Biology Flash Cards

Front 1

Aphotic Zone.

Back 1

dark layer of the oceans below the photic zone where sunlight does not penetrate.

Front 2

Benthos.

Back 2

organisms that live attached to or near the bottom of lakes, streams, or oceans.

Front 3

Canopy.

Back 3

dense covering formed by the leafy tops of tall rain forest trees.

Front 4

Climate.

Back 4

average year to year conditions of temperature and precipitation in an area over a long period of time.

Front 5

Commensalism.

Back 5

symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Front 6

Competitive Exclusion Principle.

Back 6

principle that states that no two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time.

Front 7

Coniferous.

Back 7

term used to refer to trees that produce seed bearing cones and have thin leaves shaped like needles.

Front 8

Deciduous.

Back 8

term used to refer to a type of tree that sheds its leaves during a particular season each year.

Front 9

Ecological Succession.

Back 9

series of gradual changes that occur in a community following a disturbance.

Front 10

Estuary.

Back 10

kind of wetland formed where a river meets a ocean.

Front 11

Greenhouse Effect.

Back 11

process in which certain gases trap sunlight energy in Earth's atmosphere as heat.

Front 12

Habitat.

Back 12

area where an organism lives, including the biotic an abiotic factors that affect it.

Front 13

Herbivory.

Back 13

interaction in which one animal feeds on producers.

Front 14

Humus.

Back 14

material formed from decaying leaves and other organic matter.

Front 15

Keystone Species.

Back 15

single species that is not usually abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on the structure of a community.

Front 16

Microclimate.

Back 16

environmental conditions within a small area that differs significantly from the climate of the surrounding area.

Front 17

Mutualism.

Back 17

symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the relationship.

Front 18

Niche.

Back 18

full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions.

Front 19

Parasitism.

Back 19

symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it.

Front 20

Permafrost.

Back 20

layer of permanently frozen subsoil found in the tundra.

Front 21

Photic Zone.

Back 21

sunlight region near the surface of water.

Front 22

Pioneer Species.

Back 22

first species to populate an area during succession.

Front 23

Plankton.

Back 23

microscopic organisms that live in aquatic environments, includes both phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Front 24

Predation.

Back 24

interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organism.

Front 25

Primary Succession.

Back 25

succession that occurs in an area in which no trace of a previous community is present.

Front 26

Resource.

Back 26

any necessity of life, such as water, nutrients, light, food, or space.

Front 27

Secondary Succession.

Back 27

type of succession that occurs in an area that was only partially destroyed by disturbances.

Front 28

Symbiosis.

Back 28

relationship in which two species live close together.

Front 29

Taiga.

Back 29

biome with long cold winters and a few months of warm weather; dominated by coniferous evergreens; also called boreal forest.

Front 30

Tolerance.

Back 30

ability of an organism to survive and reproduce under circumstances that differ from their optimal conditions.

Front 31

Understory.

Back 31

layer in a rain forest found underneath the canopy formed by shorter trees and vines.

Front 32

Weather.

Back 32

day to day conditions of the atmosphere, including temperature, precipitation, and other factors.

Front 33

Wetland.

Back 33

ecosystem in which water either covers the soil or is present at or near the surface for at least part of the year.