Printable Ecology Vocabulary Practice flash cards
37 words
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| autotroph |
organism capable of self-nourishment which uses photosynthesis or chemosynthesis for energy |
| biomass |
amount of living matter in a given habitat |
| biomes |
biotic community of plant and animal species maintained under regional climatic conditions |
| biosphere |
ecosystem comprising the entire earth and the living organisms that inhabit it |
| camouflage |
device used for concealment |
| carrying capacity |
number of organisms of particular species that can be supported indefinitely in a given environment |
| climax community |
stable community in a successive series which reached equilibrium after having evolved and adapted |
| commensalism |
relation in which one organism obtains benefits from another without damaging it |
| community |
assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area |
| competitive exclusion |
principle saying two species that compete for the same resources cannot coexist |
| consumers |
organism, usually an animal, that feeds on plants or other animals |
| decomposer |
organism, usually a bacterium or fungus, that breaks down the cells of dead plants and animals |
| density dependent |
size regulation of a population by mechanisms that are controlled by the size of that population |
| density independent |
external limiting events and influences that affect the growth of a population, |
| desert |
arid region with little rainfall that supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation |
| ecosystem |
system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment |
| environment |
air, water, minerals, organisms, and other external factors surrounding an organism |
| food chain |
organisms interrelated in their feeding habits, the smallest being fed upon by a larger one |
| food pyramid |
successive levels of predation in a food chain with decreasing numbers of larger predators |
| food web |
series of organisms related by predator-prey and consumer-resource interactions |
| forest |
large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush |
| habitat |
natural environment of an organism |
| heterotroph |
organism requiring organic compounds for its principal source of food |
| mimicry |
close external resemblance of an organism to some different organism |
| mutualism |
relationship between two species of organisms in which both benefit from the association |
| natural selection |
process by which life forms that adapt to environmental pressures tend to survive and reproduce |
| niche |
function of an organism in a community of plants and animals. |
| nitrogen |
a colorless, odorless, gaseous element present in combined form in animal and vegetable tissues |
| organism |
life form composed of mutually interdependent parts that maintain various vital processes |
| parasitism |
relationship between organisms in which one lives off another |
| population |
assemblage of a specific type of organism living in a given area |
| population curb |
factors which restrict population |
| population growth |
increase in the number of people who inhabit a territory |
| prairie |
extensive slightly undulating tract of land |
| predation |
relation between animals in which one organism captures and feeds on others |
| primary consumer |
in the food chain, an animal that feeds on plants |
| producers |
an organism that is able to produce its own food from inorganic substances |
| autotroph |
organism capable of self-nourishment which uses photosynthesis or chemosynthesis for energy |
| biomass |
amount of living matter in a given habitat |
| biomes |
biotic community of plant and animal species maintained under regional climatic conditions |
| biosphere |
ecosystem comprising the entire earth and the living organisms that inhabit it |
| camouflage |
device used for concealment |
| carrying capacity |
number of organisms of particular species that can be supported indefinitely in a given environment |
| climax community |
stable community in a successive series which reached equilibrium after having evolved and adapted |
| commensalism |
relation in which one organism obtains benefits from another without damaging it |
| community |
assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area |
| competitive exclusion |
principle saying two species that compete for the same resources cannot coexist |
| consumers |
organism, usually an animal, that feeds on plants or other animals |
| decomposer |
organism, usually a bacterium or fungus, that breaks down the cells of dead plants and animals |
| density dependent |
size regulation of a population by mechanisms that are controlled by the size of that population |
| density independent |
external limiting events and influences that affect the growth of a population, |
| desert |
arid region with little rainfall that supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation |
| ecosystem |
system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment |
| environment |
air, water, minerals, organisms, and other external factors surrounding an organism |
| food chain |
organisms interrelated in their feeding habits, the smallest being fed upon by a larger one |
| food pyramid |
successive levels of predation in a food chain with decreasing numbers of larger predators |
| food web |
series of organisms related by predator-prey and consumer-resource interactions |
| forest |
large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush |
| habitat |
natural environment of an organism |
| heterotroph |
organism requiring organic compounds for its principal source of food |
| mimicry |
close external resemblance of an organism to some different organism |
| mutualism |
relationship between two species of organisms in which both benefit from the association |
| natural selection |
process by which life forms that adapt to environmental pressures tend to survive and reproduce |
| niche |
function of an organism in a community of plants and animals. |
| nitrogen |
a colorless, odorless, gaseous element present in combined form in animal and vegetable tissues |
| organism |
life form composed of mutually interdependent parts that maintain various vital processes |
| parasitism |
relationship between organisms in which one lives off another |
| population |
assemblage of a specific type of organism living in a given area |
| population curb |
factors which restrict population |
| population growth |
increase in the number of people who inhabit a territory |
| prairie |
extensive slightly undulating tract of land |
| predation |
relation between animals in which one organism captures and feeds on others |
| primary consumer |
in the food chain, an animal that feeds on plants |
| producers |
an organism that is able to produce its own food from inorganic substances |
