Unit 2 List 1 Ecology LC

Question 1

Abiotic factors

Answer 1

a non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment

Question 2

autotrophs

Answer 2

an organism that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals

Question 3

biotic factors

Answer 3

the living components (organisms) that shape up the environment.

Question 4

bioaccumulation

Answer 4

an increase in the concentration of a chemical in a biological organism over time, compared to the chemical’s concentration in the environment.

Question 5

carbon sink

Answer 5

a forest, ocean, or other natural environment viewed in terms of its ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Question 6

carnivore

Answer 6

an animal that feeds on flesh.

Question 7

commensailsm

Answer 7

an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.

Question 8

competition

Answer 8

the activity or condition of competing.

Question 9

consumer

Answer 9

an organism that cannot produce its own food and must eat other plants and/or animals to get energy.

Question 10

decomposer

Answer 10

an organism (as a bacterium or a fungus) that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter.

Question 11

ecosystem

Answer 11

a community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in a particular area.

Question 12

energy oyramid

Answer 12

a model that shows the flow of energy from one trophic, or feeding, level to the next in an ecosystem.

Question 13

food chain

Answer 13

a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.

Question 14

food web

Answer 14

consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem.

Question 15

habitat

Answer 15

the natural home or environment of a plant, animal, or other organism

Question 16

herbivore

Answer 16

an organism that feeds mostly on plants.

Question 17

heterotrophs

Answer 17

an organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients.

Question 18

leaching

Answer 18

a process in which water-soluble substances are washed out from the soil.

Question 19

limiting factor

Answer 19

anything that constrains a population’s size and slows or stops it from growing.

Question 20

mutualism

Answer 20

association between organisms of two different species in which each benefits.

Question 21

niche

Answer 21

the role an organism plays in a community

Question 22

ocean acidification

Answer 22

a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere

Question 23

omnivore

Answer 23

an organism that eats plants and animals

Question 24

parasitism

Answer 24

a relationship between the two living species in which one organism is benefitted at the expense of the other.

Question 25

phytoplakton

Answer 25

microscopic marine algae.

Question 26

pioneer species

Answer 26

a group of species that are the first to colonize a new habitat created by a previous disturbance

Question 27

population

Answer 27

a group of the same species living in a similar geographical area.

Question 28

predation

Answer 28

a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey

Question 29

predator

Answer 29

organisms that hunt and kill other organisms for food.

Question 30

prey

Answer 30

animals that are killed and eaten by other animals.

Question 31

primary sucession

Answer 31

type of ecological succession (the evolution of a biological community's ecological structure) in which plants and animals first colonize a barren, lifeless habitat.

Question 32

producer

Answer 32

organisms that make their own food; they are also known as autotrophs.

Question 33

secondary succesion

Answer 33

happens when a climax community or intermediate community is impacted by a disturbance.

Question 34

species overshoot

Answer 34

Phenomenon in which populations temporarily exceed carrying capacity of environment

Question 35

sustainablility

Answer 35

the ability of biological systems to remain healthy, diverse, and productive over time.