Unit 2- List 1 Ecology Flashcards
Abiotic Factors
the non-living factors in an environment such as temperature, light, water, and nutrients
Biotic Factors
living organisms that are part of an environment
Autotrophs
an organism that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals
Bioaccumulation
the build-up of something inside an organism
Commensalism
a relationship in which one organism benefits but the other is neither helped nor harmed
Carbon Sink
anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases
Carnivore
an animal that eats other animals
Consumer
an organism that cannot produce its own food and must eat other plants and/or animals to get energy
Competition
a relationship between organisms that strive for the same resources in the same ecosystem
Ecosystem
a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in a particular area
Decomposer
a living thing that breaks down dead plants, animals or waste
Energy Pyramid
a model that shows the flow of energy from one trophic level to the next along a food chain
Food Chain
the order in which organisms, or living things, depend on each other for food
Food Web
a model of intersecting food chains in an ecosystem
Habitat
the home of an animal or a plant
Herbivore
an organism that mostly feeds on plants
Heterotrophs
organisms that can’t make their own food and so must get energy by eating plants and animals to survive
Limiting Factor
anything that constrains a population’s size and slows or stops it from growing
Leaching
a process in which water-soluble substances are washed out from the soil
Mutualism
a relationship in which both organisms benefit
Niche
the role a species plays in the ecosystem
Ocean Acidification
a change in the properties of ocean water that can be harmful for plants and animals
Omnivore
an organism that regularly consumes a variety of material, including plants, animals, algae, and fungi
Parasitism
a relationship between two living things
Phytoplankton
Plankton that is made up of plants or plantlike organisms
Pioneer Species
any organism which is the first to colonize a barren area
Population
a group of people living in a particular area, such as a city, country, continent, or the world
Predation
the ecological process in which an animal (or an organism) kills and feeds on another animal (or an organism)
Predator
organisms that hunt and kill other organisms for food
Prey
an animal hunted or killed by another animal for food
Producer
organisms that make their own food
Primary Succession
when a new area of land is populated by a group of species for the first time
Secondary Succession
happens when a climax community or intermediate community is impacted by a disturbance
Species Overshoot
when the population of a species significantly exceeds the carrying capacity of its environment
Sustainability
When a natural resource is sustainable, it doesn’t become used up or destroyed, and so living sustainably means we can keep using it for a long time
