ecology

ecology

the study of interactions between living things and between organisms and their environment

biosphere

that part of the planet containing living organisms

ecosystem

a group of clearly distinguished organisms that interact with their environment as a unit

community

all the different populations in an area

biodiversity

the variety of life that exists in a specified area

producers

organisms that carry out photosynthesis

consumers

organisms that take in food from another organism

primary consumers

herbivores (plants) decomposers (dead organic matter)

secondary consumers

feed on primary consumers

carnivores (animals) and scavengers (animals killed by other sources)

tertiary consumers

feed on secondary consumers

food chain

sequence of organisms showing the transfer of energy from one organism to the next (energy flow)

trophic level

feeding stage in food chain

length of food chain

limited by loss of 90% energy at each trophic level

food web

two or more interlinked food chains

pyramid of numbers

the number of organisms at each trophic level

niche

functional role of an organism in an ecosystem

species diversity index

Ds=1-( (En(n-1) / N(N-1) )

biomass

total mads if all the organism in an area

j shaped population curve

an environment with unlimited resources

s shaped population curve

environment where resources are scarce