Definitions Flashcards
(22 cards)
Ecosystem
A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
Environment
The surroundings or conditions in which a person, plant or animal lives or operates
Abiotic
Physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms
Biotic
Resulting from living things
Producer
An autotrophic organism that serves as a source of food for other organisms in a food chain
Consumer
A person or thing that eats or uses something
Heterotroph
An organism deriving it’s nutritional requirements from complex organic substances
Autotroph
An organism that is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple I organic substances such as CO2
Herbivore
Something that feeds on plants
Carnivore
An animal that eats meat
Omnivore
An animal or person that eats food or both plant and animal origin
Detritus
Waste or debris of any kind
Scavenger
An animal that feeds on carrion, dead plant material or refuse.
Decomposer
An organism that decomposes organic material
Trophic level
Each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem
Community
A group of interdependent organisms of different species growing or living together in a specified habitat
Population
A community of animals, plants, or humans among whose members interbreeding occurs
Species
A group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding
Biotic potentiometer
Maximum reproductive capacity of a population under optimal environmental conditions
Carrying capacity
The number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation
Population density
Measurement of population per unit area or unit volume
Ecology
The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and their physical surroundings
