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Ecosystem
A community of living organisms interacting with the non-living components of their environment.
Organism
A living thing that can function on its own.
Species
Organisms that resemble each other, are similar in genetic makeup, and can interbreed to produce fertile offspring.
Population
Organisms of the same species that interact and occupy a specific area.
Community
A population of different species within a specific area.
Ecological Niche
A particular area occupied by an organism and its role in the ecological community.
Symbiosis
Close and long-term biological interaction between two different organisms.
Amensalism
An interaction where one species suffers and the other is unaffected.
Commensalism
An interaction where one organism benefits and the other is unaffected.
Intraspecific competition
Competition among individuals of the same species.
Interspecific competition
Competition between individuals of different species.
Mutualism
An interaction where both species benefit.
Parasitism
An interaction where one species benefits at the expense of another.
Predation
The act of one organism hunting and killing another for food.
Law of Tolerance
The existence and distribution of species depend on their tolerance to physical and chemical factors.
Limiting Factor
Any abiotic factor that limits the growth of a population.
Resource Partitioning
The process by which competing species use the same resource but in different ways to minimize competition.
Biomes
Major regional or global biotic communities characterized by dominant forms of plant life and prevailing climates.
Deserts
Regions defined by low rainfall (less than 20 inches per year), not by temperature.
Forests
Regions that cover about one-third of Earth's land surface and account for a large percentage of Earth’s gross primary productivity.
Grasslands
Ecosystems characterized by lands dominated by grasses rather than large shrubs or trees.
Tundra
Cold regions with low temperatures, little precipitation, and low biotic diversity.
Succulents
Plants with fleshy leaves or stems that store water to survive arid conditions.
Photosynthesis
The process by which plants use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.
Trophic Level
The position an organism occupies in a food chain.
Energy Flow
The transfer of energy from one trophic level to another in an ecosystem.
Biomagnification
The increasing concentration of a substance in the tissues of organisms at successively higher trophic levels.
Endangered Species
Species at a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
Biodiversity
The variability among species, between species, and of ecosystems.
Sustainable Development
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Aquifer
A geologic formation that contains water in quantities sufficient to support a well or spring.
Hydrologic Cycle
The continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth.
Thermal Pollution
The degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature.
Urban Sprawl
The expansion of human populations away from central urban areas into low-density, car-dependent communities.
Pollution
The introduction of contaminants into the environment that cause adverse change.
Air Quality Index (AQI)
A measurement used to communicate how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become.
El Niño
A climate pattern characterized by the warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific, leading to significant weather changes globally.
La Niña
A climate pattern that describes the cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific, often resulting in opposite weather patterns to El Niño.
