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| The study of the physical and biological interactions between an organism and its natural environment. |
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| An interaction between two different species where either both, one or neither of the organisms benefit from the relationship. |
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| A symbiosis in which both organisms benefit, they rely on each other for survival. |
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| A symbiosis in which one partner benefits and the other is neither benefited nor harmed) |
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| A symbiosis in which one organism benefits at its host's expense. |
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| predator-prey relationships |
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| Relationships in which one organism which hunts and eats another. |
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| Nonliving factors such as water, soil, weather. |
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| Living factors such as decomposers, scavengers and predators. |
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| All the interactions of predators and prey their prey. This also includes the exchange of chemical nutrients into and out of the soil. These interactions connect the various members of an ecosystem. |
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| The concept that as one moves up a trophic level only 10% of the energy needed to sustain life is passed from one level to the next. |
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| The portion of the environment which a species occupies, defined in terms of the conditions under which an organism can survive, and may be affected by the presence of other competing organisms. |
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| The maximum number of a wildlife species a given habitat will support during the most critical time of the year. |
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| The Exponential curve (also known as a J-curve) occurs when there is no limit to population size |
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| The Logistic curve (also known as an S-curve) shows the effect of a limiting factor (in this case the carrying capacity of the environment). |
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| water -> evaporation -> condensation -> precipitation -> ground water …and around again |
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| Nitrogen gas (N2) in the atmosphere -> Nitrogen fixation by either lightning or bacteria in the soil or the roots of legumes -> nitrate or nitrites (NO(X) by bacteria in the soil ->amino acids/proteins in plants then animals -> urea in the urine of animals and around again |
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| six levels of ecological organization |
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| Individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere |
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| Whatever factor limits the growth of a population of organisms |
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| A major regional or global biotic community, such as a grassland or desert, characterized chiefly by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate. |
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| The process by which a natural community moves from a simpler level of organisation to a more complex community. |
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| Organisms that participate in the process of decay |
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| A consumer that feeds directly on producers (plants or algae) |
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| A predator that eats consumers |
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| The various species of organisms that live in the same ecosystem |
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| The place an organism inhabits in the natural environment |
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| The condition in which all members of a species die out |
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| A consumer that feeds only on plants |
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| A consumer that eats meat |
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| An organism in an ecosystem that produces the food at the bottom of the food chain, typically the plants in a terrestial ecosystem. |
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| soil bacteria that have the ability to take nitrogen gas out of the atmosphere and convert it into a more biocompatible (friendly) form |
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| "the molecule produced whenever an organic compound is ""burned,"" including th.e ""burning"" of sugar in our bodies to produce energy. This molecule also contributes to global warming by trapping heat." |
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| The nitrites and nitrates in many soils wash away during rains. These are required for the healthy growth of plants and become the limiting factor in many ecosystems that experience rainfall. Nitrogen fertilizers replace the nitrates lost and allow for healthier plant (crop) growth. |
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| The cutting down of a forest |
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| microorganisms that feed off of larger organisms at their expense. |
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| "the loss of a protective gas, O3 due to its destruction by CFCs." |
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| "the result of the greenhouse effect, the temperature of the planet earth is rising." |
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| any poison that is used to kill pests (insects that destroy plant crops) |
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| Pesticides and other chemicals that are sprayed on crops that are harvested for food |
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| "the process by which plants use sunlight to transform CO2 into glucose, C6H12O6." |
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| the chemical reactions associated with breathing |
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| When the number of live births in a population exceed the numbsr of deaths then that population is growing in size. |
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| biological accumulation/magnification |
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| Pesticides and other chemicals in the environment move up the food chain. As consumers feed they accumulate more and more of the chemicals into their bodies. The top level consumers have the highest concentration of chemicals in their bodies. |
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| the destruction of the environments inhabited by other living forms |
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| air pollution from the burning fossil fuels often produces acid rain as a byproduct |
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| farming practices that do not exceed the carrying capacity of an ecosystem allow the ecosystem to sustain life over long periods of time |
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| the wise use of our resources for future generations |
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| the measurement of the amount of chemicals that is dissolved in a small amount of space. The higher the concentration the larger the amount of chemicals that is present. |
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