Adaptations

• Biomagnification and bioaccumulation


  Related concepts, but not the same thing
• Bioaccumulation

  The accumulation of substances within an organism’s body over its lifetime, regardless of its position in the food chain
• Detritivore

  A heterotrophic organism that obtains its nutrition by feeding on detritus
• Habitat

  Where an organism lives, including the biotic and abiotic factor.
• Species

  Individuals that can breed to produce fertile offspring
• Interdependence

  Existing or occurring between different species
• Parasite

  An organism that benefits at the other animals expense
• Chemical equation for photosynthesis: 6CO2 + H2O + Light Energy
• Aerobic respiration

  A process that uses oxygen to break down glucose and release energy
• Chemical symbols for aerobic respiration: C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O
• Detritus

  Organic matter made up of dead plant and animal material
• Ecosystem

  A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
• Biomagnification

  The concentration increase of harmful substances as they move up the food chain
• Roles in the food chain

  • Producers
  • Herbivores
  • Predators
  • Decomposers
• Biomagnification

  The increase in concentration of a substance
• Population

  The number of organisms of the same species that live in a particular geographic area at the same time, with the capability of interbreeding
• Biodiversity

  The variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable
• Types of competition

  • Interspecific competition
  • Intraspecific competition
• Mutualism

  The ecological interaction between two or more species where each species has a net benefit
• Word equation for aerobic respiration: glucose + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water + energy released
• Photosynthesis

  The process in plants and certain other organisms that uses the energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen
• Community

  An interacting group of various species in a common location
• Biotic factors


  Living things within an ecosystem, including humans, plants, fungi, animals, and microorganisms like bacteria
• Abiotic factors

  Non-living components of an ecosystem such as water, temperature, sunlight, nutrients, soil, and the atmosphere
• Examples of biotic factors

  • Competition
  • Grazing
  • Predation
  • Disease
  • Food availability
• Examples of abiotic factors

  • Light intensity
  • Temperature
  • Soil pH
  • Soil moisture
• Producer


  A living organism that produces its own glucose through photosynthesis, usually a plant
• Primary consumer

  An organism that feeds on primary producers
• Secondary consumer


  An organism that eats primary consumers for energy
• Tertiary consumer

  An animal that obtains its nutrition by eating primary consumers and secondary consumers
• Food chains


  One path of energy through an ecosystem
• Intraspecific competition

  A type of negative interaction where individuals of the same species compete for limited resources
• Interspecific competition


  A form of competition where individuals of different species compete for the same resources in an ecosystem
• Biodiversity


  The variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, considered important and desirable
• Decomposers


  Organisms that decompose organic material, releasing resources through saprophytic feeding
• Detritivores

  Animals that break up dead matter, aiding decomposers by increasing surface area for enzyme action
• Factors affecting enzyme action and rate of decay

  • Temperature
  • Water
  • Oxygen
  • Surface area
  • pH
• Transect


  A way of investigating how the distribution of organisms changes
• Near threatened is a category of endangered animals (4th level)
• Breed

  To reproduce sexually