Ecology Flashcards
(27 cards)
Biotic
relating to or resulting from living things, especially in their ecological relations.
Abiotic
physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.
Population
all the inhabitants of a particular town, area, or country.
Community
a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.
Ecosystem
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
Biosphere
the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth (or analogous parts of other planets) occupied by living organisms.
Herbivore
an animal that feeds on plants.
Carnivore
an animal that feeds on flesh.
Omnivore
an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin.
Food chain
a hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food.
Food web
a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.
Energy pyramid
An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation designed to show the biomass or bioproductivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem.
Carrying capacity
the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation.
Prey
an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food.
Predator
an animal that naturally preys on others.
Mutualism
the doctrine that mutual dependence is necessary to social well-being.
Commensalism
an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.
Parasitism
the practice of living as a parasite in or on another organism.
Producers
an organism that produces organic compounds from simple substances such as water and carbon dioxide; an autotroph.
Decomposers
an organism, especially a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that decomposes organic material.
Desert
a dry, barren area of land, especially one covered with sand, that is characteristically desolate, waterless, and without vegetation.
Tundra
a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen.
Temperate deciduous forest
Temperate deciduous or temperate broad-leaf forests are a variety of temperate forest ‘dominated’ by trees that lose their leaves each year. They are found in areas with warm moist summers and cool winters.
Tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as lowland equatorial evergreen rainforest.
