| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Community | All populations of all species in a habitat at a certain time. |
| Ecosystem | Community interacting with its environment through a one-way flow of energy. |
| Habitat | The place where a population of plants or animals and its surroundings are located, including both living and non-living components. Habitat + Community = Ecosystem |
| Autotroph | Organism that makes its own food using carbon from inorganic molecules such as CO2, and energy from light or chemical reactions. |
| Bioaccumulation | The process by which compounds accumulate or build up in an organism faster than they can be broken down. |
| Biological Magnification (also called Biomagnification) | Refers to the process whereby certain substances such as pesticides or heavy metals move up the food chain, work their way into rivers or lakes, and are eaten by aquatic organisms such as fish, which in turn are eaten by large birds, animals or humans. The substances become concentrated in tissues (especially fat) or internal organs as they move up the chain; as a result, the largest concentrations of toxins are found in organisms at the highest trophic level. |
| Biomass | The total mass (or weight) of plants and animals in a particular area; can be a particular group of plants or animals or a single species. This measurement can be used instead of counting individuals to help determine abundances in an area. Biomass can include the dead parts of organisms like bark, hair, and nails. |
| Biosphere | The part of our planet in which life exists and with which it exchanges materials. Includes a small part of the lithosphere (the solid earth) and large parts of the hydrosphere (water) and atmosphere. |
| Energy transfer | The moving of energy from one storage unit to another. In the process of feeding, an animal transfers energy (measurable in calories) from the plant to its body. |
| Eutrophication | The slow aging process during which a lake, estuary, or bay evolves into a bog or marsh and eventually disappears. During the later stages of eutrophication the water body is choked by abundant plant life due to higher levels of nutritive compounds such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Human activities (e.g., runoff from fertilized lawns or farm fields) can accelerate the process. |
| Heterotroph | Organism that contains carbon from organic compounds assembled by other organisms. |
| Keystone species | A species that has a disproportionately large effect on community structure, relative to its own abundance. Removal of a keystone species can affect the types and abundance of other species in the community. A common misconception is that the keystone species, if one is present, is the most abundant or the largest species. The beaver is a classic example of a keystone species. |
| Niche | A species' unique ecological role; it is described in terms of the conditions, resources, and interactions necessary for survival and reproduction. |
| Pollutant | A natural or synthetic substance released into soil, air, or water in greater than normal amounts; it disrupts natural processes because organisms evolved in its absence, or are adapted to lower levels. |
| Toxin | Metabolic product (usually a protein) of an organism that is poisonous to another organism. |
| Trophic levels | All organisms that are the same number of transfer steps away from the energy input into an ecosystem. Indicate the position of an organism (or a group of organisms with similar feeding habits) in a food web. |
| Trophic Pyramid | A graphic model describing the distribution of energy, biomass, or some other measurable quantity between the different trophic levels found in an ecosystem. |
| Biomass pyramid | Chart in which tiers of a pyramid depict biomass (dry weight) in each of an ecosystem's trophic levels. |
| Energy pyramid | Diagram that depicts the energy stored in the tissues of organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem. Lowest tier of the pyramid, representing primary producers, is always the largest. |
| -vor/a | Eat, devour |
| Carni- | Flesh |
| Detrit- | Wear off, wear away |
| Frugi- | Fruit |
| Herbi- | Grass |
| Insecti- | Insect |
| Pisci- | Fish |
| -troph | Feeder; having to do with nourishment |
| Auto- | Self |
| Hetero- | Other, different |
| Eu- | Well (as in thoroughly) |
| -fication | A making or causing |
| Pollut- | To soil or contaminate; defiled |
| Toxic- | A poison |
| Eco- | A house |
| system | An arrangement; an organized whole; body |
Combine with other sets
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