Unit 2 List 1 Ecology KS Flashcards
Abiotic Factors
a non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment
Autotrophs
an organism that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals
Biotic Factors
a living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment
Carbon Sink
anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases – for example, plants, the ocean and soil
Bioaccumulation
an increase in the concentration of a chemical over time in a biological organism compared to the chemical’s concentration in the environment
Carnivore
an organism that only eats meat
Commensalism
a relationship between species when one benefits and the other is neither harmed or benefited
Competition
a set of interactions between organisms and species to get a limited resource
Decomposer
any organism that breaks down or eats decaying material for its energy source
Ecosystem
a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in a particular area
Consumer
an organism that cannot produce its own food and must eat other plants and/or animals to get energy.
Food Chain
a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another
Energy Pyramid
a model that shows the flow of energy from one trophic, or feeding, level to the next in an ecosystem
Food Web
a diagram that shows the transfer of energy through multiple different organisms in an area
Habitat
the natural home or environment of a plant, animal, or other organism
Herbivore
an organism that mostly feeds on plants
Heterotrophs
an organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients
Leaching
a natural process where substances are dissolved and removed from a solid by a solution, usually water, which is later extracted or deposited
Mutualism
association between organisms of two different species in which each benefits
Limiting Factor
anything that constrains a population’s size and slows or stops it from growing
Niche
a subset of a habitat where only a particular species lives
Ocean Acidification
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
Omnivore
organism that eats both animals and plants
Parasitism
a relationship between species when one animal benefits and the other is harmed
Population
a group of organisms living in the same geographical area at the same time
Phytoplankton
microscopic marine algae
Pioneer Species
the species that first colonize new habitats created by disturbance
Predation
a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey.
Predator
an organism that captures and eats another (the prey)
Prey
animals that are killed and eaten by other animals
Primary Succession
when a new area of land is populated by a group of species for the first time
Secondary Succession
when a climax community or intermediate community is impacted by a disturbance
Producer
organisms that make their own food
Species Overshoot
local carrying capacity—when that population has not only begun to outstrip its food supply in excess of regeneration, but actually shot past that point, setting up a potentially catastrophic crash
Sustainability
he ability of biological systems to remain healthy, diverse, and productive over time
