- What is ecology?
- Study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
- What are abiotic factors?
- Non-living components of an ecosystem.
- What are biotic factors?
- Living components of an ecosystem.
- What is a population?
- Group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area.
- What is a community?
- All populations of different species living and interacting in a particular area.
- What is an ecosystem?
- Biological community and its physical environment interacting as a unit.
- What is a habitat?
- Specific environment where an organism lives.
- What is a niche?
- Role and position of an organism in its environment.
- What is a food chain?
- Linear sequence of organisms showing who eats whom.
- What is a food web?
- Network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.
- What is a producer?
- Organism that produces its own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.
- What is a consumer?
- Organism that obtains energy by consuming other organisms.
- What is a decomposer?
- Organism that breaks down dead organic matter into simpler substances.
- What is symbiosis?
- Close and long-term biological interaction between two different species.
- What is mutualism?
- Symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit.
- What is commensalism?
- Symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is unaffected.
- What is parasitism?
- Symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits at the expense of another.
- What is predation?
- Interaction where one organism (predator) kills and eats another (prey).
- What is competition?
- Interaction where organisms compete for limited resources.
- What is carrying capacity?
- Maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely.
- What is biodiversity?
- Variety of life forms in an ecosystem.
- What is an invasive species?
- Non-native species that disrupts the balance of an ecosystem.
- What is succession?
- Process by which communities of organisms change over time.
- What is primary succession?
- Establishment and development of communities in an area that was previously uninhabited.
- What is secondary succession?
- Re-establishment of communities in an area after a disturbance.
- What is an ecological pyramid?
- Diagram showing the flow of energy or biomass through different trophic levels in an ecosystem.
- What is the greenhouse effect?
- Process by which gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere.
- What is global warming?
- Increase in Earth’s average temperature due to human activities.
- What is deforestation?
- Clearing of forests for agriculture, logging, or urban development.
- What is desertification?
- Process by which fertile land becomes desert due to human activities or climate change.
- What is eutrophication?
- Excessive nutrient enrichment of water bodies leading to algal blooms and oxygen depletion.
- What is biomagnification?
- Accumulation of toxins in the bodies of organisms at higher trophic levels.
- What is a keystone species?
- Species that has a disproportionately large effect on its ecosystem relative to its abundance.
- What is a trophic level?
- Position an organism occupies in a food chain or food web.
- What is an apex predator?
- Predator at the top of a food chain with no natural predators.
- What is an ecological niche?
- Role and position of a species in an ecosystem, including its interactions with other organisms and its environment.
- What is an ecological footprint?
- Measure of human demand on Earth’s ecosystems, expressed as the amount of land required to sustainably support a person or population.
- What is the water cycle?
- Continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth.
- What is the carbon cycle?
- Movement of carbon between living organisms, the atmosphere, oceans, and Earth’s crust.
- What is the nitrogen cycle?
- Process by which nitrogen is converted between its various chemical forms in the environment.
- What is a biome?
- Large geographical area characterized by distinct plant and animal communities adapted to that particular environment.
- What is an estuary?
- Partially enclosed coastal body of water where freshwater from rivers and streams mixes with saltwater from the ocean.
- What is a wetland?
- Land area saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such as marshes, swamps, and bogs.
- What is a coral reef?
- Marine ecosystem formed by colonies of coral polyps and home to diverse marine life.
- What is a tundra?
- Cold, treeless biome characterized by permafrost and low-growing vegetation.
- What is a rainforest?
- Dense forest with high rainfall and biodiversity, typically found in tropical regions.
- What is a savanna?
- Grassland biome with scattered trees and shrubs, found in tropical and subtropical regions.
- What is a desert?
- Dry biome characterized by low precipitation and sparse vegetation.
- What is a temperate forest?
- Forest biome with moderate temperatures and distinct seasons, consisting of deciduous or evergreen trees.
- What is an algal bloom?
- Rapid increase in the population of algae in a water body, often due to nutrient pollution.
