Ecology Vocabulary

Front 1

biosphere

Back 1

the portion of the earth in which living things exists

Front 2

ecology

Back 2

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

Front 3

biotic factors

Back 3

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

Front 4

abiotic factors

Back 4

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

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population

Back 5

the simplest grouping of organisms in nature

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community

Back 6

all the populations of different organisms within a given area

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ecosystem

Back 7

a community and the physical environment that it occupies

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mutualism

Back 8

a symbolic relationship in which both organisms benefit from their association

Front 9

commensalism

Back 9

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

Front 10

parasitism

Back 10

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

Front 11

habitat

Back 11

learned behavior that becomes automatic

Front 12

niche

Back 12

the role of a species in an ecosystem

Front 13

interspecific competition

Back 13

competition between members of two different species in an ecosystem

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producers

Back 14

organisms such as green plants that produce organic compounds from inorganic compounds

Front 15

consumers

Back 15

the heterotrophs, the organisms that obtain nutrients from other organisms

Front 16

decomposers

Back 16

organisms of decay

Front 17

food chain

Back 17

a series of organisms through which food energy is passed

Front 18

food web

Back 18

food chains that are interconnected at various points

Front 19

pyramid of energy

Back 19

the amount of available energy in an ecosystem

Front 20

pyramid of biomass

Back 20

the relative mass of organisms at each feeding level in an ecosystem

Front 21

nitrifying bacteria

Back 21

bacteria that can convert amonia to nitrite and nitrate

Front 22

denitrifying bacteria

Back 22

anaerobic bacteria that converts nitrates and nitrites to nitrogen gas, which is released in to the atmosphere

Front 23

nitrogen fixation

Back 23

a process by which nitrogen- fixing organisms produce nitrogen compounds from the gasenous nitrogen of the atmosphere

Front 24

nitrogen fixers

Back 24

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

Front 25

carbon cycle

Back 25

the pathways by which carbon is circulated through the bioshphere

Front 26

oxygen cycle

Back 26

the pathways of oxygen in the biosphere

Front 27

water cycle

Back 27

the cycling of water between the surface of the earth and the atmosphere

Front 28

ecological succession

Back 28

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

Front 29

dominant species

Back 29

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

Front 30

climax community

Back 30

a mature, stable community that is the final stage of ecological succession

Front 31

decomposers

Back 31

organisms of decay

Front 32

food chain

Back 32

a series of organisms through which food energy is passed

Front 33

food web

Back 33

food chains that are interconnected at various points

Front 34

pyramid of energy

Back 34

the amount of available energy in an ecosystem

Front 35

pyramid of biomass

Back 35

the relative mass of organisms at each feeding level in an ecosystem

Front 36

nitrifying bacteria

Back 36

bacteria that can convert amonia to nitrite and nitrate

Front 37

denitrifying bacteria

Back 37

anaerobic bacteria that converts nitrates and nitrites to nitrogen gas, which is released in to the atmosphere

Front 38

nitrogen fixation

Back 38

a process by which nitrogen- fixing organisms produce nitrogen compounds from the gasenous nitrogen of the atmosphere

Front 39

nitrogen fixers

Back 39

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

Front 40

carbon cycle

Back 40

the pathways by which carbon is circulated through the bioshphere

Front 41

oxygen cycle

Back 41

the pathways of oxygen in the biosphere

Front 42

water cycle

Back 42

the cycling of water between the surface of the earth and the atmosphere

Front 43

ecological succession

Back 43

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

Front 44

dominant species

Back 44

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

Front 45

climax community

Back 45

a mature, stable community that is the final stage of ecological succession

Front 46

primary succession

Back 46

succession that occurs in an area that had no previously existing life

Front 47

secondary succession

Back 47

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

Front 48

biome

Back 48

a large geographical region that has a particular type of climax community

Front 49

permafrost

Back 49

the lower layers in the tundra that remains frozen throughout the year

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taiga

Back 50

a biome with cold winters, and warm, moist summers; climax flora are evergreen vegetation

Front 51

tundra

Back 51

a region that lies south of the ice caps of the Artic, and extends across North America, Europe, and Sibera

Front 52

grasslands

Back 52

a biome in which there is not enough rainfall to support trees and the dominant vegetation is grass; prairies

Front 53

temperate deciduous forest

Back 53

a biome in which the climax vegetation is deciduous trees; characterized by hot, humid summers and cold winters

Front 54

deserts

Back 54

a type of biome in which there is too little rainfall to support grasses or trees; may show great variation in temperature between day and night

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tropical rain forests

Back 55

a biome found around the equator in which there is a constant supply of rainfall and the temperature remains at about 25 degrees Celcius throughout the year

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benthos

Back 56

organisms that live on the ocean floor

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plankton

Back 57

organisms that float in a body of water

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phyto- plankton

Back 58

photosynthetic organisms that float near the surface of the water

Front 59

zooplankton

Back 59

small animals and non photosynthetic protists that float near the surface of water

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interdial zone

Back 60

the area along the ocean shoreline that is covered by water at high tide and uncovered at low tide

Front 61

littoral zone

Back 61

the area between the intertidal zone and the continental shelf; the water is relatively shallow, and light reaches the ocean floor