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Ecology
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Ecology | Study of the interaction of organisms and their environment |
Biosphere | The part of the planet containing living organisms |
Ecosystem | A group of clearly distinguished organisms that interact with their environment as a unit |
Habitat | Place where plants or animals live |
Population | All the members of the same species living in an area |
Community | All the different populations in an area |
Abiotic factors | Non-living factors |
Biotic factors | Living factors |
Climate factors | Weather over a long period of time |
Edaphic factors | Relate to soil |
Flora | All the plants in the ecosystem |
Fauna | All the animals in the ecosystem |
Producers | Organisms that carry out photosynthesis |
Consumers | Organisms that take food from other organisms |
Decomposers | Organisms that feed on dead organic matter |
Detritus feeders | Organisms that feed on small pieces of dead organic matter |
Trophic level | Feeding stages in a food chain |
Grazing food chain | A sequence of organisms in which each one is eaten by the next member in the food chain |
Food web | Consists of two or more interlinked food chains |
Pyramid of numbers | Represents the number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain |
Niche | The functional rode an organism plays in its community |
Nutrient recycling | The way in which elements are exchanged between the living and non-living components of an ecosystem |
Pollution | Any harmful additions to the environment |
Pollutants | Harmful additions to the environment |
Conservation | The wise management of existing natural resources in an ecosystem, in order to maintain a wide range of habitats and prevent the death and extinction of organisms |