HB E 01 Def Flashcards
Physical conditions and non-living resources
Eg Climate, weather soil, nutrients, light.
Abiotic
Evolutionary process
leads to the development or persistence of an organism’s behavior and ability to survive / reproduce.
Adaptation
Continually wooded since before 1600 (in England).
Semi-natural ancient woodland is dominated by naturally regenerated native trees and shrubs.
Ancient Woodland
Obtain energy from an inorganic source i.e. sunlight or inorganic chemical energy.
i.e. Plants, some bacteria.
Autotrophs
Variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or the entire earth
Biodiversity
Total weight of all the living organisms, or a designated group of living organisms, in a given area.
Biomass
living organisms. They can also influence the distribution of organisms in an ecosystem.
Biotic
Plant species confined to soils with high (alkaline) pH
Calcicole
Plant species confined to soils with low (acidic) pH
Calcifuge
A group of biological taxa (as species) that include all the descendents of one common ancestor.
Clade
Behaviour of an animal that benefits another at its own expense.
Altruism
The genetic constitution of an individual organism.
Genotype
The set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.
Phenotype
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
Ecosystem
Exclusively native to a particular place or biota.
Endemic
The animal and plant life of a particular region, habitat, or geological period.
Biota
Plant community existing at the stable end point of succession.
Climax Community
Association between two individuals of different species in which one benefits and the other does not gain benefit or disadvantage.
Commensalism
The individuals from a number of species in a particular locality.
Community
Relationship between individuals using the same resource to each other’s disadvantage. Competition may be exploitation (directly through the depletion of the resource) or interference (through one individual interfering with another’s access to the resource).
Competition
A result of competition between two species for a limiting resource in which one species completely eliminates the other. Ecologically identical species cannot co-exist.
Competitive exclusion
Abiotic factors influencing the external environment of an organism and, as a consequence, the organism’s functioning.
Conditions
To sustain and develop habitats and species.
Conservation
Heterotrophic micro-organisms that break down dead organic matter.
Decomposers
Animals that eat dead and usually decaying organic matter.
Detritivores
The spatial range of a species, usually on a geographic scale but sometimes on a smaller scale, or the arrangement or spatial pattern of species over its habitat.
Distribution
Deoxyribonucleic acid. The molecules inside cells that carry genetic information and pass it from one generation to the next.
DNA
The scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and the interactions with the environment (including with each other) which cause these patterns of distribution and abundance.
Ecology
A system of living organisms and their physical and chemical environment.
Ecosystem
Organisms that rely on external heat sources to regulate body temperature or do not regulate temperature at all.
Ectotherms
Organisms that maintain a roughly constant body temperature by generating internal heat.
Endotherms
Proteins produced by cells that act as catalysts in biochemical processes.
Enzyme
Change in the characteristics of a species over time and the development of new species through reproductive isolation.
Evolution
Number of seeds, eggs or offspring produced by an individual.
Fecundity
A simple expression of feeding relationships in a community, starting with plants and ending with top carnivores.
Food chain
A network of feeding relationships within a community.
Food web
The type of environment that an organism inhabits.
Habitat
Animals that eat plant material only.
Herbivores
Organisms that obtain energy from complex organic compounds that have been synthesised by other organisms. I.e. Organisms that eat plants and/or other animals.
Heterotrophs
The state of inactivity of some animals during the winter; marked by a drop in body temperature and metabolic rate
Hibernation
Competition between members of two or more species
Interspecific competition
Competition among members of a single species
Intraspecific competition
Lacking a backbone, hence an animal without bones e.g. insect, mollusc, jellyfish, worm.
Invertebrate
Plant of the Pea family that forms root nodules containing nitrogen fixing bacteria.
Legume
The entire span of life of an organism from the moment of fertilization (or asexual generation) to the time it reproduces in turn.
Life cycle
The rate at which the chemical reactions within the cell or organism take place.
Metabolic rate
The sum of all chemical reactions occurring within the cell or and organism.
Metabolism
A habitat that is really small e.g. a flower head, underneath the bark of a tree.
Microhabitat
The regular, seasonal movements of animals between breeding and non-breeding ranges.
Migration
This is the DNA that is transferred through the mitochondria of the egg in reproduction. It is not the same DNA as the chromosomes that mix to create the unique individual (50% each from the egg and sperm). Mitochondrial DNA is therefore passed through the generations via the females and is used for plotting evolutionary pathways.
Mitochondrial DNA
Association between two individuals of different species in which both benefit.
Mutualism
Fungi developing a mutualistic association with plant roots.
Natural Selection
The role played by an organism within a community or ecosystem. The fundamental niche is the range of conditions that can be tolerated and the resources that can be utilised. The realised niche is the proportion of the fundamental niche actually occupied as a result of competition.
Niche
A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow, or a substance used in an organism’s metabolism which must be taken in from its environment.
Macronutrients are those used by the body in large amounts (e.g. Carbohydrate).
Micronutrients are those used by the body in small amounts (e.g. Calcium).
Nutrient – Micro, macro
Relationship between two individuals of different species where one member benefits and the other is disadvantaged (although not killed until at least after the parasite has successfully reproduced).
Parasitism
A scale from one to fourteen of acidity (1-6) and alkalinity (8-14), 7 being neutral. Actually stands for ‘potential of hydrogen’ and is on a log scale.
pH
Free draining, acidic soil where long term leaching has occurred.
Podzols
Initial plant community in succession, often well adapted to specific abiotic problems associated with a particular substrate.
Pioneers
Community maintained in a preclimax state, e.g. by fire, grazing or human interference.
Plagioclimax
All the individuals of a particular species existing in a particular locality.
Population
The act of one animal (predator) catching and consuming another (prey).
Predation
The process by which green plants capture light energy from the sun through photosynthesis. Gross primary production is the total amount of energy captured. Net primary production is the fraction of gross production that remains after the organism has used energy for its maintenance - this can be used for growth.
Primary Production
A square shaped piece of equipment used to define a given area whilst carrying out a survey e.g. 1 meter quadrat is a wooden or metal or string square 1 meter by 1 meter.
Quadrat
A commodity that is used by an organism and can therefore be in short supply and the subject of competition. Eg. Food, light, space.
Resources
One of the basic units of biological classification in taxonomy. Usually defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. This mostly works but sometimes the definition can be less distinct and similarity of DNA, morphology or ecological niche may be more appropriate. Presence of specific locally adapted traits may further subdivide species into subspecies.
Species
Pores on the surface of plant leaves or stems used for gaseous exchange.
Stomata
The gradual change and development of an ecosystem over time.
Primary succession starts from a bare uncolonised surface.
Secondary succession on a previously colonised substrate which may still contain plant seeds and organic matter
Succession
To keep going continuously e.g. population. Sustainable development – to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations.
Sustainable
The science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a hierarchical structure or classification scheme.
Taxonomy
Regulating the body temperature (see Ectotherms and Endotherms).
Thermoregulation
A line along which you travel whilst collecting data during a survey.
Transect
An animal whose nerve cord is enclosed in a backbone of bony segments called vertebrae i.e. fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Vertebrate
Non-succulent plants with a range of adaptations making them drought tolerant.
Xerophytes
Fungi developing a mutualistic association with plant roots.
Mycorrhiza
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Linnean System
The history of organismal lineages as they change through time - Tree of Life
Phylogeny
1) at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics
2) 30% or less of its original natural vegetation
Biodiversity hotspot
Mineral soils - frequent or constant waterlogging
Gleys
Heavy rainfall results in material being washed out and redeposited at greater depth
Podzols
Pure organic soils where organic matter has accumulated because of waterlogging
Peat
Free draining soils with distinct mineral/organic and mineral layers are called
Brown Earths
the concentration of a solution expressed as the total number of solute particles per litre
Osmolarity
Maintenance of a relatively constant internal environment in a variable external environment
Homeostasis
The dicotyledons, also known as dicots, are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants or angiosperms were formerly divided.
The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group, namely that the seed has two embryonic leaves or cotyledons.
Dicotyledons
Produced by, or influenced by the soil.
Edaphic
Organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it.
Epiphyte
Climbing vine found throughout tropical rainforests. They begin life on the forest floor but depend on trees for support as they climb upwards towards the sunlight they need for survival.
Lianas
Diverse in character or content.
Heterogeneous
When the organisms live together in close physical association
Symbiotic mutualism
Involves permanent pairings in which one or both partners cannot lead an independent life
Obligate mutualism
Belonging to the same species.
Conspecific
The quality or state of being diverse in character or content.
Heterogeneity
