-
Ecology
The study of the interactions between organisms and the living and nonliving compenents of their environment
-
Interdependence
All organisms interact with other organisms in their surroundings and with the nonliving portion of their environment, their survival depends on these interactions
-
Ecological Models
Represents/describes the components of an ecological system
-
Biosphere
The broadest, most inclusive level of organization
-
Ecosystem
Includes all of the organisms and the nonliving environment found in a particular place
-
Community
All the interacting organisms living in an area
-
Population
Includes all the members of a species that live in one place at one time
-
Habitat
The place where an organism lives
-
Biotic Factor
The living components of the environment
-
Abiotic Factors
The nonliving factors of the environment
-
Tolerance Curve
A graph of performance versus values of an environmental variable
-
Acclimation
Process where some organisms can adjust their tolerance to abiotic factors
-
Conformers
Organisms that do not regulate their internal conditions; they change as their external environment changes
-
Regulators
Organisms that use energy to control some of their internal conditions
-
Dormacy
A longer-term strategy is to enter a state of reduced activity
-
Migration
Another strategy is to move to a more favorable habitat
-
Niche
The specific role, or way of life, of a species within its environment
-
Generalist
Species with broad nishec; they can tolerate a range of conditions and use a variety of resources
-
Specialist
Species that have narrow niches
-
Producers
Autotrophs that capture energy and use it to make organic molecules
-
Chemosynthesis
Bacteria use energy stored in organic molecules to produce carbohydrates
-
Gross Primary Productivity
The rate at which producers in an ecosystem capture the energy of sunlight by producing organic compounds
-
Biomass
Ecologists refer to the organic material that has been produced in an ecosystem
-
Net Primary Productivity
The rate at which biomass accumulates
-
Consumers
Heterotrophs that obtain energy by consuming organic molecules made by other organisms
-
-
Carnivores
Eat other consumers
-
Omnivores
Eat both producers and consumers
-
Detritivores
Consumers that feed on the "garbage" of an ecosystem
-
Decomposers
Organisms that cause decay by breaking down complex molecules into simpler molecules
-
Trophic Level
Indicates the organism's position in a sequence of energy transfers
-
Food Chain
A single pathway of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosytem that results in energy transfer
-
Food Web
The interrelated food chains in an ecosystem
-
Biochemical Cycles
Substances such as water, carbon, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus each pass between the living and nonliving worlds
-
Groundwater
Water in the soil or in underground formations of porous rock is known
-
Water Cycle
The movement of water between these various reservoirs
-
Transpiration
The process by which water evaporates from the leaves of plants in terrestrial ecosystems
-
Carbon Cycle
Photosynthesis and cellular respiration form the basis of this
-
Nitrogen Cycle
The complex pathway that nitrogen follows in an ecosystem
-
Nitrogen Fixation
The process of converting N2 gas to nitrate
-
Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria
Transforms nitrogen gas into a usable form
-
Ammonification
The process which decomposers break down materials and release the nitrogen they contain as ammonia, NH3, which in soil becomes ammonium, NH4+
-
Nitrification
Soil bacteria take up ammonium and oxidize it into nitrites, NO2-, and nitrates, NO3-
-
Dentrification
Nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere
-
Phosphorus Cycle
The movement of phosphorus from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment
|
|