Unit 2 List 1 Ecology N.A Flashcards
Abiotic factors
Non-Living factors in an enviroment.
Autotrophs
Organisms that can create their own food.
Biotic Factors
Living factors in an eniroment.
Bioaccumulation
The build-up of something inside an organism.
Carbon Sink
Anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases.
Carnivore
Organisms that eat only meat.
Commensalism
A relationship in which one organism benefits but the other is neither helped nor harmed.
Competition
A situation in which two or more people or groups are trying to get something.
Consumer
An organism that obtains food by feeding on other organisms.
Decomposer
Organisms that break down dead matter.
Ecosystem
A community of organisms and their physical environment interacting together.
Energy Pyramid
A model that shows the flow of energy from one trophic level to the next.
Food chain
A linear sequence of how energy and nutrients move through an ecosystem.
Food web
A complex web of interconnecting and overlapping food chains.
Habitat
The natural home or environment of a plant or other organism.
Herbivore
Organisms that eat only plants.
Heterotrophs
An organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients.
Leaching
A process of extracting a substance from a solid material that is dissolved in a liquid.
Limiting factor
Anything that keeps a population’s size,slows, or stops it from growing.
Mutualism
When both organisms benefit in a relationship.
Niche
A place or position for which a person or thing is best fitted.
Omnivore
An organism that eats both plants and meat.
Ocean Acidification
A change in the properties of ocean water that can be harmful for plants and animals.
Parasitism
A relationship in where one organism benefits while the other is harmed.
Phytoplankton
Microscopic marine algae that are similar to terrestrial plants.
Pioneer Species
The species that first colonize new habitats created by disturbance.
Population
A group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time.
Predation
A biological interaction where the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey.
Prey
Animals that are killed and eaten by other animals.
Predator
Animals that hunt and kill other animals for food.
Primary Succession
When a new area of land is populated by a group of species for the first time.
Producer
Organisms that make their own food like plants.
Secondary Succession
When a climax community is impacted by a disturbance.
Species Overshoot
When the capacity of a biome to feed and sustain a population is shot past its limit.
Sustainability
The ability of biological systems to remain healthy, diverse, and productive over time.
