Ecology Flashcards

(33 cards)

1
Q

Ecology

A

the study of organisms and their interactions with the environment.

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2
Q

Biosphere

A

life supporting region of the Earth; all land, water, and air in which organisms live.

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3
Q

Biotic factors

A

all of the living parts of an ecosystem

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4
Q

Abiotic factors

A

all of the nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

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5
Q

Organism

A

an individual member of a species within a population.

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6
Q

Population

A

all of the organisms in an ecosystem that belong to the same species.

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7
Q

Community

A

all of the populations in an ecosystem.

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8
Q

Ecosystem

A

all of the organisms living in an area and the nonliving features of their environment.

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9
Q

Habitat

A

the place in which an organism lives.

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10
Q

Niche

A

how an organism survives, how it obtains food and shelter, how it finds a mate and cares for its offspring, and how it avoids danger.

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11
Q

carrying capacity

A

the largest number of individuals of one species that an ecosystem can support over time.

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12
Q

limiting factors

A

anything that restricts the number of individuals in a population.

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13
Q

Predator

A

consumers that capture and eat other consumers.

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14
Q

Prey

A

the organism that is captured and consumed by the predator.

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15
Q

Producers/Autotrophs

A

organisms such as plants and algae, which through the process of photosynthesis create energy-rich food.

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16
Q

Consumers/Heterotrophs

A

an organism that cannot make its own food and feeds on other organisms.

17
Q

Herbivore

A

a consumer that only eats plants

18
Q

Carnivore

A

a consumer that feeds only on other animals.

19
Q

Omnivore

A

a consumer that feeds on plants and animals.

20
Q

Scavengers

A

a consumer that eats organisms that have already died.

21
Q

Decomposers

A

a consumer that breaks down the complex compounds of dead and decaying plants and animals into simpler molecules that can be more easily absorbed.

22
Q

Food chain

A

a diagram that shows the flow of energy and matter between animals in a community.

23
Q

Food web

A

shows all the possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a community.

24
Q

Trophic level

A

a feeding step in a food chain, or ecological energy pyramid.

25
Ecological energy pyramid
Ecological energy pyramid
26
Symbiosis
a relationship of dependence or mutual benefit between organisms of the same ecosystem.
27
Mutualism
a relationship where both organisms benefit.
28
Commensalism
a relationship where one organism benefits and the other organism is not affected.
29
Parasitism
a relationship where one organism benefits and the other organism is harmed.
30
Ecological Succession
Natural, gradual changes in the types of species that live in an area; can be primary or secondary
31
Primary Succession
begins in an area where NO SOIL is present. The development of an ecosystem in an area that has never had a community living within it.
32
Secondary Succession
the process of restabilization that follows a disturbance in an area where life has formed an ecosystem. SOIL IS ALREADY PRESENT.
33
Climax Community
mature, stable community that is the final stage of ecological succession. Conditions, biotic and abiotic factors, including resources, are suitable for an ecosystem to exist. (End result of succession.)