Biology Vocabulary Chapter 2 Glencoe

Front 1

ecology

Back 1

scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environments

Front 2

biosphere

Back 2

portion of Earth that supports life; extends from high in the atmosphere to the bottom of the oceans

Front 3

abiotic factor

Back 3

nonliving parts of an organism's enviroment; air currents, temperature, moisture, light, and soil are examples

Front 4

biotic factor

Back 4

all the living organisms that inhabit an enviroment

Front 5

population

Back 5

group of organisms all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same place at the same time

Front 6

biological community

Back 6

a community made up of interacting populations in a certain area at a certain time

Front 7

ecosystem

Back 7

interactions among populations in a community; the community's physical surroundings, or abiotic factors

Front 8

habitat

Back 8

place where an organism lives out its life

Front 9

niche

Back 9

role or position a species has in its environment; includes all biotic and abiotic interactions as an animal meets its needs for survival and reproduction

Front 10

symbiosis

Back 10

permanent, close association between two or more organisms of different species

Front 11

commensalism

Back 11

symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other species is neither harmed nor benefited

Front 12

mutualism

Back 12

a symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit

Front 13

parasitism

Back 13

symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits at the expense of another, usually another species

Front 14

autotroph

Back 14

organisms that use energy from the sun or energy stored in chemical compounds to manufacture their own nutrients

Front 15

heterotroph

Back 15

organisms that cannot make their own food and must feed on other organisms for energy and nutrients

Front 16

decomposer

Back 16

organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, that bread down and absorb nutrients from dead organisms

Front 17

food chain

Back 17

simple model that shows how matter and energy move through an ecosystem

Front 18

trophic level

Back 18

organism that represents a feeding step in the movement of energy and materials through an ecosystem

Front 19

food web

Back 19

model that shows all the possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a community

Front 20

biomass

Back 20

the total mass or weight of all living matter in a given area