ecology biology

• Ecology

  Study of living things and their interactions.
• Habitat

  Place where an organism lives, e.g., woodland.
• Biotic factor

  Living factors affecting an ecosystem.
• Abiotic factor

  Non-living factors affecting an ecosystem.
• Species

  Group of organisms capable of breeding together.
• Competition

  Organisms competing for resources like food.
• Predator

  Organism that hunts and kills prey.
• Prey

  Organisms that are hunted by predators.
• Pathogen

  Microorganism causing infection or disease.
• Producer

  Organisms that make their own food.
• Consumer

  Organisms that feed on plants or other animals.
• Herbivore

  Animal that feeds only on plants.
• Carnivore

  Animal that eats meat or flesh only.
• Omnivore

  Animal that eats both plants and meat.
• Adaptation

  Feature helping an organism survive.
• Structural adaptation

  Physical features aiding survival, e.g., sharp claws.
• Behavioural adaptation

  Behaviors giving survival advantages, e.g., pack hunting.
• Functional adaptation

  Internal processes aiding survival, e.g., digestion.
• Extremophile

  Organism living in extreme environments.
• Food chain

  Feeding relationships in a community.
• Food web

  Complex network of feeding relationships.
• Distribution

  Spread of living organisms in an ecosystem.
• Quadrat

  Tool for isolating a study area.
• Transect

  Line across a habitat for study.
• Water cycle

  Movement of water through the ecosystem.
• Carbon cycle

  Movement of carbon among plants, animals, atmosphere.
• Biodiversity


  Number of different species in an area.
• Global warming

  Gradual increase in Earth's average temperature.
• Peat bogs


  Formed from decomposed plant material.
• Maintaining biodiversity

  Ways to protect species numbers in an area.
• Water waste

  Sewage and toxic chemicals from industry can pollute lakes, rivers and oceans, affecting the plants and animals that rely on them for survival
• Air waste

  Smoke and acidic gases released into the atmosphere can pollute the air
• Land waste

  We use toxic chemicals for farming (e.g. pesticides and herbicides). We also bury nuclear waste underground, and we dump a lot of household waste in landfill sites.
• Interdependence

  Organisms depend on each other for survival, one change in part of the ecosystem can affect the whole community