- 1 pH: acidic
- 14 pH: basic
- 7 pH: neutral
- ammonification: waste/urine and dead organic matter converted from NH3 (ammonia) into NH4 (also converts N2 to NH4)
- assimilation (eating): how the animals get nitrogen
- autotroph (producer): makes own food (grass, algae)
- bacteria: Kind of organisms in the soil involved in every step of the nitrogen cycle
- Benthic: bottom dwellers
- Biological control: Using another species or population to control the growth rate of a particular population
- biological magnification: DDT spayed to kill insects... not biodegradable... stays in ground and in living tissue and can be passed on
- Biome: A combination of many ecosystems which share the same climate and vegetation
- C02: carbon dioxide from power plants, cars, etc...
- carnivore: meat eater (wolf, bass)
- carrying capacity: number of organisms that can be supported in a given area under given conditions
- Carson: United States biologist remembered for her opposition to the use of pesticides that were hazardous to wildlife (1907-1964) (book - "silent spring")
- CFC's: creating holes in ozone
- commensalism: one benefits, one unaffected (shark, remora)
- Darwin: English natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)
- DDE: prevents calcium in eggshells... birds crush eggs when incubating... endangered species
- decomposer: breaks down (recycles) dead organisms into original nutrients (bacteria, fungi, maggots, earthworms)
- decomposing: major niche of bacteria
- demographics: the characteristics of a population with respect to age, race, and gender.
- denitrification: NO3 (nitrate) becomes N2 (gas) and goes into atmosphere
- density: number of organisms per area
- density dependent factors: factors, both abiotic and biotic, which effect a population differently depending upon how crowded it is (food, shelter, disease, predation
- density independent factors: factors which effect a population the same regardless of population size (fire, pH, temperature)
- Desert: cacti - hot days, cold nights, low precip - dry, poor soil
- dune plants importantcy: prevent erosion
- Ecology: study of biotic and abiotic factors and their interactions
- exponential curve: human population
- exponential phase: 2 in s-curve
- Grasslands: grasses, few trees - dry hot summer, cold winters, irregular precip - rich and deep soil
- herbivore: eats producers (usually plants) (rabbit, guppy)
- heterotroph: must take in food
- hibernate: metabolic rate change
- how abiotic affects biotic: sun provides energy for plants
- How biotic affects abiotic: tree blocks sun from getting to flowers
- how clams get it: clams filter feed... accumulate algae and neurotoxin
- K selection: Kin... having few offspring and protection them until they reach maturity (man, horse, eagle)
- lag phase: 1 in s-curve
- Legumes: Plant organisms involved in getting nitrogen gas into NO3
- mammals that hibernate: jumping mouse, little brown bat, woodchuck
- masting: have all the offspring at one time
- Morphological adaptation: outward body structure
- Morphological examples: jack rabbit ears (large) vs. hare ears (small)... they lose heat through ears, fur growth/loss, antlers, tree lose leaves, color change chameleon, fat buildup in bears
- mutualism: both benefit (rhino, tickbird)
- nekton: swimmers
- niche: an organism's role in its environment (who eats it, what it eats, etc...)
- niche problem: No 2 species can be in the same niche at the same time in the same place
- nitrification: NO2 (nitrate) becomes NO3 (nitrate), usable by plants
- nitrogen fixation: N2 (gas) becomes NO3 (nitrate) and can be taken in by plants
- nitrogen fixing bacteria: Organisms in a mutual relationship with the plants above in getting nitrogen into a usable form
- NO2: nitrate
- omnivore: all eater (plants and animals) (man, bear)
- organisms effected by redtide: clams, mussels, quahogs, scallops (bivalves)
- paralytic shellfish poisoning: paralyzes muscles...can't breathe... die
- parasite: lives off of living things (tape worm, tick)
- parasitism: one benefits, one harmed (tapeworm)
- percolation test: how easily water can flow through a medium
- physiological adaptation: how the body works internally
- physiological examples: deer metabolism, hibernate, estivate, dormancy, shiver, countercurrent exchangers
- planktonic: free floaters
- population: a group of organisms of the same kind in a particular place and time
- predation: hunter / hunted (wolves, deer)
- primary carnivore: eats herbivors
- pyrrophyta produce: neurotoxin (nerve poison)
- R selection: have as many offspring as possible as fast as possible (fish, insects)
- Red tide cause: heated water... algal bloom from pyrrophyta... Dinoflagellates (red color)... bioluminescent
- s-curve: pionneer to climax community growth
- scavenger carnivore: eats already dead meat (vulture, lobster)
- secondary carnivore: meat eater that eats a meat eater
- sine curve: predator/prey
- stabilization phase: 3 in s-curve
- symbiotic: Any interrelationship between organisms that are necessary for them to live
- Taiga: pine, conifers - short cool summer, long cold winter, lots of snow and rain - acidic soil
- Temperate Deciduous forest: deciduous (oak, maple, poplar) - warm summer, cold winter, moderate precip - good, deep soil
- trophic level: eating level
- Tropical Rainforest: vines, ferns, large leaf plants - hot humid, constant temp, rainy and dry season - shallow poor nutrients in trees
- Tundra: lichen - short cool summer, long cold winter, low precip - shallow permafrost
- water heats by...: power plants, excess pollutants, bacteria release heat as they decompose, warm summer
Ecology