Chapter 17
Order by
35 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Ecology | the branch of biology concerned with the relations between organisms and their environment |
| Habitat | the type of environment in which an organism or group normally lives or occurs |
| Community | (ecology) a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other |
| Ecosystem | a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment |
| Abiotic | any nonliving component of an environment |
| Biotic | the living organisms in an ecosystem |
| Biodiversity | the variety of species living within an ecosystem |
| Pioneer species | first species to populate an area during primary succession |
| Succession | (ecology) the gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought about by the progressive replacement of one community by another until a stable climax is established |
| Primary succession | an ecological succession that begins in a an area where no biotic community previously existed |
| Secondary succession | Succession occurs in an area where there has been previous growth |
| Primary Productivity | rate at which organic matter is created by producers in an ecosystem |
| Producers | organisms that make their own food |
| Consumers | Organisms that eat living producers and/or other consumers for food. |
| Trophic level | each step in a food chain or food web |
| Food chain | path of energy between trophic levels |
| Herbivore | any animal that feeds chiefly on grass and other plants |
| Carnivore | meat eater |
| Omnivore | an animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances |
| Detritivore | organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter/Scavenger |
| Decomposer | organism that breaks down and obtains energy from dead organic matter and puts nutrients back into the ecosystem |
| Food web | (ecology) a community of organisms where there are several interrelated food chains |
| Energy Pyramid | a diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web |
| Biomass | A measure of the total dry mass of organisms within a particular region |
| Biogeochemical cycle | process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another |
| Ground water | water found beneath Earth's surface |
| Transpiration | the emission of water vapor from the leaves of plants |
| Respiration | the process by which cells take glucose and oxygen and create energy |
| Combustion | the process of burning that releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere |
| Erosion | The process where carbon dioxide is released by erosion of limestone |
| Assimilation | The incorporation of nitrogen into organisms |
| Ammonification | decomposers convert organic waste into ammonia |
| Nitrification | the process by which nitrates are produced by bacteria from ammonia |
| Denitrification | the conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas |
| nitrogen fixation | The process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia by bacteria. |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.
Set Champions
Scatter Champion
15.8 secs by rwine101
Space Race Champion
9,770 points by dsundell
Speller Champion
97.3% correct by MeganBorzone
Completed “Learn” mode
rwine101 , qstrahl , badassmlm , tormorton14 , ColorSplash , vehret , yes209 , dsundell , yaccobb5 , shane55 , alisonramsey , MeganBorzone , trentbennett , ErinVistnes , kuntzk