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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
ECOLOGY |
deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings |
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ecological model |
represent or describe the components of nan ecological system |
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ecosystem |
a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment |
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population |
all members of a species that live in one place at one time |
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interdependence |
mutual dependence between things |
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biosphere |
the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth occupied by living organisms. |
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community |
a group of interdependent organisms of different species growing or living together in a specified habitat. |
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habitat |
the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism. |
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tolerance curve |
a graph of performance versus values of an environmental variable |
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migration |
moving to a new environment during unfavorable conditions |
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abiotic factor |
the nonliving things that affect an organism |
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dormancy |
a state of reduced activity during unfavorable conditions |
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producer |
autotrophs, or organisms that capture energy and use it to make organic molecules |
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biomass |
organic material that has been produced in an ecosystem |
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chemosynthesis |
a process which some bacteria that are autotrophs but do not preform photosynthesis go through in order to make food by using energy stored in inorganic molecules to produce carbohydrates |
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consumers |
organisms that obtain energy by consuming organic molecules made by other organisms |
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herbivores |
consumers that eat only producers |
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carnivores |
consumers that eat only other consumers |
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omnivores |
consumers that eat both producers and other consumers |
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detritivore |
detritivores organisms that eat recently dead organisms, fallen leaves, and animal wastes |
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decomposers |
detritivores that cause decay by breaking down complex molecules into simpler molecules |
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trophic level |
an organism's position in a sequence of energy transfers |
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food chain |
a single pathway of feeding relationships among organisms in a ecosystem that results in energy transfer |
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food web |
interrelated food chains in an ecosystem |
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ground water |
water in the soil or in underground formations of porous rock |
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water cycle |
movement of water between various reservoirs |
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transpiration |
the process by which water evaporates from the leaves of plants in terrestrial ecosystems |
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carbon cycle |
the cycle that photosynthesis and cellular respiration form the basis of |
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nitrogen cycle |
the complex pathway that nitrogen follows in an ecosystem |
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nitrogen fixation |
the process of converting nitrogen gas to nitrate |
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nitrogen-fixing bacteria |
bacteria that live in the soil and inside the swellings on the roots of some kinds of plants that transform nitrogen gas into a usable form |
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phosphorous cycle |
the movement of phosphorous from the environment to organisms and then back to the enviroment |
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niche |
position or role taken by a kind of organism within its community |