AP ES Ecology Terms

Ecosystem

A group of organisms interacting with each other and their abiotic environment (forest with deer, birds, butterflies, rocks, soil, etc; smaller than biome, larger than community)

Biome

A group of ecological areas with particular flora and fauna, determined by the areas’ climate (tropical rainforests, grasslands, etc; smaller than biosphere, larger than ecosystem)

Community

A group of different species of organisms that coexist and interact in the same geographical area at the same time (the animals and plants that live in a forest; smaller than an ecosystem, larger than a population)

Population

A group of an individual species that live within a specific geographical area at a given time (a species of deer or a species of shrubbery that live within a forest; larger than an individual, smaller than a community)

Species

A group of individual organisms with the same/similar characteristics and which are capable of breeding with each other (dogs; similar and/or the same traits, all capable of breeding together)

Abiotic Factors

The non-living physical components of an ecosystem (the sun, wind, soil, temperature, rain, etc.)

Biotic Factors

The living or once-living components of an ecosystem that interact and influence each other (producers: plants; consumers: animal; decomposers: bacteria and fungi; along with insects, parasites, and pathogens)

Organic

Deriving from living matter (plants, animals, fungi)

Inorganic

That which does not come from living or once-living organisms (water, salt, metals, etc.)

Niche

A specific role, trait, or behavior fulfilled by an organism within an ecosystem (an organism’s food source, habitat, environmental needs, and interactions)

Habitat

The natural home or environment of a specific organism (a forest is the habitat of deer, wolves, bugs, ivy, etc.)

Producers

An organism which makes its own food from inorganic matter like sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide (trees, algae)

Consumers

Organisms that obtain their energy/food from feeding on other organisms (rabbits, wolves, humans)

Autotrophs

An organism which makes its own food from inorganic matter like sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide (trees, algae)

Heterotroph

Organisms that obtain their energy/food from feeding on other organisms (rabbits, wolves, humans)

Carnivores

Organisms that feed on the flesh of animals (wolves, lions, snakes)

Herbivores

Animals which consume plants as their sole source of food (cows, sheep, goats)

Omnivores

Animals which feed on both plants and the flesh of other animals as their means of energy (humans, bears, raccoons)

Detritivore

An animal which feeds on dead organic matter (crabs, earthworms, millipedes)

Decomposer

An organism which feeds on and breaks down dead organic matter, recycling it in the ecological cycle of life (bacteria, fungi, worms)

Scavenger

An animal which feeds on leftover dead organic matter (vultures, flies, crabs)

Predator

An organism which obtains food through killing and eating other organisms (Lions, wolves, spiders)

Nekton

Aquatic animals with the ability of independent movement within water (fish, whales, octopi)

Neuston

Small organisms which float in the surface film of water (whirligig beetle, blue sea dragon, waterstrider)

Benthos

Organisms which live on the floor of a body of water (coral, clams, crabs)

Plankton

The free-floating organisms in a body of water (microscopic krill, single-celled algae)

Phytoplankton

Plant-like, autotrophic organisms which float through aquatic environments (Diatoms, green algae)

Zooplankton

Freely floating aquatic animals including the immature stages of larger animals (protozoans, krill, fish larvae/eggs)

Macroinvertebrates

Relatively large, spineless animals which come from water, visible to the naked eye (crabs, lobsters, clams, sea snails)

Aerobic

(Of an environment) containing and/or (of organisms) using oxygen for survival (most animals, plants, fungi, bacteria)

Anaerobic

(Of an environment) not containing oxygen and/or (of an organism) not requiring or using oxygen for survival (many bacterias, some worms, some fungi)

Photosynthesis

The process by which autotrophic organisms produce food for themselves from carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight

Respiration

The process by which most organisms intake oxygen and water to break down sugars in order to produce energy necessary for survival