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Definition
| A nonliving component of an ecosystem, such as air, water, or temperature. |
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| The part of an ecosystem where a chemical, such as carbon or nitrogen accumulates or is stockpiled outside of living organisms. |
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| The relative number or individuals of each age in a population. |
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| The region of an aquatic ecosystem beneath the photic zone, where light does not penetrate enough for photosynthesis to take place. |
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| The bottom surface of an aquatic environment. |
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| Any of the various circuits that involve both biotic and abiotic components of an organism. |
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| The intentional release of a natural enemy to attack a pest population. |
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Definition
| The amount, or mass, of organic material in an ecosystem. |
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| Major types of ecological associations that occupy broad geographic regions of land of water and are characterized by organisms attracted to the particular environments. |
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| The entire population of Earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet's ecosystems. |
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| Biotic Components/Factors |
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Definition
| A living component of a biological community; an organism, or factor pertaining to one or more organisms. |
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Definition
| In a population, the number of individuals that an environment can sustain. |
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| A biome dictated by spiny evergreen shrubs adapted to periodic drought and fires; found where cold ocean currents circulate offshore, creating mild, rainy winters and long, hot, dry summers. |
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Definition
| The use and reuse of chemical elements such as carbon within an ecosystem. |
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Definition
| Describing a dispersion pattern in which individuals are aggregated in patches. |
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Definition
| Evolutionary change in which adaptations in one species act as a selective force on a second species, inducing adaptations that in turn act as a selective force on the first species; mutual influence on the evolution of two different interacting species. |
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Definition
| An assemblage of all the organisms living together and potentially interacting in a particular area. |
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| A biome characterized by conifers, cone-bearing evergreen trees. |
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| The submerged part of a continent. |
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| Prokaryotes and fungi that excrete enzymes that digest nutrients from organic material and convert them into inorganic forms. |
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Definition
| The breakdown of organic materials into organic ones. |
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Definition
| A shift from zero population growth in which birth rates and death rates are high to zero population growth in which birth rates and death rates are low. |
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Definition
| Referring to a decline in birth rates or a rise in death rates in response to an increase in the number or individuals living in a designated area. |
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Definition
| A biome characterized by organisms adapted to sparse rainfall (less than 30 cm per year) and rapid evaporation. |
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| The conversion of semi-arid regions to desert. |
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Definition
| An organism that consumes organic wastes and dead organisms. |
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Definition
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| The manner in which individuals in a population are spaced within their area. Three types of dispersion patters are clumped, uniform, and random. |
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Definition
| In ecology, a force that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it. |
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| An area of calm or very light winds near the equator, caused by rising warm air. |
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Definition
| A method of using multiple constraints, including food, fuel, water, housing, and waste deposits, to estimate the human carrying capacity of the Earth. |
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Definition
| The role of a species in its community; the sum total of a species use of the biotic and abiotic resources of its environment. |
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| The process of biological community change resulting from disturbance; transition in the species composition of a biological community, often following a flood, fire, or volcanic eruption. |
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Definition
| The scientific study of how organisms interact with their environments. |
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Definition
| All the organisms in a given area, along with the abiotic factors with which they interact; a biological community and its physical environment. |
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| The area where a freshwater river or stream merges with the ocean. |
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Definition
| A mathematical description of idealized, unregulated population growth. |
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Definition
| A sequence of food transfers from producers through 1-4 levels of consumers in an ecosystem. |
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| A network of interconnecting food chains. |
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Definition
| A place where an organism lives; and environment situation in which an organism lives. |
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Definition
| Consumption of plant parts or algae by an animal. |
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Term
| Interspecific Interaction |
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Definition
| Relationships among individuals of different species in a community. |
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Definition
| A shallow zone where the waters of an estuary or ocean meet land. |
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Definition
| Non-native species the spread beyond the original point of introduction and cause environmental or economic damage. |
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Definition
| The concept that in certain populations, life history in centered around producing relatively few offspring that have a good chance of survival. |
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Definition
| A species that is not usually abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on a community structure by the nature or its ecological role or niche. |
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Definition
| Several different ecosystems linked by exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms. |
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Definition
| The series of events from birth through reproduction to death. |
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Definition
| A listing of survivals and deaths in a population in a particular time period and predictions of how long, on average, and individual of a given age will live. |
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Definition
| A mathematical description of idealized population growth that is restricted by limiting factors. |
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Definition
| The level of harvest that produces a constant yield without forcing a population into decline. |
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Definition
| An interspecific relation in which both partners benefit. |
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Definition
| The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into nitrogen compounds (NH4+ and NO3-) that plants can absorb and use. |
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Definition
| One of the riverlike flow patterns in the oceans. |
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Definition
| An individual living thing, such as a bacterium, fungus, protist, plant, or animal. |
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Definition
| The region of an ocean occupied by seawater. |
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Term
| Per Capita Rate of Increase |
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Definition
| The average contribution of each individual in a population to population growth. |
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Definition
| Continuously frozen ground in the tundra. |
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Definition
| The region of an aquatic ecosystem into which light penetrates and photosynthesis occurs. |
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Definition
| Algae and photosynthetic bacteria that drift passively in aquatic environments. |
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Definition
| A group of individuals belonging to one species and living in the same geographical area. |
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Definition
| The number of individuals in a species per unit area or volume. |
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Definition
| The study of how members of a population interact with their environment, focusing on factors that influence population density and growth. |
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Definition
| In a population in which r=0, the continuation of population growth as girls in the reproductive |
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Definition
| An interaction in specie in which one species, the predator, eats the other, the prey. |
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Definition
| Winds that result from the combined effects of Earth's rotation and the rising and falling of air masses. |
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Definition
| In the tropic structure of an ecosystem, an organism that eats plants and algae. |
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Definition
| The amount of solar energy converted to chemical energy (in organic compounds) by autotrophs in an ecosystem during a given time period. |
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Definition
| A type of ecological succession in which a biological community arises in an area without soil. |
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Definition
| An organism that makes organic food molecules from CO2, H2O, and other inorganic raw materials; a plant, alga, or other autotrophic eukaryote. |
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Definition
| An organism that eats tertiary consumers. |
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Definition
| The concept that in certain populations, a high reproductive rate is the chief determinant of life history. |
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Term
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Definition
| Rodents Of Unusual Size. (Personally, I don't think they exist.) |
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Definition
| Describing a dispersion pattern in which individuals are spaced in a patternless, unpredictable way. |
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Definition
| A biome dominated by grass and scattered trees. |
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Definition
| An organism that eats primary consumers. |
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Definition
| A type of ecological succession that occurs where a disturbance has destroyed an existing biological community but left the soil intact. |
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Definition
| The variety of species that make up a community; includes both species richness (the total number of different species) and the relative abundance of the different species in the community. |
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Definition
| A plot of the number of members of a cohort that are still alive at each age; one way to represent age-specific mortality. |
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Definition
| The long-term prosperity of human societies and the ecosystems that support them. |
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Term
| Sustainable Resource Management |
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Definition
| Management of a natural resource so as not to damage the resource. |
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Term
| Temperate Broadleaf Forest |
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Definition
| A biome located throughout midlatitude regions where there is sufficient moisture to support the growth of large, broadleaf deciduous trees. |
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Definition
| A grassland region maintained by seasonal drought, occasional fires, and grazing by large mammals. |
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Definition
| Latitudes between the tropics and the Arctic Circle in the north and the Antarctic Circle in the south; regions with milder climates that the tropics of polar regions. |
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Definition
| An organism that eats secondary consumers. |
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Definition
| The movement or air in the tropics (those regions that lie between 23.5 degrees north latitude and 23.5 degrees south latitude). |
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Definition
| A terrestrial biome characterized by high levels of precipitation and warm temperatures year-round. |
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Term
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Definition
| Latitudes between 23.5 degrees north and south. |
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Term
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Definition
| A biome at the northernmost limits of plant growth and at high altitudes, characterized by dwarf woody shrubs, grasses, mosses, and lichens. |
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Term
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Definition
| Describing a dispersion pattern in which individuals are evenly distributed. |
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Definition
| Winds that blow from west to east. |
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Definition
| An ecosystem intermediate between an aquatic ecosystem and a terrestrial ecosystem. Wetland soil is saturated with water permanently or periodically. |
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Definition
| Animals that drift in aquatic environments. |
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