biology- ecology
About this set
Created by:
kkopinski on June 2, 2011
Subjects:
living environment honors, camisa, biology, ecology, sat ii review
Description:
ecology! life! what this class is sucking out of me.
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58 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 species | group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring |
| population | group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area |
| community | Assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area |
| ecosystem | collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving environment |
| biosphere | the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth where living organisms exist |
| abiotic factors | The nonliving parts of an ecosystem |
| biotic factors | The living parts of an ecosystem |
| niche | full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions |
| clumped dispersion | refers to clumps of individuals of the same species scattered throughout the range of that species. |
| uniform dispersion | the pattern in which individuals are equally spaced throughout a habitat |
| random dispersion | random spacing of individuals of the same species within an area. |
| biotic potential | the maximum reproductive rate of an organism, given unlimited resources and ideal environmental conditions |
| carrying capacity | largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support |
| exponential growth | growth of a population that multiplies by a constant factor at constant time intervals |
| logistic growth | growth pattern in which a population's growth rate slows or stops following a period of exponential growth |
| k strategists | species where organisms tend to reproduce later in life, have a smaller number of offspring, and are long living |
| r strategists | Species that grow exponentially when environmental conditions allow them to reproduce. |
| limiting factors | any biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the existence, numbers, reproduction, or distribution of organisms |
| density dependent factors | limiting factors (such as competition, predation, parasitism, and disease) that are affected by the number of individuals in a given area |
| density independent factors | limiting factor that affects all populations in similar ways, regardless of population size (natural disasters) |
| competition | the struggle between organisms to survive in a habitat with limited resources |
| predation | interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organism |
| parasitism | one organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it |
| commensalism | a relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected |
| mutualism | a relationship between two species in which both species benefit |
| herbivores | an organism that eats only plants. |
| carnivores | organisms that mainly prey upon animals. |
| decomposers (saprophytes) | break down dead or dying organic materials into nitrates, phosphates, and other chemicals |
| scavengers | an organism that feeds on the dead bodies of other organisms. |
| omnivores | an organism that eats both plants and animals. |
| food chain | a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten |
| food web | network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem |
| rules of ten | It states that energy, when passing from prey to predator, is only conserved at about 10%. |
| biological magnification | increasing concentration of a harmful substance in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food chain or food web |
| primary consumers | animals that feed on producers; ex. herbivores |
| secondary consumers | carnivores that eat herbivores |
| teritary consumers | predators eating predators eating predators, etc |
| primary succession | succession that occurs on surfaces where no soil exists |
| secondary succession | succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil |
| pioneer species | first species to populate an area during primary succession |
| biomes | Large geographic areas with similar climates and ecosystems |
| marine biomes | biome, include estuaries (where ocean meets river), intertidal zone (where oceans meet land), continental shelves (the relatively shallow oceans that border continents), coral reefs, and the pelagic ocean (the deep oceans) |
| tropical rainforest | biome near the equator with warm climate wet weather and lush plant growth greatest areas of biodiversity |
| taiga | biome just south of the tundra; characterized by a northern coniferous forest composed of pine, fir, hemlock, and spruce tree |
| tundra | a vast treeless plain in the arctic regions between the ice cap and the tree line |
| grassland | Biome found in regions where moderate annual average precipitation is enough to support the growth of grass and small plants but not enough to support large stands of trees. |
| desert | A type of biome characterized by low moisture levels and infrequent and unpredictable precipitation. Daily and seasonal temperatures fluctuate widely |
| temperate forest | forest in a temperate region, characterized by trees that drop their leaves annually |
| water cycle | The continuous process by which water moves from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back |
| carbon cycle | the circulation and reutilization of carbon atoms especially via the process of photosynthesis and respiration. |
| nitrogen cycle | the transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to the atmosphere |
| biodiversity | the variety of species living within an ecosystem |
| eutrophication | rapid growth of algae in bodies of water, due to high levels of nitrogen and often phosphate |
| acid rain | rain containing nitric and sulfuric acids |
| ozone layer | layer of the stratosphere with a high concentration of ozone; absorbs most of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation |
| ozone depletion | thinning of Earth's ozone layer caused by CFC's leaking into the air and reacting chemically with the ozone, breaking the ozone molocules apart |
| global warming | an increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere (especially a sustained increase that causes climatic changes) |
| invasive species | plants and animals that have migrated to areas where they did not originate; often displace native species by outcompeting them for resources |
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