Biology: Ecology: Key terms

• Ecosystem


  all the organisms that live in a habitat and the non-living parts of the habitat
• Competition


  occurs when two organisms are trying to obtain the same factors from the environment
• Interdependence


  when one organism relies on another for certain resources / factors
• Abiotic

  non-living
• Biotic


  living factors
• Adaptation


  the gradual change in a particular organism, over many generations, to become better suited to its environment
• Extremophile


  an organism that can live in very extreme environments
• Population


  a group of organisms of the same species living together in a habitat
• Quadrat


  a square frame (usually between 0.25m2 and 1m2 ) used for sampling organisms in their natural environment
• Transect line


  a fixed line along which sampling of populations, such as species abundance, is measured
• Decomposers


  microorganisms that break down dead organic material
• Carbon cycle


  the constant recycling of carbon through the processes of life, death and decay
• Water cycle


  a series of processes that circulate water through the environment
• Food chain


  the feeding relationships between organisms
• Producer


  an organism that can make its own food
• Trophic level


  a feeding level in a food chain or web
• Predator


  an animal that hunts, kills and eats other animals (prey)
• Prey


  an organism that is hunted and killed by a predator for food
• Apex predator


  the top consumer in a food chain; has no predators
• Biodiversity


  the variety of living organisms and the ecosystems in which they live
• Pollution


  the contamination of an environment, e.g. by chemicals or water
• Acid rain


  rain with a low pH (acidic) due to the gases released by burning fossil fuels
• Deforestation

  the destruction of forests by cutting down large areas of trees
• Global warming


  the increase in the average temperature on Earth due to a rise in the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
• Sustainable


  resources that can be replaced or maintained in sufficient quantities to support current and future needs
• Pyramid of biomass


  a diagram that uses different sized boxes to represent the total biomass at each trophic level in a food web
• Biotechnology


  technology that uses living organisms to produce useful products
• Fermenter


  an industrial vessel that is used to grow microorganisms
• Mycoprotein


  a protein-rich food produced from fungi