Biology PHall Red - Chapter 04 Ecosystems & Communities

Weather

This is the day-to-day condition of the atmosphere.

Climate

This is the year-to-year patterns of temperature and precipitation.

Microclimates

These are environmental conditions that can vary over very small distances.

Greenhouse Effect

This is the process by which certain gases trap sunlight energy in Earth's atmosphere as heat.

Methane

This gas (CH4) is the most potent of the greenhouse gases.

Latitude

This is the distance (north or south) from the equator.

Tropical Zone

Straddling the equator, this zone is characterized by direct sunlight all year.

Temperate Zones

Between 23-66 degrees latitude (north and south) these zones receive less direct sunlight through the year.

Polar Zones

Between 66-90 degrees latitude (north and south) these zones can either receive constant sunlight or zero sunlight depending on the season.

23 Degrees

This is the angle of tilt to Earth's axis of rotation.

Tolerance

This is an organisms ability to survive and reproduce under a range of environmental conditions.

Habitat

This is the place where an organism lives.

Niche

This is how an organism lives in its habitat.

Resource

This word is used to identify any necessity of life.

Competition

The result of two different species trying to use the same resource in the same place at the same time.

Competitive Exclusion Principle

States that no two species can occupy the same niche in the same place at the same time. One will win and the other will be excluded.

Predation

This is an interaction in which one animal captures, kills and consumes another animal for food.

Herbivory

This is an interaction in which one animal feeds on plants.

Keystone Species

A single species that is usually not abundant in an ecosystem, but has a very powerful effect on that ecosystem.

Symbiosis

This term is used to identify a number of different ways in which different species live together.

Mutualism

This type of symbiotic relationship is characterized by benefits to both species involved.

Commensalism

This type of symbiotic relationship is characterized by one species benefitting and the other receiving neither help or harm.

Parasitism

This type of symbiotic relationship is characterized by one species benefitting and the other being harmed.

Ecological Succession

This term identifies a series of predictable changes that occur in a community over time..

Primary Succession

This occurs when succession occurs in a place where no trace of the previous community is present.

Secondary Succession

This occurs when succession occurs in a place that was only partially destroyed by a disturbance.

Pioneer Species

These are the first organisms to populate new areas during succession.

Biomes

These are large regions of the Earth that are characterized by similar climates and similar life forms.

Photic Zone

This portion of an aquatic ecosystem receives enough sunlight for photosynthesis.

Aphotic Zone

This portion of an aquatic ecosystem does not receive enough sunlight to support photosynthesis.

Benthos

This term identifies organisms that live at the bottom of aquatic ecosystems.

Plankton

This general term includes all tiny, free-floating organisms that live in aquatic ecosystems.

Wetland

This is the name for an ecosystem in which water covers the soil, or is present near the surface for at least part of the year.

Estuary

This is a special kind of wetland where a freshwater river flows into saltwater.

Open Ocean

This region of an ocean is far offshore.

Coastal Ocean

This region of an ocean is close to shore and above a continental shelf.

Intertidal Zone

This region of the ocean is covered by water at high tide, but uncovered at low tide.

Benthic Zone

This region of the ocean contains the bottom (the ground) under the water.