ECOLOGY.
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- Rain shadows
- An area having relatively little precipitation due to the effect of a barrier
- Forest
- an area with a high density of trees., the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
- Desert
- a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all.
- Condensation
- process that takes place when a gas changes into a liquid
- Community
- all the populations of different species that live in a ecosystem.
- Trophic levels
- The hierarchical levels of the food chain through which energy flows from primary producers to primary consumers, secondary consumers and so on.
- Population
- all the organisms in an ecosystem that belong to the same species.
- Soil
- Mixture of mineral and rock particles, the remains of dead organisms, air, and water that forms the topmost layer of Earth's crust and supports plant growth.
- Biotic potential
- maximum rate at which a population could increase under ideal conditions
- Ecosystem
- all the living organisms that live in an area and the nonoliving features of their enviroment.
- Elevation
- distance of something above a reference point (such as sea level)
- Lightning
- abrupt electric discharge from cloud to cloud or from cloud to earth accompanied by the emission of light
- Arctic
- the regions north of the Arctic Circle centered on the North Pole
- Legumes
- a group of plants part of nitrogen cycle; convert atmospheric nitrogen ino a form that plants can use (beans)
- Carrying capacity
- largest number of individuals of a particular species that an ecosystem can support over time.
- Cooperation
- mutually beneficial interaction among organisms living in a limited area
- Marine
- covers 70% of earth's surface; largest biome; temperatures vary from region to region;, of or relating to the sea
- Tropical
- of weather or climate; hot and humid as in the tropics
- Mutualism
- A type of symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit.
- Common
- An area which anybody can use anytime, but everybody has to police it.
- Habitat
- place where an organism lives and that provides the types of food, shelter, moisture, and temperature needed for survival
- Tropical rainforest
- a woodland of tall trees growing in a region of year-round warmth and abundant rainfall
- Energy Pyramid
- model that shows the amount of energy available at each feeding level in an ecosystem.
- Run off
- Water (usually from rain) that flows over a land surface in streams and water ways
- Fixing bacteria
- Bacteria are the only organisms capable of taking gaseous nitrogen and combining it with hydrogen to make ammonia. So nitrogen-fixing bacteria are an essential part of all ecosystems.
- nitrogen cycle
- model describing how nitrogen moves from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and then back to the atmosphere.
- Carbon sinks
- A natural environment that absorbs and stores more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases, which offsets greenhouse gas emissions.
- Evaporation
- process that takes place when a liquid changes to a gas
- Commensalism
- a type of symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is not affected.
- Pyramid of numbers
- representation of the number of individual organisms in each trophic level of an ecosystem
- Immigration
- when carrrying capacity is reached and organisms have to move
- Percolation
- Process by which water is moved through soil and rock
- Temperate
- (of weather or climate) free from extremes; not too hot, not too cold; mild.
- Water
- a fluid necessary for the life of most animals and plants
- Climate
- average weather conditions of an area over time, including wind, temperature, and rainfall or other types of precipitation
- Temperature
- the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment (corresponding to its molecular activity)
- Air
- a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the region above the ground.
- Long Cycles
- Cycles that can last a life time
- Parasitism
- a type of symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other organism is harmed.
- Symbiosis
- any close relationship between species, including mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
- Wind
- air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
- Exponential population growth
- the accelerating population growth that occurs when optimal conditions allow a constant reproductive rate
- Respiration
- series of chemcial reactions used to release energy stored in food molecules.
- Niche
- the unique ways an organism survives, obtains food and shelter, and avoids danger
- Light
- a form of energy that travels in waves and can move through empty space; is required for photosynthesis
- Hydrothermal Vents
- fissures in the seafloor where molten rock superheats water;, Seawater percolates through cracks and is heated to about 350 degrees celcuis
- Biosphere
- part of the earth that supports life, including the top portion of Earth's crust, the atmosphere and all the water on Earth's surface.
- Rainforest
- hot, wet biome where trees grow very tall and keep their leaves all year long. More plants here than anywher else in the world. Tropical plants.; very high annual rainfall
- Rainforest
- a tropical forest, usually of tall, densely growing, broad-leaved evergreen trees in an area of high annual rainfall.
- Transpiration
- the emission of water vapor from the leaves of plants
- Water Cycle
- model describing how water moves from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back to the surface again through evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
- Tundra
- one of the vast, nearly level, treeless plains of the arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America., a biome that has very cold temperatures and little rainfall
- Savannah
- flat grassland, few trees in tropical areas
- Decomposers
- organisms that break down wastes and dead organisms and return raw materials to the environment
- Short cycles
- cycles that only last for a little while
- Wetlands
- land that has a wet and spongy soil, as a marsh, swamp, or bog; an area between land and water where the water table is generally at or near the surface or the land is covered with shallow water
- Fossil fuel
- fuel consisting of the remains of organisms preserved in rocks in the earth's crust with high carbon and hydrogen content
- Photosynthesis
- process by which plants and many other producers use light energy from the sun to make sugars, which can be used as food.
- Chemosynthesis
- process in which producers make energy-rich nutrient molecules from chemicals.
- Carbon cycle
- model describing how carbon molecules move between the living and nonliving world
- Limiting factor
- anything that can restrict the size of a population, including living and nonliving features of an ecosystem, such as predators or drought
- Dynamic balances
- when organisms in an area using resources have reached a balance