WP Biol 101 vocabulary: ecology

population

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

species

A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring.

community

All the different populations that live together in an area

ecosystem

A community of organisms and their abiotic environment

biosphere

Consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere.

biotic factor

Any living part of the environment with which an organism might interact

abiotic factor

physical, or nonliving, factor that shapes an ecosystem

secondary consumer

An organism that eats primary consumers

tertiary consumer

An organism that eats secondary consumers

primary consumer

An organism that eats producers

omnivore

A consumer that eats both plants and animals

detritivore

organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter

producer

An organism that can make its own food using energy from the sun.

algae

plantlike protists that produce food through photosynthesis using light energy and carbon dioxide

solar energy

energy that comes from the sun

plankton

Tiny algae and animals that float in water and are carried by waves and currents.

chemoautotroph

an organism, typically a bacterium, that derives energy from the oxidation of inorganic compounds.

heterotroph

organism that obtains energy from the foods it consumes; also called a consumer

autotroph

an organism that is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide.

coevolution

Process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other

interspecific competition

competition between members of different species

intraspecific competition

competition between members of the same species

predation

An interaction in which one organism kills another for food.

commensalism

A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected

parasitism

A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits and the other is harmed

herbivory

interaction in which one animal (the herbivore) feeds on producers (such as plants)

speciation

the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.

niche

An organism's particular role in an ecosystem, or how it makes its living.

resource partitioning

The division of environmental resources by coexisting species such that the niche of each species differs by one or more significant factors from the niches of all coexisting species

ecological succession

series of gradual changes that occur in a community following a disturbance

keystone species

a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.

density dependent limiting factor

limiting factor that depends on population density

density independent limiting factor

limiting factor that affects all populations in similar ways, regardless of population size

environmental resistance

All the limiting factors that tend to reduce population growth rates and set the maximum allowable population size or carrying capacity of an ecosystem

exponential population growth

Growth of a population in an ideal, unlimited environment, represented by a J-shaped curve when population size is plotted over time.

logistic population growth

A model describing population growth that levels off as population size approaches carrying capacity

population density

The number of individuals in an area of a specific size

carrying capacity

Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support

trophic level

Each step in a food chain or food web

primary succession

succession that occurs on surfaces where no soil exists

secondary succession

Succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil

trophic pyramid

A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels