Terms Flashcards
Abiotic
Refers to physical and chemical conditions of habitats. Ex: temperature, soil ph, nutrients, light energy etc.
Competition
Interaction between species over a limiting resource that negatively effects the growth rate of one or both populations.
Age Class
Group of individuals of the same age in a population
Alluvial
Refers to sediment deposited by running water
Anaerobic
Environment lacking oxygen
Association
Group of species sharing the same place, or in the case of vegetation, a group of co-occurring plant species.
Autecology
Branch of ecology that focuses on the relationships between individuals of a species and their abiotic environment.
Autotroph
Organism derives energy from non organic sources (chemicals or light)
Biodiversity
Abundance, Variety and Genetic Variability of plants and animals in nature.
Biomass
Dry weight per unit area of living matter
Biome
Major vegetation association (distinguished by plant growth form rather than species)
Carrying capacity
size of a population that can be sustained over time by a given environment.
Climax community
Stable community where vegetation is in equilibrium with the climate over many generations.
Community
Group of species occurring together in a defined area
Decomposition
Break down of organic matter into its chemical (ultimately inorganic) constituents
Density
Individuals per unit area or volume
Diversity
Variety or richness of species composition in a community
Ecology
Study of interactions between organisms and the physical and biological components of its environment.
Ecosystem
Sum of biotic and abiotic components of a defined system or region
Ecotone
zone of transition between 2 adjoining habitat/veg types
Endemic species
Species found in a particular region and nowhere else
Equitability
Uniformity of the abundance of species in a community
Food web
interaction of a number of food chains in an ecosystem
GPP
Total rate of accumulation of energy by photosynthesis before subtracting for respiration
Macroclimate
climate at a broad regional scale ( influenced by factors like elevation latitude and continentality)
Microclimate
Climate at local scale (influenced by topography and vegetation)
Phenotype
physical / physiological characteristics of an individual
Quadrat
sampling unit of a site under investigation
Sere
entire sequence of stages in succesion
Stochastic
refers to patterns produced by random effects
Synecology
relationship of organisms/populations to biotic factors in environment
Mesic
referring to habitat in which water is neither over abundant or limited.
