ECOLOGY DEFINITIONS / KEYWORDS 1. ECOLOGY is the study of the interactions of living organisms with each other and with their environment 2. An ECOSYSTEM is an area that contains a community of organisms which interact with their environment 3. The BIOSPHERE is the part of the Earth and its atmosphere in which life can exist 4. A HABITAT is the place where an organism lives 5. A POPULATION is a group of organisms of the same species living in an area 6. A COMMUNITY is made up of all the different populations that share resources in an area 7. ABIOTIC FACTORS are the non-living things that affect an ecosystem 8. BIOTIC FACTORS are the living things that affect an ecosystem 9. CLIMATIC FACTORS are the weather conditions that have an effect on living things in an ecosystem 10. EDAPHIC FACTORS are the soil properties that have an effect on living things in an ecosystem 11. NUTRIENT RECYCLING is the process of exchanging elements (like carbon and nitrogen) between living organisms and the environment 12. The CARBON CYCLE is the process through which carbon is exchanged between living organisms and the environment 13. The NITROGEN CYCLE is the process through which nitrogen is exchanged between living organisms and the environment 14. NITROGEN FIXATION is the changing of nitrogen gas into nitrate 15. NITRIFICATION is the changing of ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate 16. DENITRIFICATION is the conversion of nitrates to nitrogen gas Ms. B. Fennessy Loreto Secondary School Fermoy Co. Cork ECOLOGY DEFINITIONS / KEYWORDS 17. A PRODUCER is a plant that makes its own food in photosynthesis 18. A CONSUMER is an organism that takes in food from another organism. 19. A PRIMARY CONSUMER feeds on a producer 20. A SECONDARY CONSUMER feeds on a primary consumer 21. A TERTIARY CONSUMER feeds on a secondary consumer 22. A HERBIVORE is an animal that feeds on plants only. 23. A CARNIVORE is an animal that feeds on animals only. 24. An OMNIVORE is an animal that feeds on both plants and animals. 25. A GRAZING FOOD CHAIN is a sequence of organisms in which each one is eaten by the next member in the chain 26. TROPHIC LEVEL is the position of a species in a food chain 27. A PYRAMID OF NUMBERS shows the numbers of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain 28. A FOOD WEB is two or more interlinked food chains 29. A NICHE is the functional role of an organism in an ecosystem 30. COMPETITION occurs when organisms actively struggle for a resource that is in short supply 31. CONTEST COMPETITION is an active physical confrontation between two organisms which allows one to win the resource 32. SCRAMBLE COMPETITION is where each organism tries to get as much of the resource as possible. Ms. B. Fennessy Loreto Secondary School Fermoy Co. Cork ECOLOGY DEFINITIONS / KEYWORDS 33. PREDATION is the catching, killing and eating of another organism 34. A PREDATOR is the animal that catches, kills and eats another organism 35. The PREY is the animal that is killed and eaten by a predator 36. PARASITISM is where one organism (the parasite) lives in or on another organism (the host) causing it harm. 37. SYMBIOSIS is where two different organisms live in close association and at least one of them benefits 38. MUTUALISM is where both organisms benefit in a symbiotic relationship 39. COMMENSALISM is where one organism benefits and the other is unharmed in a symbiotic relationship 40. POPULATION DYNAMICS is the study of the factors that cause population numbers to change 41. A QUALITATIVE SURVEY is a survey which indicates if a species is present or not 42. A QUANTITATIVE SURVEY is a survey which records or estimates the numbers of a species (in a particular ecosystem). 43. FLORA is the plant life growing in a particular region 44. FAUNA is the animal life of a particular region 45. PERCENTAGE FREQUENCY is the chances of finding a given species in a habitat 46. PERCENTAGE COVER is the area of ground occupied by aerial plant parts 47. POLLUTION is any undesirable change in the environment 48. CONSERVATION is the wise management of our existing natural resources. Ms. B. Fennessy Loreto Secondary School Fermoy Co. Cork