Ecology Glossary

• BIO-Ecology is an introduction to ecology glossary

Vocabulary

• Abiotic factors are any physical, non-living compounds of an ecosystem that affect organisms
• Autotrophs capture energy from sunlight or chemicals to create their own food from inorganic compounds; also called primary producers
• Biomass is the total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level
• Biosphere is the part of planet Earth where life exists, including land, water, and air
• Biotic factors are the living parts of the environment with which an organism might interact
• Carnivores are organisms that obtain energy by eating animals
• Chemosynthesis is a process where chemical energy is used to produce carbohydrates
• A community is an assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area
• A consumer is an organism that relies on eating other organisms for energy and food; they are heterotrophic
• Decomposers break down and obtain energy from dead organic matter (e.g., fungi and bacteria), but don't eat matter chemically
• Denitrification is the process by which nitrogen held in dead organic matter is converted into nitrogen gas that is released into the atmosphere
• Detritivores are organisms that feed on small plant and animal remains and other dead matter (i.e., feed on detritus)
• Ecological pyramids illustrate the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within each trophic level
• Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment
• An ecosystem includes all the organisms that live in a place, together with their nonliving environment.
• A food chain describes the series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
• A herbivore is an animal that solely consumes plants
• Heterotrophs obtain food by consuming other living things, also called consumers
• Nitrogen fixation converts nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds usable by plants
• A nutrient is a chemical substance that organisms need to sustain life
• Photosynthesis uses light for plants to gain energy and sustain life
• The formula for photosynthesis is carbon dioxide + water yields glucose + oxygen
• Primary producers are the first producers of energy-rich compounds used by other organisms
• Phytoplankton are photosynthetic algae found near the surface of the ocean
• A population represents groups of individuals of the same species that live in the same area
• A scavenger is an animal that mostly consumes decaying biomass, such as meat or rotting material
• A trophic level is each step in a food chain or food web
• Zooplankton are small floating or weakly swimming organisms that drift with water currents, often with phytoplankton
• The formula for cellular respiration is glucose + oxygen yields carbon dioxide + water + energy stored in ATP