Unit 2 List 1 Ecology Flashcards
Abiotic Factors
A non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment.
Autotrophs
An organism that can convert abiotic sources of energy into energy stored in organic compounds.
Carnivore
An organism that mostly eats meat, or the flesh of animals.
Biotic Factors
Living things within an ecosystem.
Bioaccumulation
An increase in the concentration of a chemical in a biological organism over time.
Competition
A set of interactions between organisms and species to get a limited resource.
Carbon Sink
Anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases.
Commensalism
An association between two organisms from which one benefits and the other does not receive any benefits or harm.
Consumer
An organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals.
Decomposer
Any organism that breaks down or eats decaying material for its energy source.
Ecosystem
A community of organisms and their physical environment interacting together.
Energy Pyramid
A model that shows the flow of energy from one trophic, or feeding, level to the next in an ecosystem.
Food Chain
A linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.
Food Web
All of the food chains in an ecosystem.
Habitat
The natural home or environment of a plant, animal, or other organism.
Herbivore
An animal that mainly eats plants.
Leaching
A process in which water-soluble substances are washed out from the soil.
Limiting Factor
Anything that constrains a population’s size and slows or stops it from growing.
Heterotrophs
An organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients.
Mutualism
Association between organisms where both organisms benefit.
Niche
The role an organism plays in a community.
Omnivore
An animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin.
Ocean Acidification
A reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Parasitism
A relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed.
Phytoplankton
Microscopic marine algae.
Pioneer Species
Organisms that reproduce and grow quickly, enabling them to reproduce and grow quickly, enabling them to take advantage of the resources in a barren environment before larger competitors arrive.
Populaton
A group of organisms of the same species living in the same geographic area at the same time.
Predation
A biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey.
Predator
Organisms that hunt and kill other organisms for food.
Prey
Animals that are killed and eaten by other animals.
Primary Succession
Type of ecological succession in which plants and animals first colonize a barren, lifeless habitat.
Producer
Organisms that make their own food.
Secondary Succession
Happens when a climax community or intermediate community is impacted by a disturbance. It restarts the cycle of succession, but not back to the beginning because soil and nutrients are still present in the environment.
Species overshoot
Phenomenon in which populations temporarily exceed carrying capacity of the environment.
Sustainability
The ability of biological systems to remain healthy, diverse, and productive over time.
