| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Abiotic | Non-living factors in an ecosystem. |
| Adaptation | Any characteristic of an organism that makes it better able to survive its environment. |
| Biotic | Living factors in an ecosystem. |
| Community | All the populations within an ecosystem. |
| Competition | Interaction between individuals of the same or different species that use one or more of the same resources in the same ecosystem. |
| Diapause | A resting condition in which metablic rate lowers significantly. A type of dormancy. |
| Dormancy | A period during which growth ceases and other activity is at a minimum, so that an organism can survive times of hardship. |
| El Nino | Weather event that produces drought conditions in eastern Australia. |
| La Nina | Weather event that produces conditions of higher than average rainfall in eastern Australia. |
| Ephemeral | Existing for only a short time. Temporary or short lived condition. |
| Habitat | Where an organism lives. It's address. |
| Leaching | Gradual loss of mineral nutrients from soil when they are dissolved or washed away. |
| Limiting Factor | An environmental factor which limits the growth, distribution or population density of an organism. |
| Microhabitat | The more specific location that an organism inhabits. For example, amoungst specific reeds in a pond habitat. |
| Niche overlap | Situation in an ecosystem in which different species are in competition for the same energy and space resources. Typically zero or low in a natural ecosystem. |
| Niche | The 'way of life' of an organism. |
| Pop off archival tag | Tag fitted to a marine animal that collects data relating to environmental conditions. The tag then 'pops' off to the ocean surface where it can transmit the data to a satellite network. |
| Qualitative | Descriptive data. For example, warm, dark, humid... |
| Quantitative | Description using numerical data. |
| Range | The geographic area that encloses all the habitats where an organism lives. |
| Tolerance range | Extent of variation in an environmental factor within which a particular species can survive. |
| Water tappers | Trees that posess a single main root extending to depths near the water table before forming lateral branches. |
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