Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Vocabulary for Test 6

Here's the vocabulary that could be on Vocabulary Test 6, which will be next week.

Vocabulary
  • biomass - the total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level
  • carnivore - organism that obtains energy by killing and eating animals
  • chemosynthesis - process in which chemical energy is used to produce carbohydrates
  • consumer - organism that relies on consuming other organisms for its energy and food supply
  • decomposer - organism that chemically breaks down and obtains energy from dead organic matter
  • detritivore - organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter
  • herbivore - organism that obtains energy by eating only plants
  • heterotroph - organism that obtains energy by consuming other organisms
  • omnivore - organism that obtains energy by eating plants and animals
  • primary producer - first producer of energy-rich compounds that are later used by other organisms
  • scavenger - animal that consumes the caucuses of other animals
  • transpiration - loss of water from a plant through its leaves
  • trophic level - each step in a food chain or food web
  • aphotic zone - dark layer of oceans where sunlight does not penetrate
  • benthos - organisms that live attached to or near the bottom of lakes, streams, or oceans
  • ecological succession - series of gradual changes that occur in a community following a disturbance
  • limiting factor - factors that cause population growth to decrease
  • photic zone - sunlight region near the surface of water
  • pioneer species - first species to populate an area during success
  • plankton - microscopic organisms that live in aquatic environments
  • primary succession - succession that occurs in an area in which no trace of a previous community is present
  • salinity - the amount of dissolved salt in water
  • secondary succession - type of succession that occurs in an area that was only partially destroyed by disturbance
  • logistic growth - growth pattern in which a population's growth and then stops following a period of exponential growth
  • exponential growth - growth pattern in which the individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate
  • carrying capacity - largest number of individuals of a particular species that a particular environment can support
  • limiting factor - factor the causes population growth to decrease
  • demographic transition - change in a population from high birth rate to low birth and death rates
  • monoculture - farming strategy of planting a single, highly productive crop year after year
  • biological magnification - increasing concentration of a harmful substance in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food chain or food web
  • biodiversity - total of the variety of organisms in the biosphere; also called biological diversity
  • ecological hot spot -  small geographic area where significant numbers of habitats and species are in immediate danger of extinction

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