Download STAAR Biology Category 5 Vocab flash cards

10% Rule
biological magnification
abiotic factor
biome
acid rain
biosphere
algal bloom
biotic factors
biodiversity
carbon cycle
1a
increasing concentration of a harmful substance in
organisms at higher trophic levels in a food chain or food
web
Only 10% of the energy in one trophic level
gets passed onto the next trophic level
group of ecosystems that have the same
climate and dominant communities
physical, or nonliving, factor that
shapes an ecosystem
part of Earth in which life exists including
land, water, and air or atmosphere
rain containing nitric and sulfuric
acids
biological (living) influence on
organisms within an ecosystem
an immediate increase in the amount of algae and other
producers that results from a large input of a limiting
nutrient
the continuous process by which carbon is exchanged
between organisms and the environment
biological diversity; the sum total of the
variety of organisms in the biosphere
1b
carnivore
competition
carrying capacity
consumer
climax community
dead zone
commensalism
dead zone 2
community
decomposer
2a
the simultaneous demand by two or more organisms for
limited environmental resources, such as nutrients, living
space, or light
organism that obtains energy by
eating animals
organism that relies on other organisms for its
energy and food supply; also called a heterotroph
largest number of individuals of a population that
a given environment can support
Dead zones are low-oxygen areas in the world's oceans and large lakes, caused
by "excessive nutrient pollution from human activities (fertilizer use) that
deplete the oxygen required to support most marine life in bottom and nearbottom water.
An ecological community in the final stage of succession,
in which the species composition remains relatively.
A symbiotic relationship in which one member benefits and the other is neither
helped nor harmed. (The orchid does not harm the tree because its roots stay
on the bark of the tree and does not take nutrients from the tree. The orchid
benefits by getting more sunlight)
organism that breaks down and obtains energy from
dead organic matter; primarily fungi and bacteria
all living, or biotic, things in an area
2b
deforestation
extinct
detritivore
food chain
ecological pyramid
food web
ecosystem
global warming
endangered species
greenhouse effect
3a
term used to refer to a species that
has died out
destruction of forests by logging or
burning
A food chain shows how each living thing gets food, and
how nutrients and energy are passed from creature to
creature.
organism that feeds on plant and animal remains
and other dead matter (ex. earthworms, crabs)
A food web consists of all the food
chains in a single ecosystem.
diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or
matter within each trophic level in a food chain or food
web
increase in the average temperatures
on Earth
all biotic (living) and abiotic
(nonliving) things in an area
heat retained in Earth's atmosphere by carbon
dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other gases
species whose population size is rapidly declining
and will become extinct if the trend continues
3b
habitat fragmentation
mutualism
herbivore
nitrogen cycle
invasive species (non-native
species)
nitrogen-fixation
lichen
omnivore
limiting factor
organism
4a
symbiotic relationship in which both
species benefit from the relationship
splitting of ecosystems into small
fragments
the continuous process by which nitrogen is
exchanged between organisms and the environment
organism that obtains energy by eating only plants
(also all primary consumers are herbivores)
bacteria convert nitrogen gas from the atmosphere into a
form of nitrogen that is usable by plant (we get the
nitrogen we need from food )
an introduced, invasive organism (plant, animal, fungus,
protist, or bacterium) that has negative effects on our
economy, our environment, or our health
organism that obtains energy by eating both plants
and animals (bears eat berries and fish)
symbiotic (mutualistic) association between a
fungus and a photosynthetic organism
an individual living thing that uses energy,
reproduces, responds, grows, and develops
factor that causes the growth of a population to decrease
or not grow any larger (ex. food, water, shelter,
predation, disease, etc.- abiotic or biotic factors)
4b
overfishing
predation
parasitism
primary succession
pioneer species
producer
pollutant
secondary succession
population
species
5a
interaction in which one organism hunts,
immediatedly kills and feeds on another organism
Overfishing is depleting fish stocks to unacceptable levels,
regardless of water body size. The results are resource depletion,
low biological growth rates, and critically low biomass levels.
succession that occurs on surfaces
where no soil exist
symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives in or
on another organism (the host) and consequently harms
it
organism that can capture energy from sunlight or
chemicals and use it to produce food f; also called an
autotroph
first species to populate an area during
primary succession; for example a lichen
succession following a disturbance that destroys a
community without destroying the soil
harmful material that can enter the
biosphere through the land, air, or water
a group of similar organisms that can
breed and produce fertile offspring
group of individuals of the same
species that live in the same area
5b
succession
symbiosis
6a
Ecological succession is the observed process of change in the species
structure of an ecological community over time. The time scale can be
decades (for example, after a wildfire), or even millions of years after a
mass extinction.
Relationship in which two species live closely
together, with one or both benefiting from the
relationship.
6b