Comprehensive Ecology and Biosphere Study Guide

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering ecosystem boundaries, species interactions, terrestrial biomes, and aquatic biomes.

Biotic Components

Living components that affect an organism and change or shape the environment, including dead factors.

Abiotic Components

Non-living factors that affect an organism and change or shape the environment, such as rainfall, temperatures, weather, and nutrients.

Community Ecology

The study of interactions among species.

Symbiosis

An interaction where two species live in a close and long-term association with one another in an ecosystem.

Intraspecific Competition

Competition for shared limited resources that occurs between individuals of the same species.

Interspecific Competition

Competition for shared limited resources that occurs between individuals of two different species.

Gause's Competitive Exclusion Principle

The concept that one species will have an advantage in catching prey over others, making them more likely to reproduce and grow.

Resource Partitioning

The division of an environment where species set boundaries to divide and share resources.

Parasitoid

An organism interaction where one animal grows an egg inside another host organism, consuming all its food and gaining shelter.

Parasitism

A relationship where parasite eggs live inside a host organism and then naturally leave, producing a negative effect on the host.

Herbivory

An interaction in which animals eat herbs and plants.

Mutualism

A species interaction in which both species benefit from their relationship.

Commensalism

An interaction that benefits one species without affecting the other.

Invasive Species

Species that disrupt the environment and reside in a place where they did not evolve.

Albedo

The percentage of incoming sunlight reflected by a surface, which averages $30\%$ for Earth.

Tundra

A cold and treeless biome with low-growing vegetation where the lower layer of soil remains frozen as permafrost.

Boreal Forest

A biome consisting mostly of coniferous evergreen trees that tolerate cold winters and short growing seasons.

Temperate Rainforest

A coastal mid-latitude biome with moderate temperatures, high precipitation, and large trees.

Temperate Seasonal Forest

A biome dominated by broadleaf deciduous trees, characterized by warm summers, cool winters, rapid decomposition, and fertile soil.

Tropical Rainforest

A warm, wet biome with little seasonal variation, high productivity, high biodiversity, and low soil fertility.

Chaparral

Also known as woodland/shrubland, a biome featuring hot, dry summers, mild rainy winters, and vegetation adapted to drought and fire.

Littoral Zone

The shallow layer of water and soil in lakes and ponds where light reaches the bottom and emergent rooted plants grow.

Limnetic Zone

The open water layer in lakes and ponds where floating algae reside and light penetrates as far as possible.

Profundal Zone

The deep water layer in lakes where sunlight cannot penetrate, leading to lower dissolved oxygen levels.

Aphotic Zone

The deeper layer of ocean water that lacks sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis, requiring energy production via chemosynthesis.

Lentic Ecosystem

A freshwater ecosystem consisting of slow-moving water, including pools, ponds, and lakes.

Lotic Ecosystem

A freshwater ecosystem consisting of rapidly-moving water, such as streams and rivers.

Anadromous Fish

Fish species that reproduce in freshwater but spend most of their adult lives in the sea, such as salmon and trout.