Chapter 3: LSU 1127 for Vincent Wilson
Terms : Hide Images
| 452789907 | ecology | study of all processes influencing the distribution and abundance of organisms and the interactions between living things and their environment | |
| 452789908 | species | different kinds of living things in the community-all members that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring | |
| 452789909 | population | a certain number of individuals that make up the interbreeding, reproducing group- only to those ind. of a certain species that live within a given area | |
| 452789910 | biota/biotic community | grouping of populations we observe when we study a natural area: all vegetation, all animals, and all microscopic creatures | |
| 452789911 | abiotic | nonliving: chemical and physical ex. amount of water, climate, salinity, type of soil | |
| 452789912 | ecosystem | an interactive complex of communities and the abiotic environment affecting them within a particular area | |
| 452789913 | ecotone | transitional region between two ecosystems that shares many of the species and characteristics of both ecosystems | |
| 452789914 | landscape | cluster of interacting ecosystems such as a forest, an open meadow, and a nearby river | |
| 452789915 | biomes | a large area of Earth's surface with the same climate and similar vegetation- limited to terrestrial systems | |
| 452789916 | biosphere | all the species on Earth live in ecosystems, and the ecosystems are interconnected, so that all living things form one huge system | |
| 452848895 | conditions | any factors that vary in space and time, but that are not used up or made unavailable to other species: temperature, wind, pH, salinity, fire | |
| 452848896 | resources | any factors-biotic or abiotic- that are consumed by organisms: water, chemical nutrients, light, oxygen, food, space for resting or nesting | |
| 452848897 | optimum | a certain level at which the organisms grow or survive most | |
| 452848898 | range of tolerance | entire span that allows any growth | |
| 452848899 | limits of tolerance | points at the high and low ends of the range of tolerance | |
| 452848900 | zones of stress | between the optimal range and the high or low limit of tolerance: organisms experience increasing stress as factor is raised or lowered until they can't survive | |
| 452848901 | limiting factor | a factor that limits growth | |
| 452848902 | law of limiting factors/Liebig's Law of the Minimum | any one factor being outside the optimal range will cause stress and limit the growth, reproduction, or even survival of a population | |
| 452848903 | synergistic effects/synergisms | two or more factors interacting in a way that causes an effect much greater than one would anticipate from each of the two acting separately | |
| 452848904 | habitat | refers to the kind of place- defined by the plant community and the physical environment- where a species is biologically adapted to live | |
| 452854879 | niche | refers to what the animals feeds on, where it feeds, when it feeds, where it finds shelter, how it responds to abiotic factors, and where it nests | |
| 453635907 | matter | anything that occupies space and has mass | |
| 453635908 | atoms | very small pieces that matter is composed of- combined to form molecules, and these combined to form more complex structures | |
| 453635909 | elements | 94 naturally occurring atoms in nature | |
| 453635910 | Law of Conservation of Matter | atoms are neither created nor destroyed- same number and kind of atoms exist before and after any reaction | |
| 453635911 | molecule | 2 or more atoms bonded in a specific way ex)O2 is molecule, but not compound | |
| 453635912 | compound | 2 or more different kinds of atoms that are bonded ex)H2O is both compound and molecule | |
| 453635913 | atmosphere | thin layer of gases separating Earth from outer space | |
| 453635914 | hydrosphere | water in all of its liquid and solid compartments: oceans, rivers, ice and groundwater | |
| 453635915 | lithosphere | Earth's crust, made up of rocks and minerals | |
| 453652120 | mineral | naturally occurring solid, made by geologic processes; it is a hard, crystalline structure of a given chemical composition | |
| 453652121 | inorganic | refers to molecules or compounds with neither carbon-carbon nor carbon-hydrogen bonds | |
| 453652122 | natural organic compounds | compounds making up living organisms | |
| 453652123 | synthetic organic compounds | human-made compounds | |
| 453652124 | energy | the ability to move matter | |
| 453652125 | kinetic energy | energy in action or motion | |
| 453652126 | potential energy | energy in storage | |
| 453652127 | chemical energy | potential energy contained in things such as chemicals ex) gasoline releases kinetic energy when ignited | |
| 453652128 | calorie | amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius | |
| 453652129 | kilocalorie | 1 kilocalorie=1000 calories |
