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| The study of the interactions among and between organisms in their abiotic environment. |
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| A group of organisms of the same species that live together in the same area in the same time. |
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| A natural association that consists of all the populations of different species that live and interact within an area at the same time. |
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| A community in addition to its physical environment. |
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| A group of similar organisms whose members interbreed in the wild to produce fertile offspring. |
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| Several interacting ecosystems in a heterogeneous region. |
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| The layer of earth containing all living organisms - combination of all landscapes. |
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| Atom - Molecule - Cell - Tissue - Organ - Organ Systems - Body - Organism - Population - Community - Ecosystem - Landscape - Biosphere |
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| Any relationship/association between members of different species. Includes Ammensalism, commensalism, mutualism... |
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| The independent evolution of two interacting species, i.e flowering plants and animal pollinators |
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| A symbiotic relationship in which both partners benefit i.e rhizobium and legumes; zooxanthellae and corals. |
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| Symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped i.e silverfish and army ants |
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| A symbiotic relationship in which the parasite obtains nourishment from the host, but does not kill the host. |
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| The consumption of one species by another. Predator consumes prey, of course |
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| A parasite that causes disease and sometimes death in the host. |
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| The organism that the parasite latches onto. |
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| Mutualistic associations between the plant roots and fungi - fungi absorbs phosphorous while plant provides carbohydrates. |
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| A grassland with hot summers, cold winters, and rainfall = 25-75cm. Nutrient minerals below topsoil; considerable organic material. |
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| Temperate environments with mild winters, abundant rainfall and dry summers. |
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| A biome with mild and moist winters and hot, dry summers. Vegetation is small-leaved evergreen shrubs and small trees. |
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| A category of aquatic organisms that are larger, more strongly swimming organisms such as fishes, turtles, and whales. |
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| A category of aquatic ecosystems that are bottom-dwelling that fix themselves to one spot, burrow into the sand, or walk about the bottom. i.e oysters, sponges, barnacles, worms, clams, crawfish, insect larvae. |
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| A freshwater ecosystem in which water flows in a current. i.e rivers and streams. |
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| Cool, shallow, swiftly-flowing and highly oxygenated streams that are usually sources of a river. |
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| Population explosions of algal and cyanobacterial populations in the fall and the spring, caused by the sudden presence of large amounts of essential nutrient minerals in surface waters. |
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| Lands that shallow freshwater covers for at least part of the year. Characteristically organic material-rich soils and water-tolerant vegetation. |
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| A coastal body of water partly surrounded by land with access to the open ocean and a large supply of fresh river-water. |
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| Three main zones: intertidial zone, benthic zone, pelagic zone. Pelagic = neritic and oceanic provinces |
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| High levels of light and nutrients with lots of oxygen (highly productive); action-packed zone. |
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| Benthic environment from 4000 to 6000 meters |
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| Benthic environment from 6000m to the bottom. |
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| Flowering plants adapted to complete submersion in salty ocean water. Occur in shallow water where photosynthetic productivity = high |
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| 'Hardships' or basically environmental conditions such as drought and high soil temperatures. Better tolerated in presence of mycorrhizae. |
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| Smaller plants such as mosses, orchids and ferns that remain attached to the bark of the tree's branches. Example of commensalism. |
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| Diversion of habitats that formerly occupied large, unbroken areas into smaller areas by land-transforming activities such as roads, fields or urbanization. |
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| Bright colors on an organism's body that conspicuously marks it as poisonous or dangerous. i.e Poison arrow frog |
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| The method of blending into the surroundings that some organisms have to prevent untimely predation. i.e pygmy seahorse |
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| Interaction b/w organisms that vie for the same resources in an ecosystem. |
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| Intraspecific Competition |
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| Competition among individuals in a population |
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| Interspecific Competition |
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| Competition between different species. |
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| Totality of organism's adaptations, use of resources, and lifestyle. |
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| Potential, idealized ecological niche of an organism. |
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| Lifestyle and resources that an organism actually pursues. |
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| Any environmental resource that (due to scarcity) restricts the ecological niche of an organism |
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| Principle by GF Gause that states that no two species may occupy the same niche because one species will outcompete the other. |
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| Coexisting species' niches differ from one another in one or more ways to accommodate the same lifestyle e.g North American warblers in different parts of the tree |
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| A species (often predatorial) that exerts a profound influence on a community in excess of that expected by its relative abundance. Simple words = you take this one out and a bunch of other species become scarce. e.g wolves |
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| A biome in which lack of precipitation limits plant growth; found in temperate and sub-tropical regions. Rain: ;ess than 25 cm; arid with extreme fluctuations of hot/cold |
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| Tropical grassland with scattered trees or clumps of trees. Low/seasonal rain; soil low in essential nutrients. |
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| Lush, species-rich forest biome where the climate is moist + warm |
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| Elevation-latitude phenomena that occurs with change in biomes when you climb up a mountain. Polar - Arctic tundra - Boreal Forest- Temp Forest and Snow - Alpine Tundra - Subalpine Coniferous - Deciduous |
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| Body of freshwater surrounded by land and does not flow; lake/pond |
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| Shallow water area on shore of lake/pond where light reaches the bottom. Emergent vegetation and deeper-dwelling aquatic plants/algae. |
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| Open water that is away from the shore. Less vegetation but photosynthesis as far as the sun allows |
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| Deepest zone with rare life. Mineral-rich and anaerobic. |
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| Shallow wetlands dominated by salt-tolerant grasses. Contained in temperate estuaries. |
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| Tropical equivalent of salt marshes that cover 70% of tropical coastlines |
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| Largest and most productive estuary in the US. |
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| Largest brown algae that reach depths of 60m. Common in cooler marine temperatures. Primary photosynthetic producers, abundant in shallow waters. |
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| Built from accumulated CACO3 and found in warm, shallow sea water. Partly composed of red coralline algae. |
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| Symbiotic algae that live and photosynthesize in the tissues of animals that live in coral reefs. |
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| Most common type of coral reef in which shore is attached to shore of volcanic island/continent and has no lagoon. |
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| Circular coral reef that surrounds a central lagoon of quiet water. Forms on top of the cone of submerged volcanic island. |
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| The number of different species in a community determined by isolation, dominance, abundance of niches, closeness to adjacent communities, habitat stress, geological history. |
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| Transitional zone where two or more communities meet. |
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| Effect obtained when all or most ecological niches of adjacent communities as well as niches unique to ecotones occur in ecotones. |
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| Important environmental benefits such as clean air, water, and fertile soils, provided by ecosystems. |
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| Ability of community to withstand environmental disturbances. |
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| Large and relatively distinct terrestrial region with similar climate, soil, plants, and animals. |
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| The average of all the weather conditions over a period of time. |
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| Treeless biome in far north that consists of boggy plains covered by lichens and and mosses. Harsh, very cold winters with short summers. |
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| Layer of permanently frozen ground that can very in depth and thickness. Found in Tundra biomes. |
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| The existence of phtosynthetic organisms; usually the base of the food chain. |
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| Also called boreal forest; cold and severe winters with acidic and nutrient-poor soil. |
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| Region of coniferous forest in NE hemisphere, south of Tundra |
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| Coniferous biome with cool weather, dense fog, and high precipitation. |
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| Single-species agriculture. |
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| Temperate Deciduous Forest |
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| Forest biome in temperate areas with modest rainfall. Topsoil rich in organic matter, clay lower layer, broad-leaved hardwood trees, lose foliage annually. |
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| Filter below or permeate quickly |
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| Concentration of dissolved salts such as NaCl in a body of water. |
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| Free-floating photosynthetic algae and cyanobacteria that form the base of food webs. |
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| Non-photosynthetic protozoa and larvae. |
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| Microscopic organisms capable of vertical migration. |
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| The temperature changes sharply with depth in temperate lakes - this is called T.S. |
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| In the summer, cooler and denser water remains at the bottom of the lake separated from warm, less dense water above by THIS abrupt temperature transition. |
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| Cooling and sinking of water to attain uniform temperature that occurs due to falling temperature in autumn. |
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| Surface water sinks and bottom water rises to mix when the ice melts during a 'turnover' or water during spring. |
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| A literal barrier in the form of a reef that separates lagoon from the sea. Largest: Great Barrier Reef in Australia |
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| Part of pelagic environment that overlies the ocean floor from the shoreline to a depth of 200m. |
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| Comprises of the upper reaches of the pelagic environment. Phytoplankton - Zooplankton - Nekton - Carnivorous Nekton |
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| Overlies the ocean floor at depths greater than 200m. Largest marine environment. Cold, no sun, high hydrostatic pressure. |
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| Organic debris that drifts down from upper and lighted regions of oceanic province. Benefits organisms of oceanic province. |
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| Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan |
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| Plan to supply clean water to Everglades and south Florida by (a)reduced phosphorous from runoff bc sugar farmers will clean it up (b)Marshes to clean runoff (c)Re-engineered canals, levees, pumps to restore natural flow of water. |
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