Abiotic
nonliving parts of an ecosystem, which include air, water, rocks and minerals, and sunlight.
Abiotic components are nonliving parts which include air, water, rocks and minerals, and sunlight.
Binomial nomenclature
a formal system of naming species by giving each a name composed of two parts of which the first part indicates the genus and the second part indicates the species. Each binomial name is unique to a specific species.
Biodiversity or Biological Diversity
is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic, species, and ecosystem level.
Biome
The specific environment in which any given organism or any given population lives; biomes are defined by their climate and dominant vegetation.
Biomes are defined by domant plants and climate in a large geographic area. Principle types of biomes:
Aquatic (freshwater/marine)
Forest (tropical/temperate)
Grassland
Tundra
Desert
5 Principal Biomes:
- The aquatic biome includes freshwater habitats (ponds, lakes, streams, wetlands) as well as marine habitats
(ocean, coastal waters, estuaries, coral reefs). - The desert biome includes areas where rainfall is less than 10 inches/year. Desert habitat types include hot and
dry, semiarid, coastal, and cold. (i.e. Antarctica is a desert biome because of its low rainfall) - The forest biome includes areas that are dominated by trees and other woody vegetation.
- The grassland biome includes habitats dominated by grasses (not trees and shrubs). Grasslands include tropical
savannas and temperate grasslands (prairies). - The tundra biome includes cold habitats with low biotic diversity and simple vegetation structure.
Biotic
living or once living components of an ecosystem.
Biotic components are the living parts such
as plants and animals.
Carnivore
an animal that gets its energy from eating other animals.
Cathemeral
of or relating to activity occurring during both the daylight and darkness.
Mnemonic: Associate with “Cat”: Although not etymologically related, you can link “cathemeral” to the word “cat.” Many domestic cats are known for sleeping and being active at various times, day or night, fitting the cathemeral description perfectly. Raccoons are a well-known example of cathemeral animals, often active whenever circumstances (like food availability or lack of people) dictate, rather than a strict schedule.
Consumer
organisms of a food chain that receive energy by consuming other organisms.
Anything that eats a plant is considered a consumer.
Crepuscular
of or relating to activity occurring during the twilight hours, of dawn or dusk.
Mnemonic: To remember “crepuscular,” associate it with the Latin root crepusculum (twilight) or a mnemonic like “CREEP UP” + “SOLAR” to picture solar rays creeping up over the horizon at dusk, which is a crepuscular time. You can also remember that crepuscular animals are active during these twilight hours, similar to how deer often appear around dusk.
Decomposer
organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms.
Diurnal
of or relating to activity occurring during the daylight hours.
Mnemonic: Think of a diary or journal. Both are used to record the events of a day.
Ecology
the study of the relationships between living organisms and their physical environment.
Ecology is the study of the living world and the interactions among organisms and where they
live. It is the study of interactions between living (animals, plants) and nonliving (earth, air,
sun, and water) components in the environment.
Ecosystem
a community of living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) things that work together.
Ecologists look at the interactions between plants and animals and their environments. An
ecosystem is a community of living organisms and their environment working together and in
a natural balance. To clarify the difference between an ecosystem and an environment: An
ecosystem includes the interactions between the environment and the organisms that dwell
within it. The term “environment” does not include these relationships.
Environment
the surroundings or conditions in which a plant or animal lives or operates. The environment is made up of living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) components.
An animal’s environment is everything in its surroundings. The environment is made up of
living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) components. Biotic components are the living parts such
as plants and animals. Abiotic components are nonliving parts which include air, water, rocks
and minerals, and sunlight.
Food chain
the linear sequence of who eats whom in an ecosystem to obtain nutrition.
Components:
Producers - Make own food (plants)
Primary Consumers - eat producers (herbivores)
Secondary Consumers - eat other consumers (carnivore)
(omnivore eats meat and vegetarian)
Decomposers - eats and breaks down dead material Reycles back to the earth.
Simple food chain - Who eats whom
Food web
depicts feeding connections in an ecological community. A food web is formed from several food chains together.
Interdependence is the idea that everything in nature is connected to everything else and what
happens to one plant or animal also affects other plants and animals. An example of interdependence is a food chain.
A** simple food** chain is based on who eats whom. A food chain is a linear sequence of species where each depends upon the next as a source of food or energy. The plants are the producers and make their own energy by photosynthesis. All other living things are consumers. Consumers get energy from the food they eat. They survive by eating a producer, or another consumer that ate a producer, gaining the chemical energy from the original process of the producer. A primary consumer or herbivore, eats plants whereas a secondary consumer eats a primary consumer and is a carnivore. An omnivore may eat both meat and vegetation.
Decomposers break down dead plant and animal matter at any level and help recycle nutrients back into the soil so that they can be used again. In this way nutrients are cycled
through the food chain. Nutrients are inorganic compounds such as phosphorous, which is in your teeth, bones, and cellular membranes, or nitrogen, which is part of your amino acids, the building blocks of protein and the iron in your blood.
Food chains are a single path showing how energy moves from organism to organism through an ecosystem, while a food web is a more complex network that maps the multiple feeding
relationships of each organism in an ecosystem. A food web involves many food chains that are interconnected. A food web is a more accurate representation of the diverse feeding
relationships within an ecosystem.
Habitat
A habitat is the specific environment in which any given organism or any given population lives. It is the “address” of the organism. A habitat contains everything that an animal needs to survive, including air, food, water, shelter, sun, space and other animals of its own kind so that it can reproduce.
Habitats vary from aquatic to terrestrial.
Herbivore
an animal that gets its energy from eating plants, and only plants.
Niche
The role of a species in their environment.
No two species hold the exact same niche.
The ecological role and space that an organism fills in an ecosystem. An animal’s niche includes its usage of resources, its unique way of life and its relationship to other biotic and abiotic factors. It is an animal’s “job”.
A niche refers to the “role” or “job” a species plays in its environment. It describes the way of life of a species and how it uses resources and respond to their competitors. Each species is thought to have a separate, unique niche. No two species can occupy the exact same niche. Species may share the same habitat, but their roles (or jobs) are different. If two species are competing for the same niche, the one that is best adapted to the range of conditions present will survive by having the higher birth rate and/or lower death rate. In natural situations, species that might compete have evolved ways to reduce competition and divide resources. For example, the red panda and the giant panda both eat bamboo. The red panda prefers the more nutritious leaf tips and tender shoots whereas the giant panda consumes a wider range of
bamboo parts including the stems and leaves. In describing a niche, you want to ask where it lives, when it is active and what it eats. For example, the niche of a two-toed sloth would be herbivorous, nocturnal, and arboreal.
One of the natural ways species avoid competition is to hunt or forage for food at different times of the day. Those who forage at night are nocturnal. Those who hunt during the day are diurnal. Those who hunt during the twilight (either dawn or dusk) hours are considered crepuscular and those who are active both day and night hours are cathemeral.
Nocturnal
of or relating to activity occurring during the night hours.
Mnemonic: To remember that “nocturnal” means active at night, associate it with the word “night” or “noct-“.
Omnivore
an animal that eats both plants and animals.
Photosynthesis
Process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy, normally from the sun, into chemical energy that can be later released to fuel the organisms’ activities.
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants to convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy that is stored in the plant and can be later released to fuel the plant’s activities. The
sun’s energy is captured by chlorophyll in the plant’s leaves. This energy fuels a chemical reaction between carbon dioxide and water to produce glucose, the main fuel that powers life.
Oxygen is a by-product of this reaction and is released into the air. The oxygen released during photosynthesis can be used during respiration by both plants and animals. Plants must breathe just as animals do. They take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide, as well as photosynthesize. Plant respiration occurs 24 hours per day, but photosynthesis needs light energy from the sun and only occurs during the day. Their
photosynthetic activity is greater than their respiratory activity resulting in an increase in atmospheric oxygen levels.
Through photosynthesis, plants make their own nutrients, so plants are producers. Anything that eats a plant is considered a consumer.
Producer
an organism in an ecosystem that produces biomass from inorganic compounds. Plants are producers.
Through photosynthesis, plants make their own nutrients, so plants are producers.
Species
an individual belonging to a group of organisms having common characteristics and are capable of mating with one another to produce fertile offspring.
