Terms : Hide Images
| 7780023808 | evolution | change of heritable characteristics in a population over time |  | 0 |
| 7780053988 | adaptation | a trait that allows a species to survive I its environment |  | 1 |
| 7780074944 | natural selection | the process of better-selected individuals passing their traits to the next generation |  | 2 |
| 7780099974 | critical factor | the single factor shortest in supply in an ecosystem | 3 | |
| 7780110453 | tolerance limits | minimum and maximum levels of an environmental factor beyond which an organism cannot survive |  | 4 |
| 7780132681 | indicator species | presence or absence of an indicator species provides important information about the health of a particular community/ecosystem |  | 5 |
| 7780151012 | ecological niche | the role a species plays in a biological community | 6 | |
| 7780153634 | biomass | the total mass of all living things in a population or area | 7 | |
| 7780166651 | specialist | an organism with very specific needs and tolerances (ex: palm tree) | 8 | |
| 7780172810 | generalist | an organism that can tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions (ex: cockroach) | 9 | |
| 7780182587 | resource partitioning | when organisms "split up" a particular resource to avoid competition with each other (ex: day and night feeders) |  | 10 |
| 7780208906 | competitive exclusion principle | states that no two species can occupy the same ecological niche for long |  | 11 |
| 7780217867 | speciation | development of a new species |  | 12 |
| 7780224295 | biodiversity | the number of different species in a given area |  | 13 |
| 7780229053 | predation | predator eats prey |  | 14 |
| 7780233316 | coevolution | when two species affect each other's evolution |  | 15 |
| 7780250080 | Batesian mimicry | a harmless organism resembles a harmful or distasteful one |  | 16 |
| 7780261891 | Mullerian mimicry | two or more dangerous species that look alike |  | 17 |
| 7780271535 | symbiosis | a close interaction between two species |  | 18 |
| 7780276161 | mutualism | both species benefit |  | 19 |
| 7780280274 | commensalism | one species benefits, other is unaffected |  | 20 |
| 7780285036 | parasitism | parasite feeds on host |  | 21 |
| 7780288382 | keystone species | plays a critical role in the survival of other members in the community (ex: salmon) |  | 22 |
| 7780306126 | primary productivity | the biomass created by the producers in a food chain or food web |  | 23 |
| 7780326570 | complexity | the number of trophic levels and the number of species at each trophic level | 24 | |
| 7780342860 | exotic species | an organism living in a nonnative environment (ex: parrot) | 25 | |
| 7780354657 | invasive species | a nonnative species causing harm in its new environment (ex: Burmese python/Everglades) | 26 | |
| 7780373881 | primary succession | succession that starts with bare rock (ex: after a volcano) | 27 | |
| 7780383576 | secondary succession | succession that starts with soil present (ex: after a forest fire) | 28 | |
| 7780397694 | pioneer species | the first species to start succession after an environmental disturbance (ex: lichens) | 29 | |
| 7780403645 | biome | an area with specific environmental conditions, climate, flora, fauna (ex: tundra) |  | 30 |
| 7780413399 | benthic | the BOTTOM of a stream, river, lake, ocean |  | 31 |
| 7780419757 | pelagic | the water column (excluding benthic zone) in the ocean |  | 32 |
| 7780426850 | coral reefs | underwater ecosystem formed by corals; extremely high productivity and biodiversity |  | 33 |
| 7780442205 | estuary | where fresh and salt water meet; extremely high productivity and biodiversity |  | 34 |
| 7780448736 | salt marsh | coastal wetlands affected by salt water tides; prevent flooding, purify pollutants, habitat for birds |  | 35 |
| 7780459309 | barrier island | narrow, sandy islands that form parallel to coastline; protect coast from storm, winds |  | 36 |
| 7780470066 | thermocline | sharp temperature boundary in lakes and rivers |  | 37 |
| 7780480158 | mangroves | trees that can grow in salt water; prevent erosion, provide nursery for young fish |  | 38 |
| 7780487756 | wetlands | shallow ecosystems where land is saturated or submerged at least part of the year |  | 39 |
