Ecology Vocabulary 2

Front 1

Adaptation

Back 1

Traits (structures or behaviors) that improve an organisms chance for survival and reproduction

Front 2

Tropism

Back 2

Changes in growth that are a response to stimuli in the environment

Front 3

Phototropism

Back 3

positive response of plant growth toward a light source

Front 4

Geotropism

Back 4

positive response of growth of roots with gravity and negative response of growth of stems in response to gravity.

Front 5

Thigmotropism

Back 5

positive growth response in plants to the stimulus touch.

Front 6

Hormone

Back 6

a chemical messenger that is produced in one part of an organism and affects activities in another part of the organism

Front 7

Camouflage

Back 7

coloring or patterns that enable an organism to blend in with its surroundings

Front 8

Mimicry

Back 8

an organism’s resemblance to an object in its surroundings or another organism.

Front 9

Innate behavior

Back 9

a behavior an animal does not need to learn through experience

Front 10

Reflex

Back 10

an involuntary response to a stimulus

Front 11

Instinct

Back 11

a more complicated innate behavior that an organism has some control over

Front 12

Territory

Back 12

an area that contains everything an animal needs to survive and reproduce

Front 13

Migration

Back 13

the instinctive seasonal movement of a species

Front 14

Hibernation

Back 14

spending the winter in an inactive or dormant state

Front 15

Estivation

Back 15

a reduction in an animal’s rate of metabolism in response to extreme heat

Front 16

Learned Behavior

Back 16

develops during an animal’s lifetime as a result of experience

Front 17

Habituation

Back 17

when an animal learns to ignore a repeated stimulus that does not harm the animal.

Front 18

Imprinting

Back 18

the response of some animals to a stimulus that they are exposed to shortly after birth