Definitions chapter 1: The nature of ecology

Question 1

Ecosystem

Answer 1

The biotic community and its abiotic environment, functioning as a system

Question 2

Biotic

Answer 2

Applied to the living component of a ecosystem

Question 3

Abiotic

Answer 3

Nonliving; the abiotic component of the environment includes soil, water, air, light, nutrients, and the like.

Question 4

Population

Answer 4

A group of individuals of the same species living in a given area at a given time

Question 5

Community

Answer 5

A group of interacting plants and animals inhabiting a given area

Question 6

Landscape

Answer 6

An area of land (or water) composed of a patchwork of communities and ecosystems

Question 7

Biomes

Answer 7

Major regional ecological community of plants and animals; usually corresponds to plant ecologists’ and European ecologists’ classification of plant formations and life zones.

Question 8

Biosphere

Answer 8

Thin layer about earth in which all living organisms exist

Question 9

Hypothesis

Answer 9

Proposed explanation for a phenomenon; we should be able to test it, accepting or rejecting it based on experimentation.

Question 10

Theory

Answer 10

An integrated set of hypotheses that together explain a broader set of observations than any single hypothesis

Question 11

Environmental Science

Answer 11

Scientific discipline that examines the impact of humans on the natural environment and as such covers a wide range of topics including agronomy, soils, demography, agriculture, energy, and hydrology.

Question 12

Population Genetics

Answer 12

The study of changes in gene frequency and genotypes in populations