Vocabulary Review

1
Vocabulary Review

• Ch 18
• Ecology

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The study of the interactions between organisms
and the other living and nonliving components of
their environment
Ecology
3
The dependence of every organism on its
connections with other living and nonliving parts
of its environment
Interdependence
4
A model that represents or describes the
relationships between the components of an
ecological system
Ecological model
5
The part of the Earth where life exists includes
all of the living organisms on Earth
Biosphere
6
A community of organisms and their abiotic
environment
Ecosystem
7
A group of various species that live in the same
habitat and interact with each other
Community
8
A group of organisms of the same species that
live in a specific geographical area and
interbreed
Population
9
The place where an organism usually lives
Habitat
10
An environmental factor that is associated with
or results from the activities of living organisms
Biotic factor
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An environmental factor that is not associated
with the activities of living organisms
Abiotic factor
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A graph of the performance of an organism versus
the value of an environmental variable
Tolerance curve
13
An organisms change in response to a change in
the organisms environment
Acclimation
14
A state in which seeds, spores, bulbs, and other
reproductive organs stop growth and development
and reduce their metabolism, especially
respiration
Dormancy
15
In general, any movement of individuals or
populations from one location to another
specifically, a periodic group movement that is
characteristic of a given population or species
Migration
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The unique position occupied by a species, both
in terms of its physical use of its habitat and
its function within an ecological community
Niche
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An organism that can make organic molecules from
inorganic molecules a photosynthetic or
chemosynthetic autotroph that serves as the basic
food source in an ecosystem
Producer
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The production of carbohydrates through the use
of energy from inorganic molecules instead of
light
Chemosynthesis
19
The rate at which organic matter is assimilated
by plants and other producers during a period of
time over a certain area
Gross primary productivity
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Any organic material that has been produced in an
ecosystem
Biomass
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The rate at which biomass accumulates in an
ecosystem
Net primary productivity
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An organism that eats other organisms or organic
matter instead of producing its own nutrients or
obtaining nutrients from inorganic sources
Consumer
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An organism that eats only plants
Herbivore
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An organism that eats animals
Carnivore
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An organism that eats a variety of other
organisms, including animals and plants
Omnivore
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A consumer that feeds on dead organisms or on the
parts of wastes of other organisms
Detritivore
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An organism that feeds by breaking down organic
matter from dead organisms examples include
bacteria and fungi
Decomposer
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An organisms relative position in a sequence of
energy transfers in a food chain or food pyramid,
examples include producers and primary,
secondary, and teriary consumers
Trophic level
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The pathway of energy transfer through various
stages as a result of the feeding patterns of a
series of organisms
Food chain
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A diagram that shows the feeding relationships
among organisms in an ecosystem
Food web
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Cycle the circulation of substances through
living organisms from or to the environment
Biogeochemical cycle
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The water that is beneath the Earths surface
Groundwater
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The continuous movement of water between the
atmosphere, the land, and the oceans
Water Cycle
34
The process by which plants release water vapor
into the air through stomata also, the release
of water vapor into the air by other organisms
Transpiration
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The movement of carbon from the nonliving
environment into living things and back
Carbon cycle
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The process in which nitrogen circulates among
the air, soil, water, plants, and animals in an
ecosystem
Nitrogen cycle
37
The process by which gaseous nitrogen is
converted into nitrates, compounds that organisms
can use to make amino acids and other
nitrogen-containing organic molecules
Nitrogen fixation
38
A bacterium that converts atmospheric nitrogen
into ammonia
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
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The formation of ammonia compounds in the soil by
the action of bacteria on decaying matter
Ammonification
40
The process by which nitrites and nitrates are
produced by bacteria in the soil
Nitrification
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The liberation of nitrogen from
nitrogen-containing compounds by bacteria in the
soil
Denitrification
42
The cyclic movement of phosphorus in different
chemical forms from the environment to organisms
and then back to the environment
Phosphorus cycle