A Beka Biology Chapter 15

Front 1

study of how living things interact with one another and their physical environment

Back 1

ecology

Front 2

Greek word for houses

Back 2

oikos

Front 3

an organism's environment or home

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habitat

Front 4

living things in a habitat

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biotic factors

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non-living things in a habitat

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abiotic factors

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layer of the earth's surface in which life exists

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biosphere

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air

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atmosphere

Front 8

land

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lithosphere

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water

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hydrosphere

Front 10

large geographic region sharing similar characteristics

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biome

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species of plant that dominates a biome

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climax vegetation

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father of natural history

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John Ray

Front 13

smaller area within a biome that has specific environmental conditions and living organisms

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ecosystem

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an interrelated network of all organisms and their environment within a limited area

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ecosystem

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two basic ecosystem categories

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terrestrial and aquatic

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all the living things in an ecosystem

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community

Front 17

a group of organisms of a particular species living in one ecosystem

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population

Front 18

term that means that various species within an ecosystem depend on each other

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interdependent

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individual living things

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organisms

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the number and variety of species within one ecosystem

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biodiversity

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the ability of an ecosystem to support its organisms

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carrying capacity

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factors upon which biodiversity and carrying capacity depend

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energy transferred between organisms, recycling of nutrients

Front 23

abiotic factors that affect ecosystems

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radiation, temperature, water, atmosphere, wind soil, miscellaneous other physical factors

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provides all the energy in an ecosystem

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sunlight

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the temperature range within which an organism will thrive

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optimum range

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factors that threaten survival because they are outside an organism's tolerance range

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limiting factor

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organisms that make their own food from an inorganic source

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autotrophs or producers

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autotrophs that obtain energy from sunlight

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photoautotrophs

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autotrophs that obtain energy from chemical substances

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chemoautotrophs

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organisms which must obtain energy from organic sources

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consumers or heterotrophs

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consumers that feed on plants

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herbivores

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consumers that feed on other animals

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carnivores

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consumers that feed on both plants and animals

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omnivores

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dead organic material

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detritus

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bacteria and fungi that feed on detritus by secreting enzymes that break it into soil components

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decomposers

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organisms that feed on detritus by breaking it into smaller pieces

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detritivores

Front 37

a classification which describes an organism's feeding relationship to other organisms in the ecosystem

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trophic level

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first trophic level

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plants

Front 39

second trophic level

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herbivores

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third trophic level

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carnivores which feed on herbivores

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fourth trophic level

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carnivores which feed on other carnivores

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the carnivore at the top of a food chain

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top carnivore

Front 43

a model used by ecologists to show the nutritional relationships among organisms in an ecosystem

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food chain

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another name for organisms which eat plants directly

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primary consumers

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another name for organisms that eat herbivores

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secondary consumers

Front 46

a model used by ecologists to show all possible feeding relationships at each trophic level

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food web

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the function or "occupation" or an organism

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niche

Front 48

shows the energy transferred from one trophic level to the next

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energy pyramid

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mass of living matter per unit area

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biomass

Front 50

shows the mass of living matter per unit area at each trophic level

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biomass pyramid

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shows the number of organisms at each trophic level

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number pyramid

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relationship of close association with another living thing

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symbiosis

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a relationship in which both organisms benefit

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mutualism

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a relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed

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parasitism

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a relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected

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commensalism

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predator-prey relationship

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predation

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a relationship in which two organisms compete for the same limited resources

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competition

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a relationship in which one organism inhibits another

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amensalism

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a relationship in which the organisms are connected only indirectly

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neutralism

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a relationship in which grazing animals feed on plants without killing them

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herbivory

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allows minerals and other nutrients to be recycled

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nutrient or biogeochemical cycles

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cycle in which water moves from the soil, through the atmosphere, and back to the earth's surface

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hydrologic cycle

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three major steps in the hydrologic cycle

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evaporation, condensation, and precipitation

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cycles involving nutrients found in the atmosphere

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atmospheric cycles

Front 65

examples of atmospheric cycles

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carbon-oxygen cycle, nitrogen cycle

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cycles involving nutrients in rocks and soil

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sedimentary cycles

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one of the main sedimentary cycles

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phosphorus cycle

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a combination of a region's climax vegetation and animals

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climax community

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northernmost parts of North America, Europe, and Asia; long, harsh, wet, windy winters and cool, short, dry summers

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Arctic tundra

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permanently frozen layer of soil 2-3 feet below the earth's surface

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permafrost

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biomes that exist at high altitudes

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alpine tundra

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found in much of the Canada and the northern US, many coniferous trees, natural forest fires

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northern coniferous forest

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variation on the northern coniferous forest but warmer and wetter, found along coasts

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temperate rain forest

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variation on the northern coniferous forest but found further south

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southern pine forest

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has well-defined seasons, plenty of rain, and a large variety of trees dominated by broad-leafed trees

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temperate deciduous forest

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prairies and plains, fertile soil

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grassland

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form of grasslands found in the tropics

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savanna

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area where more water is lost than gained

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desert

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largest desert

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Sahara

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found near the equator, hot and humid, lots of rain, plants grow year-round

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tropical rain forest

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larger than terrestrial biomes and with greater variations in temperature, composition, and amount of light

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aquatic biomes

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classified by whether water is standing or flowing

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freshwater ecosystems

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associated with the ocean

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marine ecosystems

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where freshwater and saltwater meet and mix

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estuary

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found in warm, clear, relatively shallow water parallel with a shoreline

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coral reef

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area between the high and low tide lines along the coast

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intertidal zone

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past the intertidal zone to the edge of the continental shelf

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neritic zone

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found in open ocean

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oceanic zone

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the first organisms to colonize a disturbed ecosystem

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pioneer species

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the replacement of pioneer species with other species until the climax community is established

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ecological succession

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starts with barren ground, perhaps after a volcanic eruption

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primary succession

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starts with ready soil and pioneer species, perhaps after a fire

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secondary succession

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man's place in ecology

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to have dominion over nature

Front 94

stewardship that maintains natural resources for the future

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conservation