| A | B |
|---|
| Abiotic | physical (nonliving) things; sunlight, soil, nutrients, water, temperature |
| Age structure | defines the relative proportions of individuals of each age; ex: pre-reproductive, reproductive, post-reproductive |
| Aerobe | an organism that must have oxygen in order to survive |
| Aerobic | living or occurring only in the presence of oxygen: aerobic bacteria |
| Anaerobe | an organism capable of living in the absence of free oxygen |
| Anaerobic | lacking or seriously depleted of oxygen - opposite of aerobic |
| Autotroph | an organism that can make its own food (plants) |
| Biological magnification | the tendency for toxic substances to increase in concentration at progressively higher levels of the food chain |
| Biome | a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which are adapted to that particular environment |
| Biodiversity | the number of different species within an area; greatest in tropical areas |
| Biosphere | the portion of the earth that contains living species; includes the atmosphere, oceans, soils, and physical and biological cycles that affect them |
| Biotic | living things; plants, animals, protists, bacteria |
| Biotic potential | the maximum rate of population increase under ideal conditions |
| Carbon cycle | describes how carbon molecules, move between the living and nonliving world |
| Carnivore | an animal that feeds on the flesh of other animals |
| Carrying Capacity | largest number of individuals of a particular species that an ecosystem can support over time |
| Climate | the accumulation of weather events over a long period of time |
| Climax Community | a stable, self-perpetuating array of species in equilibrium with one another and their habitat |
| Cohort | a group of individuals born at the same time; ex: baby boomers |
| Commensalism | beneficial to one species but neutral to another |
