Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
113 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
ecology
|
the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environments
|
|
biosphere
|
part of Earth in which life exists including lands, water, and air or atmoshphere
|
|
species
|
a group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring
|
|
population
|
group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area
|
|
community
|
assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area
|
|
ecosystem
|
collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving enviornment
|
|
biome
|
group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities
|
|
autotroph
|
organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food from inorganic compounds; also called a producer
|
|
producer
|
organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food from inorganic compounds; also called an autotroph
|
|
photosynthesis
|
process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to power chemical reactions that convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbs like glucose
|
|
chemosynthesis
|
process by which some organisms use chemical energy to produce carbs
|
|
heterotroph
|
organism that obtains energy from the foods it consumes; also called a consumer
|
|
consumer
|
organism that obtains energy from the foods it consumes; also called a heterotroph
|
|
herbivore
|
organism that obtains energy by eating only plants
|
|
carnivore
|
organism that obtains energy by eating animals
|
|
omnivire
|
organism that obtains energy by eating
|
|
omnivire
|
organism that obtains energy by eating both plants and animals
|
|
detritivore
|
organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter
|
|
decomposer
|
organism that breaks down and obtains energy from dead organic matter
|
|
food chain
|
series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
|
|
food web
|
network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem
|
|
trophic level
|
step in a food chain or food web
|
|
ecological pyramid
|
diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter within each trophic level in a food chain
|
|
biomass
|
total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level
|
|
weather
|
condtion of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place
|
|
climate
|
average, year-after-year conditions of temperature and precipitation in a particular region
|
|
greenhouse effect
|
natural situation in which heat is retained in Earth's atmosphere by carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other gases
|
|
polar zone
|
cold climate zone where the sun's rays strike Earth's at a very low angle
|
|
temperate zone
|
moderate climate zone between the polar zones and the tropics
|
|
tropical zone
|
warm climate zone that receives direct or nearly direct sunlight year round
|
|
biotic factor
|
biologic influence on organisms within an ecosystem
|
|
abiotc factor
|
physical, or nonliving, factor that shapes an ecosystem
|
|
habitat
|
the area where an organism lives, including the biotic and abiotic factors that affect the organism
|
|
niche
|
full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions
|
|
resource
|
any necessity of life, such as water, nutrients, light, food and space
|
|
competitive exclusion principle
|
ecologic rule that states no two species species can occupy the exact same niche in the same habitat at the same time
|
|
predation
|
interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organisms
|
|
symbiosis
|
relationship in which two species live closely together
|
|
mutualism
|
symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the relationship
|
|
commensalism
|
A symbiotic relationship between two organisms of different species in which one derives some benefit while the other is unaffected
|
|
parasitism
|
symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives in or on another organism by feeding on it
|
|
ecological succession
|
gradual change in living communities that follows a disturbance
|
|
primary succession
|
sucession that occurs on surfaces where no soil exists
|
|
pioneer species
|
first species to populate an area during primary succession
|
|
secondary species
|
succession that follows a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil
|
|
biome
|
group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar dominant communities
|
|
microclimate
|
climate within a small area that differs significantly from the climate of the surrounding area
|
|
canopy
|
dense covering formed by the leafy tops of tall rain trees
|
|
understory
|
layer in a rain forest formed by shorter trees and vines
|
|
deciduous
|
trees that sheds its leaves during a particular season each year
|
|
coniferous
|
trees that produce seed-bearing cones and have thin leaves shaped like needles
|
|
humus
|
material formed from decaying leaves and other organic matter
|
|
photic zone
|
well-lit upper layer of the oceans
|
|
permafrost
|
layer of permanently frozen subsoil in the tundra
|
|
plankton
|
tiny, free-floating, weakly-swimming organisms that occur in aquatic enviornments
|
|
zooplankton
|
tiny animals that form part of the plankton
|
|
wetland
|
ecosystem in which water either covers the soil, or is present at or near the surface of the soil for at least part of the year
|
|
estuary
|
wetlands formed where rivers meet the ocean
|
|
detritus
|
particles of organic material that provide food for organisms at the base of an estuary's food web
|
|
salt marsh
|
temperate-zone estuary dominated by salt-tolerant grasses above the low-tide line and by seagrasses under water
|
|
mangrove swamp
|
coastal wetland dominated by mangroves, salt-tolerant woody plants
|
|
aphotic zone
|
permanently dark layer of the oceans below the photic zone
|
|
zonation
|
prominent horizontal banding of organisms
|
|
coastal ocean
|
marine zone that extends from the low-tide mark to the end of the continental shelf
|
|
kelp forest
|
coastal ocean community named for its dominant organism - kelp
|
|
coral reef
|
diverse and productive enviornment named for the coral animals that makes up its primary structure
|
|
benthos
|
organisms that live attached to or near the ocean floor
|
|
cell
|
basic unit of all forms of life
|
|
cell theory
|
idea that all living things are composed of cells, cells are the basic units of structure and function in living things, and new cells are produced from existing cells
|
|
cell membrane
|
thin, flexible barrier around the cell
|
|
cell wall
|
strong layer around the cell membrane
|
|
nucleus
|
structure within the cell that contains the genetic material and controls the cell's activity
|
|
cytoplasm
|
material inside the cell membrane (excluding the nucleus)
|
|
prokaryote
|
single-celled micro-organism with no defined nucleus
|
|
eukaryote
|
cells that do contain a defined nucleus
|
|
organelle
|
specialized structures in a cell that perform certain cellular function
|
|
chromatin
|
granular material visible within the nucleus; consists of DNA tightly coiled around proteins
|
|
chromosome
|
threadlike structure within the nucleus containing the genetic info that is passed from generation of cells to the next
|
|
nucleolus
|
small, dense region within most nuclei in which the assembly of ribosomes begins
|
|
nuclear envelope
|
double-membrane layer that surrounds the nucleus of a cell
|
|
cytoskeleton
|
network of protein filaments within some cells that helps the cells maintain its shape and is involved in many forms of cell movement
|
|
microtubule
|
hollow tubes of protein that maintains cell shape and can also serve as a "track" along which organelles are moved
|
|
microfilament
|
long, thin fiber that functions in the movement and support of the cell
|
|
ribosome
|
small particle in the cell on which proteins are assembled
|
|
endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
|
structure in which components of the cell membrane are assembled and some proteins are modified
|
|
Golgi apparatus
|
stack of membranes in the cell in which enzymes attach carbs and fats to proteins
|
|
lysosome
|
cell organelle filled with enzymes needed to break down certain materials in the cell
|
|
vacuole
|
organelle that stores materials such as water, salts, proteins and carbs
|
|
chloroplast
|
organelle found in cells of plants some other organism that uses energy from sunlight to make energy-rich food molecules by photosynthesis
|
|
mitochondrion
|
organelle that releases energy from stores food molecules
|
|
lipid bilayer
|
double layered sheet that forms the core of all cell membranes
|
|
concentration
|
the mass of a solute in a given volume of a solution
|
|
diffusion
|
the process of molecules moving from an area of higher concentration to an area of low concentration
|
|
selective permeability
|
a membrane that allows some materials to pass through, but not allowing others
|
|
osmosis
|
the diffusion of water
|
|
facilitated diffusion
|
movement of molecule across a membrane through protein channels
|
|
active transport
|
the process of molecules moving from an area of low concentration to an area of high concentration
|
|
endocytosis
|
process of taking materials into a cell using in-foldings or pockets of membrane
|
|
phagocytosis
|
process of engulfing large particles and taking into the cell
|
|
exocytosis
|
process of removing large amounts of materials from a cell
|
|
cell specialization
|
separate roles for each type of cell in a multicellular organism
|
|
tissue
|
group of similar cells performing a particular function
|
|
organ
|
many groups of tissues working together
|
|
organ system
|
group of organs that work together to perform certain cellular functions
|
|
adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
|
one of the principal chemical compounds that livng things use to store energy
|
|
pigment
|
light-absorbing colored molecule
|
|
chlorophyll
|
principal pigment of plants and other photosynthetic organisms; captures light energy
|
|
thylakoid
|
saclike body in chloroplasts made of photosynthetic membranes that contain photosystems
|
|
stroma
|
region outside the thylakoid membranes in chloroplasts
|
|
NAPD+
|
one of the carrier molecules that transfers high-energy electrons from chlorophyll to other molecules
|
|
light-dependent reactions
|
reactions of photosynthesis that use energy from light to produce ATP and NADPH
|
|
ATP synthase
|
large protein that uses energy from H+ ions to bind ADP and a phosphate group together to produce ATP
|
|
Calvin cycle
|
reactions of photosynthesis in which energy from ATP and NADPH is used to build high-energy compounds such as sugars
|