First deck Flashcards
Ecosystem
Biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
Biotic Factor
Are of all living organisms within an ecosystem
Abiotic Factor
All non living things in an ecosystem
Organism
An indivisual animal, plant, or single-celled life form
Species
Group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding
Population
All inhabitants of an area
Community
Group of interdependent organisms of different species growing or living together in specified place
Habitat
A natural home for a animal, plant, or organism
Natural Selection
Organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring
Evolution
process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of earth
Producers/Autotrophs
organism capable of synthesizing its own food from inorganic substances using light or chemical energy
Consumers/Heterotrophs
Organism that cannot manufacture its own food and instead obtains its food and energy by taking in organic substances usually plant or animal matter
Primary Consumer
Living organism that eats the producers. Plant eaters.
Secondary Consumer
Eat primary consumers. They are carnivores, and omnivores, Eats plants and animals
Tertiary Consumer
At the top of the food chain carnivore that eats other carnivores
Herbivores
Animal that eats plants
Carnivores
Animal that feeds on flesh
Omnivores
Eats food of both plant and animal origin
Decomposers
an organism especially a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate that decomposes organic material
Food Chain
a hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food
Food Web
a series of interlocking and interdependent food chains
Energy Pyramid
graphical model of energy flow in a community
Carbon Cycle
the series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment, chiefly involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels.
Nitrogen Cycle
the series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms, including nitrogen fixation and decomposition.
Phosphorus Cycle
the phosphorus cycle is the biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
Ecological Succession
is the observed process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time.
Pioneer Species
which are the first to colonize previously disrupted or damaged ecosystems, beginning a chain of ecological succession that ultimately leads to a more biodiverse steady-state ecosystem.
Climax Community
a stable mature community in a successive series which has reached equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment
Ecosystem
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environmen
