Terms : Hide Images
| 6449507008 | ecology | study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and their interactions with other organisms and with their physical environment | 0 | |
| 6449507009 | population | group of individuals of the same species living in the same area |  | 1 |
| 6449507010 | community | group of populations of different species living in the same area |  | 2 |
| 6449507011 | ecosystem | interrelationships between organisms in a community and their physical environment |  | 3 |
| 6449507012 | biosphere | composed of all the regions of the earth that contain living things (hydrosphere, geosphere, and atmosphere) |  | 4 |
| 6449507013 | habitat | type of place where an organism usually lives |  | 5 |
| 6449507014 | niche | role of an organism in its environment | 6 | |
| 6449507015 | biotic | living |  | 7 |
| 6449507016 | abiotic | nonliving |  | 8 |
| 6449507017 | climate | long-term / average weather conditions in a given area; major components include temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind |  | 9 |
| 6449507037 | population size | total number of individuals in the population | 10 | |
| 6449507038 | population density | total number of individuals per area or volume occupied | 11 | |
| 6449507039 | population dispersion | pattern of organism grouping: clumped, random, uniform | 12 | |
| 6449507040 | clumped dispersion | most common pattern of distribution, like humans in cities or schools of fish |  | 13 |
| 6449507041 | uniform dispersion | distribution pattern like trees in an human-made orchard, or bird nests | | 14 |
| 6449507042 | random dispersion | distribution pattern like trees in a forest or weeds in a field | | 15 |
| 6449507043 | age structure diagram | describes the abundance of individuals of each age |  | 16 |
| 6449507044 | survivorship curves | describe how mortality of individuals in a species varies during their lifetimes |  | 17 |
| 6449507045 | type I survivorship curve | describe a species in which most individuals survive to middle age; after that age, mortality is high.example: humans |  | 18 |
| 6449507046 | type II survivorship curve | describe organisms in which the length of survivorship is random, that is, the likelihood of death is the same at any ageexample: rodents, invertebrates | | 19 |
| 6449507047 | type III survivorship curve | describe species in which most individuals die young, with only a relative few surviving to reproductive age and beyondexample: oysters, species with free-swimming larvae | | 20 |
| 6449507048 | biotic potential | maximum growth rate of a population under ideal conditions with unlimited resources and without any growth restrictions | 21 | |
| 6449507050 | carrying capacity | maximum number of individuals of a population that can be sustained by a particular habitat |  | 22 |
| 6449507051 | limiting factors | factors that prevent a population from attaining its biotic potential | 23 | |
| 6449507053 | density-dependent limiting factors | limiting effect becomes more intense as the population density increases examples: parasites and disease, competition, toxic effect of waste products, predation, stress |  | 24 |
| 6449507054 | density-independent limiting factors | occur independently of the density of a population examples: natural disasters and climate extremes |  | 25 |
| 6449507057 | exponential growth | occurs when reproductive rate is greater than zero; forms a J-shaped curve on a graph |  | 26 |
| 6449507058 | logistic growth | occurs when limiting factors restrict the size of a population to the carrying capacity of the habitat; forms an S-shaped curve on a graph |  | 27 |
| 6449507060 | reproductive success | measure of fitness - how well an organism survives and reproduces |  | 28 |
| 6449507063 | interspecific competition | competition between two different species |  | 29 |
| 6449507065 | resource partitioning | some species coexist in spite of apparent competition for the same resources. they actually occupy slightly different niches. |  | 30 |
| 6449507073 | herbivore | animal that eats plants |  | 31 |
| 6449507074 | symbiosis | two species that live together in close contact during a portion or all of their lives |  | 32 |
| 6449507076 | mutualism | a relationship in which both species benefit |  | 33 |
| 6449507077 | commensalism | a relationship in which one species benefits while the second is neither helped nor harmed |  | 34 |
| 6449507078 | parasitism | a relationship in which one benefits while the another is harmed |  | 35 |
| 6449507083 | mimicry | two or more species resemble one another in appearance or behavior |  | 36 |
| 6449507086 | ecological succession | change in the composition of species over time; one community is gradually and predictably replaced by another community |  | 37 |
| 6449507087 | climax community | final successional stage of constant species composition; persists relatively unchanged until destroyed by a catastrophic event, like fire |  | 38 |
| 6449507089 | pioneer species | species that are the first to colonize a newly exposed habitat; work to break down rock into smaller rock, then into sand, and finally into soil as succession progresses |  | 39 |
| 6449507090 | primary succession | occurs where no soil was previously present; begins on rock. pioneer species and other plants break down rock into pebbles, then sand, then soil. as organisms die and decompose, it nourishes the soil allowing for more and larger organisms to grow or live in that area | 40 | |
| 6449507091 | secondary succession | occurs as primary succession, except soil is already present | 41 | |
| 6449507093 | food web | expanded, more complete version of a food chain that shows all major plants in the ecosystem, various animals that eat them, and the animals that eat the animals |  | 42 |
| 6449507094 | autotrophs | perform photosynthesis |  | 43 |
| 6449507095 | heterotrophs | consumer other organisms for organic material and/or a source of energy |  | 44 |
| 6449507096 | ecological pyramids | show relationships between trophic levels |  | 45 |
| 6449507103 | detritivores / decomposers | heterotrophs that obtain their energy by consuming dead plants and animals |  | 46 |
| 6449507104 | 10 % rule | 90% of the energy in a trophic pyramid is used, stored, or lost | 47 | |
| 6449507105 | primary productivity | amount of organic matter produced through photosynthetic activity per unit of time | 48 | |
| 6449507107 | keystone species | one that has a strong influence on the health of a community or ecosystem; removal of this species results in dramatic changes in the makeup of species that comprise other trophic levels |  | 49 |
| 6449507108 | invasive species | introduced species that has no competition or natural predators; disrupts a community |  | 50 |
| 6449507111 | biodiversity | function of the number of species, niches, and trophic levels in the ecosystem and the complexity of its food web | 51 | |
| 6449507128 | global climate change | Burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases trap infrared radiation, raising the temperature of the earth's atmosphere and resulting in large scale climate change. |  | 52 |
