Unit 2 List 1 Ecology

Question 1

Abiotic factors

Answer 1

a non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment

Question 2

Autotrophs

Answer 2

an organism that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals

Question 3

Biotic factors

Answer 3

the living components (organisms) that shape up the environment

Question 4

Bioaccumulation

Answer 4

the build-up of something inside an organism

Question 5

Carbon sink

Answer 5

anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases

Question 6

Carnivore

Answer 6

an organism that mostly eats meat, or the flesh of animals

Question 7

Commensalism

Answer 7

a type of symbiotic relationship between different species of organisms in which one species benefits from the relationship while the other species is neither harmed nor benefits from the relationship

Question 8

Competition

Answer 8

an interaction between organisms or species in which both require a resource that is in limited supply

Question 9

Consumer

Answer 9

an organism that cannot produce its own food and must eat other plants and/or animals to get energy

Question 10

Decomposer

Answer 10

any organism that breaks down or eats decaying material for its energy source

Question 11

Ecosystem

Answer 11

a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in a particular area

Question 12

Energy Pyramid

Answer 12

a model that shows the flow of energy from one trophic, or feeding, level to the next in an ecosystem

Question 13

Food chain

Answer 13

the sequence of transfers of matter and energy in the form of food from organism to organism

Question 14

Food web

Answer 14

consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem

Question 15

Habitat

Answer 15

the natural home or environment of a plant, animal, or other organism

Question 16

Herbivore

Answer 16

an organism that mostly feeds on plants

Question 17

Heterotrophs

Answer 17

an organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients

Question 18

Leaching

Answer 18

the loss of water soluble plant nutrients from the soil due to rain and irrigation

Question 19

Limiting Factor

Answer 19

anything that constrains a population’s size and slows or stops it from growing

Question 20

Mutualism

Answer 20

a relationship in which both species are mutually benefited

Question 21

Niche

Answer 21

the role an organism plays in a community

Question 22

Ocean Acidification

Answer 22

a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere

Question 23

Omnivore

Answer 23

an organism that eats plants and animals

Question 24

Parasitism

Answer 24

a relationship between the two living species in which one organism is benefited at the expense of the other

Question 25

Phytoplankton

Answer 25

microscopic marine algae

Question 26

Pioneer Species

Answer 26

hardy taxa that tend to be the first to colonize altered or damaged habitats

Question 27

Population

Answer 27

the number of people in a single area

Question 28

Predation

Answer 28

a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey

Question 29

Prey

Answer 29

animals that are killed and eaten by other animals

Question 30

Predator

Answer 30

organisms that hunt and kill other organisms for food

Question 31

Primary Succession

Answer 31

the colonization of new sites by communities of organisms

Question 32

Producer

Answer 32

organisms that make their own food

Question 33

Secondary Succession

Answer 33

happens when a climax community or intermediate community is impacted by a disturbance

Question 34

Species Overshoot

Answer 34

Phenomenon in which populations temporarily exceed carrying capacity of environment

Question 35

Sustainability

Answer 35

the ability of biological systems to remain healthy, diverse, and productive over time