Biology

• Closed System


  Does not exchange matter with its surroundings only energy
• Most life depends on energy from the


  Sun
• Dynamic Equilibrium


  Used to describe any system in which changes are continuously occurring but whose components have the ability to adjust to these changes without disturbing the entire system
• Biotic


  Living ex. humans, plants
• Abiotic


  Non-living ex. rocks, type of soil
• Lithosphere

  Land
• Hydrosphere

  Water
• Atmosphere

  Air
• Populations


  Same species who are able to interact and reproduce with each other
• Communities


  More than one population lives in an area at the same time
• Ecosystems


  Physical, and chemical environment as well as the community or organisms interact with each other
• Species Diversity


  Refers to the numbers of different species found in an ecosystem. The more species there are the more bio diverse the ecosystem is considered to be
• Genetic Diversity


  Refers to the number of different characteristics an individual organism had and how many different genes these individual characteristics have, genetic diversity helps organisms adapt to changing environments
• Ecosystem Diversity


  Refers to the variety of ecosystems in a given place. Again the more ecosystems found in an area the more diverse the area is considered to be
• Food Chain


  A step by step sequence linking organisms that feed on eachother
• A plant is an example of..


  A producer
• Animals and other things that feed on the plants and in each other are referred to as..


  Consumers
• Endangered


  One that is close to extinction in all parts of the country or in a significantly large area.
• Extirpated 


  One that no longer exists in one part of the country, but can be found in others.
• Threatened


  Any species that is likely to become endangered if factors that make it vulnerable are not reversed.
• Special Concern


  Any species at risk because of low or declining numbers at the fringe of its range or in some restricted area
• Indicator Species


  Can provide an early warning that the balance in an ecosystem is being negatively effected. *some species are partially sensitive to changes in a ecosystem*
• Detritus


  Waste from plants and animals
• Frogs are disappearing because:

  Loss of habitat, air and water quality, climate change, and Ultraviolet Radiation
• Tropic Levels

  Describe how organisms get their energy
• Trophic comes from the Greek word:

  Feeder
• Organisms that are put in the first tropic level make their own food and can be referred to as: 


  Producers or autotrophs
• Second tropic levels organisms feed on producers or autotrophs they are referred to as:


  Primary Consumers
• Consumers found in the third trophic level are referred to as


  Secondary Consumers
• Organisms that obtain their food and energy by consuming other organisms are called

  Heterotrophs
• Energy always flows through and ecosystem and is never cycled
• Food chains show one path of energy
• Food webs are a representation of the food chain that shows the interconnections between organisms in an ecosystem