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Campbell Biology Chapter 50
Introduction to Ecology
34
Biology
Undergraduate 2
02/13/2008

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Term
Ecology
Definition
The study of how organisms interact with their environment.
Term
Biota
Definition
All the organisms that are part of an ecosystem.
Term
Abiotic
Definition
Nonliving
Term
Biotic
Definition
Living
Term
Distribution
Definition
Geographic range of an ecological factor.
Term
Abundance
Definition
The evenness of distribution of individuals among species in a community.
Term
Organismal Biology
Definition
The branch of ecology concerned with the morphological, physiological, and behavioral ways in which individual organisms meet the challenges posed by their biotic and abiotic environments. May be divided into behavioral ecology, physiological ecology, and evolutionary ecology.
Term
Population
Definition
A localized group of individuals that belong to the same biological species (that are capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring).
Term
Population Ecology
Definition
The study of populations in relation to the environment, including environmental influences on population density and distribution, age structure, and variations in population size.
Term
Community
Definition
All the organisms that inhabit a particular area; an assemblage of populations of different species living close enough together for potential interaction.
Term
Community Ecology
Definition
The study of how interactions between species affect community structure and organization.
Term
Ecosystem
Definition
All the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact; a community and its physical environment.
Term
Ecosystem Ecology
Definition
The study of energy flow and the cycling of chemicals among the various biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem.
Term
Landscape Ecology
Definition
The study of past, present, and future patterns of landscape use, as well as ecosystem management and the biodiversity of interacting ecosystems. Focuses on the factors controlling exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms among the ecosystem patches making up a landscape or seascape.
Term
Patchiness
Definition
Localized variation in environmental conditions within an ecosystem, arranged spatially into a complex of discrete areas that may be characterized by distinctive groups of species or ecosystem processes.
Term
Biosphere
Definition
The entire portion of Earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet′s ecosystems.
Term
Precautionary Principle
Definition
A guiding principle in making decisions about the environment, cautioning to consider carefully the potential consequences of actions: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Term
Dispersal
Definition
The distribution of individuals within geographic population boundaries.
Term
Biotic Factors
Definition
Anything that affects a living organism that is itself alive. Ex) predation and herbivory; the presence or absence of food resources; parasites; diseases; and competing organisms.
Term
Abiotic Factors
Definition
Non-living physical and chemical factors which affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce. Ex)temperature; sunlight; water; wind; pollutants; pH; rocks and soil.
Term
Climate
Definition
The prevailing weather conditions in a particular area; affected by temperature, wind, water and sunlight.
Term
Macroclimate
Definition
Climate patterns on the global, regional and local level.
Term
Microclimate
Definition
Very fine climate patterns, such as those encountered by the community of organisms underneath a fallen log.
Term
Turnover
Definition
The semi-annual mixing of waters as a result of changing water–temperature profiles in a lake.
Term
Biomes
Definition
Major types of ecological associations that occupy broad geographic regions of land or water.
Term
Photic Zone
Definition
The narrow top slice of oceans or lakes, where light permeates sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur.
Term
Aphotic Zone
Definition
The part of oceans and lakes beneath the photic zone, where light does not penetrate sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur.
Term
Benthic Zone
Definition
The bottomof aquatic biomes which is occupied by communities of organisms called benthos.
Term
Benthos
Definition
The communities of organisms living in the benthic zone of an aquatic biome.
Term
Detritus
Definition
Dead organic matter.
Term
Thermocline
Definition
A narrow stratum of rapid temperature change in the ocean and in many temperate–zone lakes that separates the more uniformly warm upper layer from more uniformly cold deeper waters.
Term
Climograph
Definition
A plot of the temperature and precipitation in a particular region.
Term
Canopy
Definition
The uppermost layer of vegetation in a terrestrial biome.
Term
Ecotone
Definition
The transition from one type of habitat or ecosystem to another, such as the transition from a forest to a grassland.
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