Biology Key Terms Chap. 17
Terms
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- the study of interactions of living orgnaisms with one another and with their environment
- ecology
- place where a particular population of a species lives
- habitat
- the many different species that live together in a habitat
- community
- ecological sysem encompassing a community and all the physical aspects of its habitat
- ecosystem
- physical aspects of a habitat
- abiotic factor
- living organisms in a habitat
- biotic factor
- the variety of species living within an ecosystem
- biodiversity
- small, fast growing plants that are the first organisms to live in a new habitat
- pioneer species
- the regular progression of species replacement that occurs after disturbance or the development of new habitat
- succession
- succession that occurs in a newly formed habitat that has never before sustained life
- primary succession
- an episode of succession that occurs in areas where there has been previous growth, such as abandoned fields or forest clearings
- secondary succession
- the amount of organic material that the photosynthetic organisms of an ecosystem produce
- primary productivity
- organism that makes it own food from energy and carbon atoms in its environment; autotroph
- producer
- organism that must obtain energy to build its molecules by consuming other organisms; heterotroph
- consumer
- a group of organisms that have the same source of energy; a step in a food chain
- trophic level
- linear pathway of energy transfer in an ecosystem
- food chain
- organism that eats only plants or algae
- herbivore
- flesh-eating organism
- carnivore
- animal that eats both plants and animals
- omnivore