Chapter 3 & 4 Vocabulary - Ella Callaci - C. Vu - HADV Bio - 2

Community

A group of different populations that live together in a defined area

Biome

A group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms

Population

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

Species

A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring

Ecosystem

All the organisms that live in a place, together with their nonliving environment

Scavengers

Animals that consume the carcasses of other animals

Biotic factor

Any living part of the environment with which an organism might interact

Habitiat

Area where an organism lives, including the biotic and abiotic factors that affect it

Nutrients

Chemical substances that an organism needs to sustain life

Trophic level

Each step in a food chain or food web

Niche

Full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions

Ecological pyramids

Illustration of the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level in a given food chain or food web

Predation

Interaction in which one organism (the predator) captures and feeds on another organism (the prey)

Food web

Network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem

Decomposers

Organisms that break down and obtain energy from dead organic matter

Detritivores

Organisms that feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter

Consumers

Organisms that rely on other organisms for its energy and food supply; also called a heterotroph

Biosphere

Part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere

Phytoplankton

Photosynthetic algae found near the surface of the ocean

Abiotic factor

Physical, or nonliving, factor that shapes an ecosystem

Competitive exclusion principle

Principle that states that no two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time

Denitrification

Process by which bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas

Chemosynthesis

Process in which chemical energy is used to produce carbohydrates

Biogeochemical cycles

Process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another

Nitrogen fixation

Process of converting nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds that plants can absorb and use

Symbiosis

Relationship in which two species live close together

Ecology

Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment

Food Chain

Series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten

Limiting nutrient

Single essential nutrient that limits productivity in an ecosystem

Keystone species

Single species that is not usually abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on the structure of a community

Zooplankton

Small free-floating animals that form part of plankton

Mutualism

Symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the relationship

Commensalism

Symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed

Parasitism

Symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it

Primary producers

The first producers of energy-rich compounds that are later used by other organisms

Biomass

Total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level