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| ecology | is the study of the interaction amoung living things and their surroundings |
| organism | individual living thing |
| population | is a group of the same species that live together in one area |
| community | Is a group of different species that live together in one area. |
| ecosystem | - includes all of the organisms as well as the climate, soil, water, rocks, and other non-living things in a giving area. |
| Biome | - A major regional or global community of organisms |
| biotic | Factors are living things such as plants animals, fungi, and bacteria |
| Abiotic | - factors are non-living things such as moisture, temperature, wind, sunlight soil. |
| Biodiversity | is the assortment, or variety of living things is an ecosystem. |
| Keystone species | is a species that has an unusually large effort on its ecosystem |
| Producers | organisms that het their energy from non-living resources, meaning that make their own food. |
| Autotroph | also called producers |
| Consumers | - organisms that get their energy by eating other living or once-living resources. |
| Heterotrophs- | also called consumers |
| Chemosynthesis | is the process by which an organisms forms carbohydrates using chemicals, rather than light, as an energy source |
| Food chain | is a sequence tat links species by their feeding relationships |
| Herbivore | are organisms that eat only plants |
| Carnivore | organisms that only eat animals |
| omnivores | are organisms that eat both plants and animals |
| Detritivores- | are organisms that eat detritus, or dead organic matter |
| Decomposers | are detritivores that break down organic matter into simpler compounds. |
| Generalist | are consumers that have a varying diet |
| Trophic level | are the level of nourishment in a food chain |
| Food web | is a model that shows the complex net work of feeding relationships and the flow of energy within and sometimes beyond an ecosystem |
| Hydrologic cycle | also known as the water cycle, is the circular pathway of water on earth from the atmosphere, to the surface, below ground, and back |
| biogeochemical cycle | is the movement of a particular chemical through the biological and geological, or living and nonliving parts, parts of an ecosystem. |
| nitrogen fixation | certain types of bacteria convert gaseous nitrogen into ammonia through this process |
| Biomass | is a measure of the total dry mass of organisms in a givin area |
| Energy pyramid | is a diagram that compares energy used by producers, primary consumers and other tropic levels |
| Habitat | can be described as all of the biotic and abiotic factors in the area where an organism lives |
| ecological niche | is composed of all the physical, chemical, and biological factors that a species needs to survive, stay healthy and reproduce |
| Competitive exclusion | states that when two species are competing for the same resource, one species will be better suited to the niche, and the other species will be pushed in another |
| ecological equivalents | are soecies that occupy similar niches but live in similar habitats |
| Competition | occurs when two organisms fiht for the same limited resources |
| predation | os the process by which one organism captures and feeds upon another organisms |
| symbiosis | is a close ecological relationship between two or more organisms of different species that live in direct contact with one another |
| mutualism | is an interspecies interaction on which both organisms benefit from one another |
| commensalism | is a relationship between two organisms in which one recieves an ecological benefit from another, while other neither benefits nor is harmed |
| parasitism | is a relationship similar to predation in that one organism benefits while the other is harmed |
| biosphere | is part of earth where life exist |
| biota | is the collection of living things that live in the biosphere |
| hydrosphere | all of earths water, ice and water vapr |
| Atmosphere | the air blanketing earth's solid and liquid surface |
| geosphere | the features of earth's surface |
| climate | is the long term pattern of weather conditions in a region |
| microclimate | is the climate of a small specific place within a larger area |
| Canopy | dense covering formed by the uppermost branches of trees |
| grassland | is an area where the primary plant life is grass |
| desert | biomes receive less than 25 centimeters of water a year and are always characterized as very dry, or arid climate |
| deciduous | trees have adapted to winter temperatures by dropping their leaves and going dormant during the cold season |
| coniferous | retain their needles all year |
| taiga | located in cooler climates |
| tundra | is located beyond the taiga in for northern latitudes |
| Chaparral | is characterized by hot, dry summers, and cool moist winters |
| intertidal zone | is the strip of land between the high and low tide lines |
| neritic zone | extends from the intertidal zone out to the edge o the continental shelf |
| bathyal zone | extends from the edge of the neritic zone tother base of the continental shelf |
| abyssal zone | lies below 2000 meters and is in complete darkness |
| plankton | are tiny free floating organisms that live in the water. |
| zoo plankton | another term for animal plankton |
| phytoplankton | are photosynthesis plankton, which include microscopic protist such as algae |
| coral reefs | are found within the tropical climate zone |
| kelp forests | exists in cold , nutrient-rich waters |
| estuary | is a partially enclosed body of water formed where river flows onto an ocean. |
| watershed | is a region of land that drains into a river, a river system, or another body of water |
| littoral zone | is similar to the oceanic intertidal zone and it is located betweenthe high and low water marks along the shoreline. |
| limnetic zone | refers to the open water located farther out from shore |
| benthic zone | is the lake or pond bottom, where less sunlight reaches |
| nonrenewable resources | these are used faster then they form |
| renewable resources | resources that can not be used up or can replenish themselves overtime |
| ecological footprint | the amount of land necessary to produce and maintain enough food and water, shelter, energy, and waste |
| pollution | describes any undesirable factor, or pollutant, that is added to the air,water, or soil |
| smog | is a type of air pollution caused by interaction of sunlight with pollitants produced by fossil fuel emissions |
| particulates | are microscopic bits of dust, metal, and unburned fuel |
| acid rain | is a type of precipitation produced when pollutants in the water cycle cause pH to drop below normal |
| green house effect | occurs when carbon dioxide, water, and methane molecules absorb energy radiated by Earth's surface and slow the release of this energy from earth's atmosphere |
| global warming | the tend of increasing global temperatures |
| indicator species | is a species that provides a sign, or indication, of the quality of the ecosystem's environmental conditions |
| biomagnification | a pollutant moves up the food chain as predators eat prey, accumulating in higher concentrations on the bodies of predators |
| habitat fragmentation | occurs when a barrier forms that prevents an organism from accessing its entire home range |
| introduced species | in any organism that was brought the an ecosystem as the result of human actions |
| sustainable development | is a practice in which natural resources are used and managed in a wat that meets current needs without hurting future generations |
| umbrella species | because its protection means a wide range of other species will also be protected. |
