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| a process that favours the survival of organisms with traits that make them better adapted to the environment; tends to eliminate those individuals that are poorly adapted |
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| the overall role of an organism in a community, including the range of biotic and abiotic conditions that the organism can tolerate |
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| refers to the first species to arrive and colonize a new environment; over time, the presence of the pioneer species changes the environment, creating acceptable conditions for other species |
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| the biome characterized by the presence of permanent ice and the absence of significant terrestrial vegetation; occurs at the North and South Poles |
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| a measure of the available energy provided by the producers in an ecosystem |
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| one of two types of ecological succession; the occupation by plant life of an area not previously covered by vegetation |
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| increase in numbers of individuals with new adaptive traits resulting from natural selection; populations with the new adaptations will proliferate until further selective pressure leads to further adaptations |
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| partitioning a process that reduces or eliminates competition for similar resources by individuals of different species; species develop adaptations that allow them to occupy different non-overlapping ecological niches and partition available resources |
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| a tropical grassland biome; of all the biomes, savannas support the greatest number and variety of large herbivores |
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| one of two types of succession; the occupation by plant life in an area that was previously covered by vegetation but where there has been a significant disturbance such as fire, flooding, landslides, or forest harvesting |
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