Ask7 Ecology Unit Vocabulary

Front 1

Abiotic

Back 1

Nonliving

Front 2

abiotic factors

Back 2

physical factors of the environment such as water air light or temperature

Front 3

Atmosphere

Back 3

Air surrounding the Earth; made of gases including 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gases

Front 4

Autotroph, aka Producer

Back 4

organism that obtains its energy from abiotic energy sources, such as sunlight, or inorganic chemicals, such as green plants or algae

Front 5

biodiversity

Back 5

variety of life within an area

Front 6

biogeochemical cycle

Back 6

movement of a chemical through the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem

Front 7

Biome

Back 7

Large geographic area with similar climates and ecosystems

Front 8

Biosphere

Back 8

Part of Earth that supports life, including the top part of the crust, the atmosphere, and all the water on Earth’s surface

Front 9

Biotic

Back 9

Living or once living

Front 10

biotic factors

Back 10

all the organisms in an environment and their effect on other living things

Front 11

Carbon Cycle

Back 11

Model describing how carbon atoms move between the biotic and abiotic worlds

Front 12

Carrying Capacity

Back 12

Largest number of individuals of a particular species that an ecosystem can support over time

Front 13

Chemosynthesis

Back 13

Process by which certain producers make nutrient molecules (food) from the energy stored in chemical compounds

Front 14

Climate

Back 14

Average weather conditions of an area over time, including wind, temperature, and precipitation

Front 15

Climax Community

Back 15

Stable, end stage of ecological succession in which the organisms of a community use resources efficiently, and balance is maintained

Front 16

commensalism

Back 16

a type of symbolic relationship in which one organism benefits from the association and the other is not affected

Front 17

community

Back 17

all the populations of different organisms within a given area

Front 18

heterotroph, aka consumer

Back 18

Organism that cannot create its own food but obtains it by eating other organisms

Front 19

Decomposers

Back 19

organisms that feed off of dead organisms or the detritus (waste) left by other organisms

Front 20

ecological succession

Back 20

the process by which an existing community is slowing replaced by another community

Front 21

ecology

Back 21

the branch of biology that deals with the interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment

Front 22

ecosystem

Back 22

a community and the physical environment that it occupies

Front 23

Energy Pyramid/Trophic Levels

Back 23

Model that shows the amount of energy available at each feeding level in an ecosystem; only about 10% of available energy at a trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level

Front 24

Environment

Back 24

Surrounding circumstances or conditions.

Front 25

Food Chain

Back 25

Simple model for the feeding relationships and transfer of energy from one organism to the next in an ecosystem

Front 26

food web

Back 26

model that shows the complex network of feeding relationships within an ecosystem; shows feeding relationships of organisms

Front 27

Habitat

Back 27

Place where an organism lives and that provides the types of food, shelter, moisture, and temperature needed for survival

Front 28

hydrologic (water) cycle

Back 28

pathway of water from the atmosphere to Earth's surface, below ground, and back; how everything gets its water, each biome has its own cycle

Front 29

interspecies competition

Back 29

competition between members of two different species in an ecosystem

Front 30

Keystone species, aka Dominant Species

Back 30

Species that exert the greatest effects on the environment and on other members of the community

Front 31

Limiting Factor

Back 31

Anything that can restrict the size of a population, including living and nonliving features of an ecosystem, such as predators or drought

Front 32

mutualism

Back 32

a symbolic relationship in which both organisms benefit from their association

Front 33

Niche

Back 33

In an ecosystem, refers to the unique ways an organism survives, obtains food and shelter, and avoids danger

Front 34

Nitrogen Cycle

Back 34

Model describing how nitrogen moves from the atmosphere to the soil, to organisms, and then back to the atmosphere

Front 35

Nitrogen Fixation

Back 35

Process in which some types of bacteria in soil change nitrogen in the air into forms that can be used by living organisms

Front 36

nitrogen fixers

Back 36

bacteria and the blue-green algae that can produce nitrogen componds from the gaseous nitrogen of the atmosphere

Front 37

Nutrient

Back 37

Chemical substance that an organism requires to live

Front 38

parasitism

Back 38

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

Front 39

Pioneer Species

Back 39

First organisms to grow in new or disturbed areas; they help break down rock and build soil

Front 40

Population

Back 40

All the organisms of a specific group that live in a specific area.

Front 41

primary succession

Back 41

succession that occurs in an area of mainly bare rock that had no previously existing life; sometimes called bare rock succession

Front 42

secondary succession

Back 42

succession that occurs in an area in which an existing community has been partially destroyed and its balance upset

Front 43

Species

Back 43

Group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertle offspring.

Front 44

Succession

Back 44

Natural, gradual changes in the types of species that live in an area; can be primary (first habitation) or secondary (after major disturbance wipes out the life)

Front 45

Symbiosis

Back 45

Any close relationship between species, including mutualism, commensalisms, and parasitism

Front 46

Individual

Back 46

A single member of a population

Front 47

Invasive species

Back 47

A non-native species that takes over the niche of native species in an area

Front 48

exotic species

Back 48

A species that is not native to the area