Biology Diversity and Interdependence of Life

Ecosystem

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

carrying capacity

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

interspecies competition

competition between different species

intraspecific competition

competition between members of the same species

Immigration

Movement of individuals into a population

Emmigration

movement of individuals out of a population

classification system

process by which scientists group living organisms

Taxonomy

The scientific study of how living things are classified

molecular sequence data

data to analyze the genetic material of organisms

morphological species concept

characterizes a species by body shape and other structural features

Biodiversity

the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

Cladogram

Diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms

Biomagnification

The increase in chemical concentration in animal tissues as the chemical moves up the food chain

flow of energy

The transfer of energy through an ecosystem from the sun (usually) to producers, to herbivores, to carnivores, and ultimately to decomposers. In the end, all of the energy that originally reached earth from the sun dissipates into the atmosphere and outer space as heat. Energy cannot be recycled, and life on earth depends on constant influx of energy from the sun to replace what is lost.

cycles of matter

Matter is recycled within and between ecosystems

biogeochemical cycle

process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another

Homeostasis

process by which organisms maintain a relatively stable internal environment

exponential growth model

growth model that estimates a population's future size after a period of time based on the intrinsic growth rate and the number of reproducing individuals currently in the population

logistic growth model

a growth model that describes a population whose growth is initially exponential, but slows as the population approaches the carrying capacity of the environment

population growth rate

the number of offspring an individual can produce in a given time period, minus the deaths of the individual or its offspring during the same period