Ecology Lecture Review

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the organization of life, energy flow, population dynamics, and nutrient cycles based on the lecture transcript.

Population

A group of individuals belonging to the same species living in the same area.

Community

All the different populations of various species that live and interact in the same area.

Biotic factors

Living components of an environment, such as plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria.

Abiotic factors

Non-living components of an environment, including sunlight, water, soil, minerals, and temperature.

Photoautotrophs

Organisms that use sunlight to make food through photosynthesis.

Chemoautotrophs

Organisms that use chemical energy from inorganic substances to make food.

Herbivores

Heterotrophs that eat only plants.

Carnivores

Heterotrophs that eat only animals or meat.

Omnivores

Heterotrophs that eat both plants and animals.

Detritivores and Decomposers

Organisms that break down dead organic matter.

Food chain

A single, linear path showing who eats whom in an ecosystem.

Food web

A complex network of many interconnected food chains showing that most organisms eat more than one type of food.

Primary Producers

Organisms at the very start of a food web that create their own energy.

Primary Consumers

Typically herbivores, these are the organisms that eat the producers.

Secondary consumers

Predators that eat the primary consumers.

Tertiary consumers

Predators that eat secondary consumers.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship where both species benefit from the relationship.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship where one species benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship where one species benefits while the other is harmed.

Interspecific Competition

Competition that occurs between members of different species that require the same limited resources.

Intraspecific Competition

Competition that occurs between members of the same species sharing the exact same niche.

Population density

The number of individuals per unit of area.

Exponential population growth

Growth characterized by a J-shaped curve, occurring under conditions of unlimited resources and a constant growth rate.

Logistic population growth

Growth characterized by an S-shaped curve that levels off when the population reaches the carrying capacity.

Carrying capacity

The maximum population size that a particular environment can sustain long-term based on available resources.

Exponential phase

A phase of logistic growth featuring rapid growth when resources are still plenty.

Stationary phase

A phase of logistic growth where the growth rate becomes zero as the birth rate equals the death rate.

Lag phase

The initial phase of logistic growth characterized by slow growth.

Density-Dependent Factors

Limiting factors that affect a population based on its size, usually involving interactions like competition, predation, and disease.

Density-Independent Factors

Limiting factors that affect a population's size regardless of how many individuals are present, such as natural disasters and climate.

Lithosphere

The largest storage of carbon, found in limestone and fossil fuel deposits.

Biodiversity

The vast variety of life on earth, from small bacteria and genetic codes to entire complex ecosystems.

Invasive species

An organism that is not native to a specific location and spreads to a degree that causes damage to the environment, economy, or human health.

Assimilation

The process in the nitrogen cycle where plants absorb fixed nitrogen from the soil and incorporate it into their own tissues.