Wildlife Biology Flashcards
community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
ecosystem
living things that make up an ecosystem
Biotic Factors
all non-living things in an ecosystem
Abiotic Factors
an individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form
organism
a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding
species
amount of animals living in a particular area
population
a particular area or place considered together with its inhabitants
community
the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.
habitat
the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive
natural selection
organisms are thought to have developed and diversified
evolution
organisms that produce energy
producers/ autotrophs
an organism deriving its nutritional requirements from complex organic substances.
consumers/ heterotrophs
herbivores
primary consumer
carnivores
secondary consumer
omnivores
tertiary consumer
plant eating animals
herbivores
meat eating animals
carnivores
plant and meat eating anmals
omnivers
organisms that break down waste material
decomposers
a 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
model of energy flow in a community
energy pyramid
the series of processes by which carbon compounds are created
carbon cycle
the series of process by nitrogen is created
nitrogen cycle
is the process of change in the species structure
ecological succession
environment in which new substrate devoid of vegetation and other organisms usually lacking soil, such as
primary succession
is a process started by an event forest fire, harvesting, hurricane
secondary succession
a hardy species which are the first to colonize previously disrupted or damaged ecosystems
pioneer species
the final stage of succession
climax community
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
ecosystem
the arrangement of animals and plants in taxonomic groups according to their observed similarities
classification
the branch of science concerned with classification, especially of organisms; systematic.
taxonomy
the system of nomenclature in which two terms are used to denote a species of living organism, the first one indicating the genus and the second the specific epithet.
binomial nomenclature
a taxonomic group of any rank, such as a species, family, or class.
taxon
a class of things that have common characteristics and that can be divided into subordinate kinds
genus
all the descendants of a common ancestor.
family
a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized by the nomenclature codes
order
well-known ranks in descending order of size are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, order, family, genus, and species, with class fitting between phylum and order.
class
taxonomic rank at the level below kingdom and above class
phylum
a rank equivalent to phylum
division
a taxonomic category of the highest rank, grouping together all forms of life having certain fundamental characteristics
kingdom
taxonomic rank of organisms
domain
the branch of biology that deals with phylogenesis.
phylogeny
any observable feature, or trait, of an organism, whether acquired or inherited
characters
the smallest physical unit of an element or compound, consisting of one or more like atoms in an element and two or more different atoms in a compound
molecular clock
a method of classification of animals and plants according to the proportion of measurable characteristics that they have in common
cladistics
a branching diagram showing the cladistic relationship between a number of species.
cladogram
a domain and kingdom of single-celled microorganisms.
archaea
any eukaryotic organism that is not an animal
protists
any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds
fungus
A phylum of aquatic invertebrate animals that comprises the sponges
porifera
any invertebrate animal characterized by the specialized stinging structures in the tentacles surrounding the mouth
cnidaria
Any of various worms or worm like animals characterized by an elongated, cylindrical body divided into ringlike segments
Annelida
The asexual polyp in the life cycle of a hydrozoan
Hydroid
a free-swimming marine coelenterate that is the sexually reproducing form of a hydrozoan or scyphozoan and has a nearly transparent saucer-shaped body and extensible marginal tentacles studded with stinging cells.
jellyfish
unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrates.
platyhelminthes
was one of the first animals to have its entire genome sequenced and is important in biological research as a model organism
nematoda
A small nematoid worm that inhabits the rectum of the human host
pinworms
Any of the ribbon-like parasitic worms of the class Cestoda,
tapeworms
having a shell consisting of two halves hinged together
bivalves
typically have a well-defined head with two or four sensory tentacles with eyes, and a ventral foot
Gastropods
have a body cavity called a coelom with a complete lining called peritoneum derived from mesoderm
coelomate
an invertebrate lacking a coelom; especially :one belonging to the group comprising the flatworms and nemerteans
Acoelomate
symmetry around a central axis, as in a starfish or a tulip flower.
Radial Symmetry
The lack or absence of symmetry
Asymmetry
arrangement of an organism or part of an organism along a central axis, so that the organism or part can be divided into two equal halves
Bilateral symmetry
A narrow, flexible, unjointed part extending from the body of certain animals
Tentacle
