Science Vocab-Ecology

• All the interacting parts of a biological community and its environment

• An ecosystem that is capable of withstanding pressure and giving support to a variety of organisms

• Th living parts of an ecosystem

• the none living arts of an ecosystem

• The hard part of earth's surface

• All the water found on earth, including lakes, oceans, and groundwater

• The layer of gases above the earth's surface.

• The regions of Earth where living organisms exist.

• A chemical that is essential to living things and is cycled through ecosystems.

A process in which nutrient levels in aquatic ecosystems increase, leading to an increase in the populations of primary producers.

A process that changes solar energy into chemical energy.

A category of organisms that is defined by how the organisms gain their energy.

The total mass of living organisms in a defined group or area.

A measure of the amount of energy or biomass transferred from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level

A process i which an organism ingests materials, especially toxins, faster than it eliminates them.

A process in which the concentration of toxins increases as it moves from one trophi level to the next.

A process that releases energy from organic molecules, especially carbohydrates in the presence of oxygen.

A process that releases energy from organic molecules, especially carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen.

An atmospheric gas that prevents heat from leaving the atmosphere, thus increasing the temperature of the atmosphere.

The warming of Earth as a result of greenhouse gases, which trap some of the energy that wuld otherwise leave earth.

Rain, snow, or fog that is unnaturally acidic(pH less than 5.6)due to gases in the atmosphere that react with water to form acid.

All the individuals of a species that occupy a particular geographic area at a certain time

Accelerating growth that produces a J-shaped curve when the population is graphed against time.

A factor that limits the growth, distribution or amount of a population in an ecosystem.

The size of a population that can be supported indefinetely by the available resources and services of an ecosystem.

The balance between opposing forces.

The growth of relatively low-density development on the edge of urban area.

The way in which an organism occupies a position in an ecosystem, including all the necessary biotic and abiotic factors.

A type of wetland in which the water is acidic and low in nutrients.

An organism that kills and consumes other organisms.

A symbolic relationship between two species in which both species benefit from the relationship.

An organism whose niche is dependent on a close association with a larger host organism.