Essential Biology Chapter 18 Vocabulary

Front 1

Ecology

Back 1

The study of how organisms interact
with each other and their environment.

Front 2

Biotic

Back 2

Pertaining to the living factors—
the organisms—in an environment.

Front 3

Abiotic

Back 3

Nonliving; referring to
the physical and chemical properties of an
environment.

Front 4

Organismal ecology

Back 4

The branch of ecology
concerned with the morphological, physiological,
and behavioral ways in which individual
organisms meet the challenges posed by their
biotic and abiotic environments.

Front 5

Population

Back 5

A group of individuals of the same
species that live in the same area and interbreed,
producing fertile offspring.

Front 6

Community

Back 6

All the organisms that inhabit a
particular area; an assemblage of populations
of different species living close enough
together for potential interaction.

Front 7

Ecosystem

Back 7

All the organisms in a given area as
well as the abiotic factors with which they
interact; one or more communities and the
physical environment around them.

Front 8

Biosphere

Back 8

The entire portion of Earth inhabited
by life; the sum of all the planet’s ecosystems.

Front 9

Habitat

Back 9

A placewhere an organism lives; a specific environment in which an organism lives.

Front 10

Acclimation

Back 10

Phisiological adjustment that occurs gradually, though still reversibly, in response to an environment change.

Front 11

Biomes

Back 11

Any of the world’s major ecosystem
types, often classified according to the predominant
vegetation for terrestrial biomes and
the physical environment for aquatic biomes
and characterized by adaptations of organisms
to that particular environment.

Front 12

Tropical Forest

Back 12

A terrestrial biome characterized
by relatively high precipitation and
warm temperatures year-round.

Front 13

Savanna

Back 13

A tropical grassland biome with scattered
individual trees and large herbivores and
maintained by occasional fires and drought.

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Desert

Back 14

A terrestrial biome characterized by very
low precipitation.

Front 15

Chaparral

Back 15

A scrubland biome of dense, spiny
evergreen shrubs found at midlatitudes along
coasts where cold ocean currents circulate
offshore; characterized by mild, rainy winters
and long, hot, dry summers.

Front 16

Temperate grassland

Back 16

A terrestrial biome that
exists at midlatitude regions and is dominated
by grasses and forbs.

Front 17

Temperate deciduous

Back 17

A biome located
throughout midlatitude regions where there is
sufficient moisture to support the growth of
large, broadleaf deciduous trees.

Front 18

Coniferous forest

Back 18

A terrestrial biome characterized by conifers, cone-bearing evergreen trees.

Front 19

Tundra

Back 19

A terrestrial biome at the extreme limits
of plant growth. At the northernmost limits, it
is called arctic tundra, and at high altitudes,
where plant forms are limited to low shrubby
or matlike vegetation, it is called alpine tundra.

Front 20

Photic zone

Back 20

The narrow top layer of an
ocean or lake, where light penetrates sufficiently
for photosynthesis to occur.

Front 21

Aphotic zone

Back 21

The part of an ocean or
lake beneath the photic zone, where light does
not penetrate sufficiently for photosynthesis
to occur.

Front 22

Estuary

Back 22

The area where a freshwater stream or
river merges with the ocean.

Front 23

Intertidal zone

Back 23

The shallow zone of the ocean
adjacent to land and between the high- and
low-tide lines.

Front 24

Pelagic zone

Back 24

The open-water component of
aquatic biomes.

Front 25

Coevolution

Back 25

The joint evolution of two
interacting species, each in response to
selection imposed by the other.

Front 26

Introduced species

Back 26

A species moved by humans,
either intentionally or accidentally,
from its native location to a new geographic
region; also called non-native or exotic species.

Front 27

Eutrophication

Back 27

A process by which nutrients,
particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, become
highly concentrated in a body of water,
leading to increased growth of organisms
such as algae or cyanobacteria.

Front 28

Biological magnification

Back 28

A process in which
retained substances become more concentrated
at each higher trophic level in a food chain.

Front 29

Greenhouse effect

Back 29

The warming of Earth due to
the atmospheric accumulation of carbon
dioxide and certain other gases, which absorb
reflected infrared radiation and reradiate some
of it back toward Earth.

Front 30

Biodiversity

Back 30

The variety of living things; includes genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity.

Front 31

Overxeploitation

Back 31

Harvest more than can sustain

Front 32

Ozone layer

Back 32

A layer that flters UV radiation in the stratosphere; affected by CFC's

Front 33

Habitat destruction

Back 33

1st leading cause of loss of biodiversity

Front 34

Endemic species

Back 34

Referring to a species that
is confined to a specific geographic area.

Front 35

Conservation biology

Back 35

A goal-oriented science that seeks to understand and counter the loss of biodiversity.

Front 36

Endangered species

Back 36

A species that is in danger
of extinction throughout all or a significant
portion of its range.

Front 37

Threatened species

Back 37

A species that is considered
likely to become endangered in the foreseeable
future.

Front 38

Habitat fragmentation

Back 38

Dividing habitat with barriers

Front 39

Source habitat

Back 39

An area of good reproduction that produces individuals for other areas.

Front 40

Sink habitat

Back 40

Poor habitat, poor reproduction

Front 41

Landscape ecology

Back 41

The study of how the spatial
arrangement of habitat types affects the
distribution and abundance of organisms and
ecosystem processes.

Front 42

Movement corridor

Back 42

A series of small clumps or
a narrow strip of quality habitat (usable by
organisms) that connects otherwise isolated
patches of quality habitat.

Front 43

Sustainable development

Back 43

Development that
meets the needs of people today without limiting
the ability of future generations to meet
their needs.

Front 44

Biophilia

Back 44

The human desire to affiliate with other life in its many forms.