Ecology Vocab
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Created by:
jimenapadilla on October 20, 2010
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25 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Ecology | Branch of biology developed from natural history; scientific study of interactions among organisms and thier environments. |
| Abiotic | Non - living parts of an organism's environment. |
| Biotic | All living organisms of an organism's environment. |
| Biosphere | The portion of Earth that supports life; high in the atmosphere to the bottom of the oceans. |
| Population | Group of organisms of one species that interbreed and live in the same place at the same time. |
| Community | Collection of interacting populations. |
| Ecosystem | Interactins among the populations in a community and the community's physical surroundings (biotic and abiotic factors) |
| Habitat | The physical space/place where an organism lives out its life. |
| Niche | Role and position a species has in its environment; when, where and how a species make its living. |
| Symbiosis | Living together. |
| Commensalism | Symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other species is neither harmend nor benefited. |
| Mutualism | Symbiotic relartionship in which both species benefit (ex. ants and a tree) |
| Parasitism | Symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits at the expense of the others (ex. dogs and ticks) |
| Autotrophs | Organisms that use energy ( from the sun or from stored chemical compounds) to manufacture their own nutriens (Ex. plants) |
| Heterotrophs | Organisms that cannot make thier own food and must feed on other organisms (Ex. mammals) |
| Producer | An organism that uses photysnthesis ( and energy from the sun) to obtain its energy. |
| Consumer | An organism that eats producers or other consumers to obtain its energy. |
| Herbivore | Heterotrophs that feed only on plants (Ex. grasshopers) |
| Carnivore | Heterotrophs that feed only on other animals (Ex. Lions) |
| Decomposer | Organisms that break down and absorb nutrients from dead organisms (Ex. fungi) |
| Food Chain | A simple model that scientists use to show how matter and energy move through and ecosystem. |
| Food Web | A feeding step representing the passage of energy and materials in a food chain; more realistic that a food chain as most organisms depend on more than one specied for food. |
| Energy Pyramid | Shows how energy flows through and ecosystem. |
| Scavangers | Heterotrophs that eat animals that have already died. (Ex. beetles) |
| Omnivores | Heterotrophs that eat both plants and animal material (Ex. Humans, Racoons) |
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