Ecology

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Ecology

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Study of relationships and interactions of living things with one another and their enviroment

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Organism

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Living thing that is full and complete and self sustaining

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Biotic Factors

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Living things in an enviroment

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Abiotic Factors

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non-living things in an enviroment

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biosphere

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all of the environments on earth

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atmosphere

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air

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hydrosphere

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water

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lithosphere

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ground

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biome

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large region with certain climate and rainfall with certain plants

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population

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all of one type of an organism in an area

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community

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two or more populations interacting

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habitat

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physical environment where an organism lives

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ecosystem

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community + habitat

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ecological succession

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process of organisms building a new environment

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secondary succession

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earlier ecosystem wiped out, new one forms in its place

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biodiversity

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the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem

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ecological niche

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The place or function of a given organism within its ecosystem.

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food chain

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a hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food.

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trophic level

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each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy.

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energy pyramid

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An energy pyramid is a graphical model ofenergy flow in a community. The different levels represent different groups of organisms that might compose a food chain

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food web

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a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.

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predator

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an animal that naturally preys on others

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prey

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an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food.

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symbiosis

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interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both.

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commensalism

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an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.

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parasitism

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Parasitism is a non-mutual symbiotic relationship between species, where one species, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host.

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coevolution

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the influence of closely associated species on each other in their evolution.

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carbon cycle

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the series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment, chiefly involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels.

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nitrogen cycle

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the series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms, including nitrogen fixation and decomposition.

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water cycle

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the cycle of processes by which water circulates between the earth's oceans, atmosphere, and land, involving precipitation as rain and snow, drainage in streams and rivers, and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.

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carrying capacity

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the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation.

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habitat loss

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Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present.

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deforestation

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Deforestation is the clearing of trees, transforming a forest into cleared land. The first step in turning the wilderness into a shopping center isdeforestation.

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extinction

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the state or process of a species, family, or larger group being or becoming extinct.

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pollution

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the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects.

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eutrophication

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excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

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ozone

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a colorless unstable toxic gas with a pungent odor and powerful oxidizing properties, formed from oxygen by electrical discharges or ultraviolet light. It differs from normal oxygen (O2) in having three atoms in its molecule (O3).

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natural resources

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materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.

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renewable resources

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renewable resource definition. Any resource, such as wood or solar energy, that can or will be replenished naturally in the course of time.

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non-renewable resources

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A resource of economic value that cannot be readily replaced by naturalmeans on a level equal to its consumption. Most fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas and coal are considered nonrenewable resources in that their use is not sustainable because their formation takes billions of years.

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climate change

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a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.

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greenhouse effect

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the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.