Vocab Test #1 Flashcards
physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.
abiotic
relating to, involving, or requiring free oxygen.
aerobic
relating to, involving, or requiring an absence of free oxygen.
anaerobic
a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own.
apex predator
an organism that is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide.
autotroph
an estimate of its production of certain biological materials such as natural resources, and its absorption and filtering of other materials such as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
biocapacity
the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
biodiversity
the movement and transformation of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms, the atmosphere, and the Earth’s crust
biogeochemical cycles
the representation of total living biomass or organic matter present at different trophic levels in an ecosystem.
biomass pyramid
a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat
biome
is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems
biosphere
any material that originates from living organisms.
biotic
that part of the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of Earth.
carbon cycle
an animal that feeds on flesh.
carnivore
an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.
commensalism
and or resources belonging to or affecting the whole of a community.
commons
an interacting group of various species in a common location
community
an interaction between organisms or species in which both require a resource that is in limited supply.
competition
the part that doesn’t change during the experiment
constant
a group in the experiment which a variable is not being tested
control group
a scientific test done under controlled conditions
controlled experiement
an organism whose ecological function involves the recycling of nutrients by performing the natural process of decomposition as it feeds on decaying organisms.
decomposer
what you measure in the experiment and what is affected during the experiment
dependent variable
any large, extremely dry area of land with sparse vegetation
desert
a remote volcanic island in Polynesia.
easter island
when the Footprint of a population exceeds the biocapacity of the area available to that population
ecological deficit
the match of a species to a specific environmental condition
ecological niche
the phenomenon which occurs when the demands made on a natural ecosystem exceed its regenerative capacity.
ecological overshoot
the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
ecology
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
ecosystem
designed to show the biomass or bioproductivity at each trophic level in an ecosystem
energy pyramid
the group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested.
experimental groups
a cost or benefit of a good or service that in not part of the price for that good or service
externalities
a hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food.
food chain
a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.
food web
Species that can live in many different types of environments, and have a varied diet are
generalist species
an animal that feeds on plants.
herbivore
an organism deriving its nutritional requirements from complex organic substances.
heterotroph
a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
hypothesis
an animal or plant species that can be used to infer conditions in a particular habitat.
indicator species
whose variation does not depend on that of another.
independent variable
Value of an organism, species, ecosystem, or the earth’s biodiversity based on its existence, regardless of whether it has any usefulness to us
intrinsic value
long gestation periods lasting several months, slow maturation (and thus extended parental care), and long life spans
k selected species
a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.
keystone species
a type of symbiotic relationship where all species involved benefit from their interactions.
mutualism
A feedback loop that causes a system to change in the opposite direction from which it is moving
negative feedback loop
the series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms, including nitrogen fixation and decomposition.
nitrogen cycle
the graphic representation depicting the arrangement of number of individuals of different trophic levels in a food chain in an ecosystem.
numbers pyramid
an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin.
omnivore
the practice of living as a parasite in or on another organism.
parasitism
any salt or ester of any phosphoric acid, esp a salt of orthophosphoric acid.
phosphate
the biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
phosphorus cycle
a biological process used by many cellular organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy
photosynthesis
species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire
pioneer species
a group of organisms of one species that interbreed and live in the same place at the same time
population
a change in a given direction causes additional change in the same direction
positive feedback loop
the preying of one animal on others.
predation
a group of organisms that are placed in the second trophic level.
primary consumer
the production of chemical energy in organic compounds by living organisms.
primary production
an organism that creates its own food or energy
producer
those that produce a large number of offspring and contribute few resources to each individual offspring.
r selected species
the division of resources to avoid interspecific competition for limited resources in an ecosystem
resource partitioning
The transfer of oxygen from the outside environment to cells within tissues, as well as the removal of carbon dioxide in the opposite way
respiration
organisms that eat primary consumers for energy
secondary consumer
animals that require very unique resources
specialist species
a group of organisms that can reproduce with one another in nature and produce fertile offspring
species
the number and relative abundance of species found in a given biological organisation
species diversity
a measure of the relative abundances of species within a community.
species evenness
the simplest measure of species diversity and is either a count of the number of, or the list of, species inhabiting a given area or habitat.
species richness sustainability
any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two biological organisms of different species
symbiosis
thick forest
taiga
a type of forest dominated by trees that lose their foliage at the end of the growing season
deciduous
having grasses as the dominant vegetation. Trees and large shrubs are absent. Temperatures vary more from summer to winter, and the amount of rainfall is less in temperate grasslands than in savannas.
temperate grassland
a forest in a temperate climate with ample annual rainfall
temperate rainforest
an animal that obtains its nutrition by eating primary consumers and secondary consumers
tertiary consumer
a species of animal or plant that is seriously at risk of extinction.
threatened species
powerful indirect interactions that can control entire ecosystems, occurring when a trophic level in a food web is suppressed
trophic cascades
each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy.
trophic level
the efficiency at which mass (or energy) is transferred from one trophic level to the next through predation
trophic level efficiency
rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season
tropical forests
a situation in which individuals with access to a public resource
tragedy of the commons
the many basic needs humans obtain from biodiversity such as food, fuel, shelter, and medicine
utilitarian value
describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth.
water cycle
