrelated food chains in an ecological community.
food web
a depiction of the amount of energy in each trophic level of an ecosystem
energy pyramid
Ecology. the circulation of carbon atoms in the biosphere as a result of photosynthetic conversion of carbon dioxide into complex organic compounds by plants, which are consumed by other organisms: the carbon returns to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide as a result of respiration, decay by fungi, bacteria, etc., and combustion of fossil fuels.
carbon cycle
the continuous sequence of events by which atmospheric nitrogen and nitrogenous compounds in the soil are converted, as by nitrification and nitrogen fixation, into substances that can be utilized by green plants, the substances returning to the air and soil as a result of the decay of the plants and denitrification.
nitrogen cycle
process in which phosphorus travels from its main source of rocks through ecosystems to living organisms.
phosphorus cycle
observed process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time.
ecological succession
the development of plant and animal life in an area without topsoil; the development of biotic communities in a previously uninhabited and barren habitat with little or no soil
primary succession
Secondary succession is the series of community changes which take place on a previously colonized, but disturbed or damaged habitat. Examples include areas which have been cleared of existing vegetation (such as after tree-felling in a woodland) and destructive events such as fires.
secondary succession
first to colonize previously disrupted or damaged ecosystems, beginning a chain of ecological succession that ultimately leads to a more biodiverse steady-state ecosystem.
pioneer species
a stable mature community in a successive series which has reached equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment
climax community
a system, or a group of interconnected elements, formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.
ecosystem
