Ecology Lecture VOCABULARY Flashcards

A vocabulary-focused set of flashcards covering key ecology terms, concepts, and hierarchical structure as presented in the lecture notes.

Ecology

Scientific study of the interactions among organisms (including humans) and the environment.

Ecological hierarchy

Ecological systems exist in a hierarchy from individuals to the biosphere; each level is a subset of the next, with the individual often considered the fundamental unit.

Individual

A single organism; its physiological and behavioral traits influence its survival, growth, and reproduction.

Population

A group of individuals of the same species living in a given area; its size and growth can change over time.

Community

All the species that occur in a given area and the interactions among those species.

Ecosystem

A community plus its abiotic (non-living) environment, including energy flow and nutrient cycling.

Landscape

Geological features and regional climate that determine transitions between ecosystems.

Biosphere

The global sum of all ecosystems—the largest ecological level, with a major role in global processes like the carbon cycle.

Structure

The living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of an ecological system.

Function

How the structural components influence productivity, energy flow, decomposition, and nutrient cycling.

Change

How ecological interactions and systems change over time; drivers and consequences of those changes.

Adaptation

A heritable behavioral, morphological, or physiological trait that evolved over time by natural selection.

Life history

Pattern of growth, development, survival, and reproduction for a species.

Patterns

Regularities or trends in nature that ecologists seek to explain across time and space.

Disturbance

An event over a defined time period that causes changes in an ecological system.

Species interactions

Interactions among species that can be beneficial, harmful, or neutral.

Context dependence

Ecological patterns and interactions that change with varying conditions (resources, space, time, species).

Ecological inference

Using data to deduce underlying patterns, processes, or relationships not directly observable.

Translation

Communicating ecological findings to others, including non-specialists.

Predator

An organism that hunts and consumes other organisms.

Parasitoid

An organism whose life cycle involves development on or in a host and typically results in host death (e.g., braconid wasps).

Parasite

An organism that lives on or in a host and derives nutrients at the host’s expense, not always killing the host.

Herbivore

An organism that eats plants.

Habitat destruction

Loss or degradation of habitat, a major threat to biodiversity.

Pollution

Introduction of harmful substances into the environment.

Climate change

Long-term changes in climate that affect ecosystems, species distributions, and human societies.

Overharvesting

Excessive extraction of resources leading to declines in populations.