Unit 7 Vocab

Question 1

Abiotic

Answer 1

Physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.

Question 2

Biotic

Answer 2

Relating to or resulting from living things, especially in their ecological relations.

Question 3

Biodiversity

Answer 3

A variety of organisms in an ecosystem or biome.

Question 4

Climax community

Answer 4

A dominant community of plants and animals that come to live in an area.

Question 5

Ecological succession

Answer 5

The changing sequence of communities that live in an ecosystem during a given time period.

Question 6

Limiting factor

Answer 6

A condition or resource that keeps a population at a certain size.

Question 7

Microhabitat

Answer 7

A small or specialized habitat within a larger habitat.

Question 8

Pioneer species

Answer 8

First organisms to live in an area

Question 9

Primary succession

Answer 9

A process that develops a biotic community in a previously uninhabited and barren habitat with little or no soil.

Question 10

Secondary succession

Answer 10

A process started by an event that reduces an already established ecosystem to a smaller population of species.

Question 11

Sustainability

Answer 11

Ability to maintain ecological processes over long periods of time; ability of an ecosystem to maintain its structure and function over time.

Question 12

Biome

Answer 12

A large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g. forest or tundra.