Key Vocabulary 1. Ecology Ecology is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms, the interaction among organisms, and the interactions between organisms and their abiotic environment. 2. Environment Environment, the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival. 3. Population A population is a subset of individuals of one species that occupies a particular geographic area and, in sexually reproducing species, interbreeds. 4. Species A species is often defined as a group of organisms that can reproduce naturally with one another and create fertile offspring. 5. Density Population Size and Density. Its density is the number of individuals within a given area or volume. 6. Distribution The specific location or arrangement of continuing or successive objects or events in space or time. 7. Habitat The area and resources used by a particular species (the habitat of a species) or an assemblage of animals and plants together with their abiotic environment. 8. Niche In ecology, the term “niche” describes the role an organism plays in a community. 9. Biotic Biotic is defined as anything relating to living organisms. 10. Abiotic An abiotic factor is a non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment. 11. Community Community, also called biological community, in biology, an interacting group of various species in a common location. 12. Ecosystem An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life. Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as abiotic factors, or non-living parts. 13. Sampling Sampling is a process used in statistical analysis in which a predetermined number of observations are taken from a larger population. 14. Quadrat A quadrat is usually a square made of wire. The organisms underneath, usually plants, can be identified and counted. Quadrats may also be used for slow-moving animals, e.g. slugs and snails. 15. Producer Producers are any kind of green plant. Green plants make their food by taking sunlight and using the energy to make sugar. 16. Consumer Any organism that can't make its own food. Consumers have to feed on producers or other consumers to survive. 17. Food chain Food chain, in ecology, the sequence of transfers of matter and energy in the form of food from organism to organism. A food chain describes how energy and nutrients move through an ecosystem. 18. Food Web A food web consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem. Each living thing in an ecosystem is part of multiple food chains. Each food chain is one possible path that energy and nutrients may take as they move through the ecosystem. 19. Herbivore A herbivore is an animal that gets its energy from eating plants, and only plants. 20. Carnivore A carnivore is an organism that eats mostly meat, or the flesh of animals. 21. Symbiosis Symbiosis is a term describing any relationship or interaction between two dissimilar organisms. 22. Decomposers An organism, often a bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter, making organic nutrients available to the ecosystem. Also sometimes referred to as detritivores. 23. Parasitism Parasitism is generally defined as a relationship between the two living species in which one organism is benefitted at the expense of the other. The organism that is benefitted is called the parasite, while the one that is harmed is called the host. A few examples of parasites are tapeworms, fleas, and barnacles. 24. Commensalism A relationship between individuals of two species in which one species obtains food or other benefits from the other without either harming or benefiting the latter. 25. Mutualism Mutualism is a type of symbiotic relationship where all species involved benefit from their interactions. 26. Predator An organism that primarily obtains food by the killing and consuming of other organisms. 27. Prey An animal that is hunted or killed by another animal for food. 28. Trophic level Step in a nutritive series, or food chain, of an ecosystem. The organisms of a chain are classified into these levels on the basis of their feeding behaviour. The first and lowest level contains the producers, green plants. 29. Pooters A pooter is a small jar used for collecting insects. 30. Nets Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are networks of extracellular fibers, primarily composed of DNA from neutrophils, which bind pathogens. 31. Bottles A hollow vessel, usually of glass or earthenware (but formerly of leather), with a narrow neck or mouth, for holding liquids. 32. Jars A jar is a glass container with a lid that is used for storing. 33. Transect A transect is a line across a habitat or part of a habitat. It can be as simple as a string or rope placed in a line on the ground. The number of organisms of each species along a transect can be observed and recorded at regular intervals. 34. Mark-release-capture The Mark-Recapture technique is used to estimate the size of a population where it is impractical to count every individual.
