ECOSYSTEMS

Ecosystem: A community of living organisms (plants, animals, microbes…) with the non living components of their environment (water, air...).

Population: All the organisms of the same group of species which inhabit in the same area.

Species: One of the basic units of biological classification. Is the largest group of organism capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. Example: Human.

Biocenosis: An association of different organisms forming a closely integrated community.

Biotope: Inorganic part of the ecosystem, the physical environment.

Biosphere: Life zone of the Earth which includes all living organisms and all organic matter.

Ecosphere: All ecosystems on Earth.

Geosphere: Collective name for the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere…

Biome: A large scale ecosystems of the World.

Biotic factor: Living thing that shape and affects another organism. Example: Insect .

Abiotic factor: Non living thing: chemical and physical factors in the environment. Example: Sunlight.

Biotic relationship: Relationship between organisms of an ecosystem. (Predation, competition...)

Intraespecific relationship: Interaction among organisms of the same species. Example: When a heard of cattle are grazing together,

all the individuals in that herd competing for the same food, water... Gregarious, Colonial, Social, Familial.

Interespecific relationship: Interaction among organisms of different species. Example: Mutualism, commensalism, inquilinism, parasitism and depredation.

Competitive relationship: Type of relationship which develops when more than one organism in an environment requires the same thing in order to survive.

Interespecific competition: Competition in which individuals of different species compete for the same resource in an ecosystem.

Intraespecific competition: Interaction in population ecology members of the same species which compete for limited resources.

Cooperative relationship: Relationship where living things help themselves. Example: Mutualism, symbiosis, gregarious association.

Family association: Group of related individuals which live together to procreate and protect the young.

Gregarious association: Group of individuals, which live together for some time to provoke mutual help. Example: Migrating bird.

Social: Groups of individuals organised in a hierarchy work distributed within the group. Example: Ants.

Predation: Interespecific relationship in which a living being eats other living being.

Parasitism: Relationship in which one species lives at the expense of another species. Example: cochineals feed on host cacti.

Commensalism: Relationship between two living organisms where one is benefited, but the other isn't affected. Example: Flies feed on mammal excrement.

Mutualism: Relationship between two or more individuals for mutual benefit. Example: Bees pollinate flowers.

Symbiosis: Interaction between two or more different biological species for mutual benefit. Example: Lichens.

Predator: A living being which eats other living being. Example: lion.

Prey: Food of depredator.

Host: Living being in which a parasite lives.

Habitat: physical place where a species lives.

Ecological niche: The way a species relates to the biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem.

Environment: All around a living being.

Optimum range: Value of an abiotic factor in which a population lives better.

Adaptation: Adjustment in an organism's body or behaviour to its environment. Example: Gills.

Trophic level: Position occupied in a food a chain. Example: producers, primary consumers.

Producer = Autotroph: Living being which makes its own organic matter from carbon dioxide and energy from the sun. Example: Plants, algae.

Consumer: Living thing which cannot produce its own organic matter and feeds on organic matter produced by other living beings. Example: cat.

Primary consumer: Living being which feeds on producers (plants) . Example: Rabbit.

Secondary consumer: Carnivore which feeds on primary consumers. Example: fox.

Tertiary consumer: Carnivore which feeds on secondary consumers. Example: snake.

Carnivore: Living being which feeds on meat. Example: lion.

Omnivore: Living being which feeds on meat and plants. Example: pork.

Detritivore: Heterotroph that obtains nutrients by consuming detritus.

Decomposer: Living being which discomposes organic matter into inorganic matter.

Heterotroph: Living being which feeds on organic matter produced by other living being. Example: lion.

Food Chain: Diagram which shows how to the organisms are related with each other by the food they eat.

Food web: All the food chains in an ecosystem.

Trophic pyramid: Graphical representation designed to show the biomass productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem.

Matter: Something that occupies space and can be perceived by one or more senses.

Energy: Capacity of a physical system to perform work. Example: Solar energy.

Biomass: Mass of living biological.

Terrestrial ecosystem: Ecosystem developed in the land. Example: forest.

Climate: Meteorological conditions including temperature, precipitation and wind that prevail in a particular region.

Cold zone: Zone in the earth where the temperature is cold.

Temperate zone: Part of the earth between the polar circles and tropics.

Warm zone: Zone in the earth between the tropics.

Polar desert: Zone in the up of the earth where the temperature is cold.

Tundra: Zone in the earth with very cold climate and scant precipitation.

Taiga: Zone in the earth with abundant precipitation in the form of snow.

Deciduous forest: Ecosystem in the temperate zone which has warm and cold seasons with abundant rainfall.

Mediterranean forest: Ecosystem in the temperate zone which has warm, dry, summers, mild winters and low rainfall.

Savannah: Grassland ecosystem characterized by trees.

Prairie: Ecosystem considered part of temperate grassland.

Steppe: Ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.

Desert: Place with a lot of sand and very dry climate.

Rainforest: Ecosystem in the warm zone with abundant rainfall and highs temperatures.

Aquatic ecosystem: Ecosystem developed in the sea, rivers, lakes…

Marine ecosystem: Ecosystem developed in oceans, salt-marsh, intertidal zones and lagoons.

Intertidal zone: Area that is above water at low tide and under water at hide tide.

Neritic zone: Part of the ocean between the low tide mark and the continental shelf.

Oceanic zone: Region of open sea beyond the edge of continental shelf and includes 65% of the ocean completely open water.

Pelagic zone: Part of the open sea which is a long way from the coast.

Bathyal zone: Part of the pelagic zone that extends from a depth of 1000 to 4000 metres below the ocean surface.

Deep sea: Lowest layer in the ocean with little or no light and where most of the organism relies for subsistence on falling organic matter produced in the photic zone.

Coral reef: Underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals.

Freshwater ecosystem: Aquatic ecosystem which include rivers, lakes, streams, springs and wetlands. They can be divided in Lentic ecosystems and Lotic ecosystems.

Lentic ecosystem: Freshwater ecosystem found in standing or still water such as pools, ponds, lakes.

Lotic ecosystem: Freshwater ecosystem found in running water such as in a river, stream or spring.

Pool: Small area of water formed naturally.

Pond: Small body of still water formed naturally by artificial means.

Lake: Body of relatively still water of considerable size, localized in a depression, that is surrounded by land apart from a river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake.

Lagoon: Stretch of salt water separated from the sea by a low sandbank of coral reef.

River: Freshwater course which flows down from the mountain to the sea, ocean or lake.

Stream: Short river.

Spring: Natural source of water from the ground.

Wetland: Transitional area between land and water.

Marsh: Tidal wetland along the shoreline where aquatic grasses and sedges grow.

Kashif Ahmed Ahmed 2º ESO B