Unit 10: Ecology Flashcards
Abiotic
non-living, physical components of the environment
Age - sex structure
A graphical illustration that shows the distribution of various age groups in a population
Ammonification
Converts organic nitrogen into in organic ammonia.
Aquifer
an underground layer of rock, sand, or gravel that contains water.
Autotroph
organism that can create its own food from simple molecules
Biodiversity
the variety of species that exist in an environment
Biogeochemical cycle
pathway by which a chemical substance moves through biotic and abiotic compartments of Earth
Biomass
the mass of dried living matter in a given area or volume of habitat
Biome
a major ecological community such as grassland, tropical rain forest, or desert
Biosphere
the part of the earth in which living organisms are known to exist
Biotic
living, physical components of the environment
Boreal forest
forests growing in high-latitude environments where freezing temperatures occur for 6 to 8 months and in which trees can reach a minimum height of 5m and a canopy cover of 10%
Camouflage
A type of adaptation that allows some animals to blend into their surroundings] when needed.
Carbon cycle
a natural cycle in which carbon compounds, mainly carbon dioxide, are in corporated into living tissue through photosynthesis and returned to the atmosphere by respiration, decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels
Carnivore
an animal that eats only other animals
Carrying capacity
indicates the greatest number of any species that can in definitely exist within a specific habitat with out threatening the existence of other species also living in the habitat
Chaparral
vegetation composed of broad-leaved evergreen shrubs, bushes, and small trees
Chemoautotroph
an organism in which derives energy from the oxidation of in organic compounds.
Climate
the current or past long-term weather conditions characteristic of a region or the entire Earth
Climax community
An ecological community in which populations of plants or animals remain stable and exist in balance with each other and their environment
Commensalism
a relation ship between two species of a plant, animal, or fungus in which one lives with, on, or in the other with out damage to either
Community
a group of different populations that live together and interact in an environment
Competitive exclusion principle
a principle that explains that two different species cannot occupy the same niche in the same place for very long
Condensation
the process by which a gas changes into a liquid
Consumer
an organism that eats other living things to get energy; an organism that does not produce its own food (related word: consume)
Decomposer
organisms which carry out the process of decomposition by breaking down dead or decaying organisms
Denitrification
The loss or removal of nitrogen or nitrogen compounds
Density dependent factor
Any factor limiting the size of a population whose effect is dependent on the number of individuals in the population
Desert
an area that gets little precipitation and has very little vegetation
Detritivore
An animal which feeds on dead organic material, especially plant detritus
Detritus
Typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organism’s, and fecal material
Dispersal
The action or process of distributing things or people over a wide area
Dormancy
A period in an organism’s life cycle when growth development and physical activity are temporarily stopped.
Ecological pyramid
A graphical representation designed to show the biomass or bio-productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem.
Ecological succession
The process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time
Ecology
environment upon which an organism lives
Ecosystem
all the living and nonliving things in an area that interact with each other
Ecosystem diversity
deals with the variations in ecosystems within a geographical location and its overall impact on human existence and the environment