Key Concepts in Ecology: From Biosphere to Niche
Key Concepts in Ecology
Interdependence in Ecology
Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and the environment. Interdependence is a key theme found throughout ecology.
Levels of Organization in Ecology
- Biosphere: The most inclusive level of organization (broadest).
- Ecosystem: Smaller units that compose the biosphere.
- Community: All the interacting organisms living in an area.
- Population: Members of a species that live in one place at one time.
- Habitat: The place where an organism lives.
Environmental Factors
- Biotic factors: All living parts of the environment.
- Abiotic factors: Non-living factors.
- Acclimation: The process of adjusting tolerance to abiotic factors.
- Dormancy: A state of reduced activity during unfavorable conditions.
- Migration: Movement to a more favorable environment.
Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
- Producer: Autotrophs that can make their own food.
- Chemosynthesis: The use of energy stored in inorganic molecules to produce carbohydrates.
- Biomass: Organic material that has been produced in an ecosystem.
- Consumer: Heterotrophs that eat other organisms.
- Herbivore: Organisms that eat producers.
- Carnivore: Organisms that eat consumers.
- Omnivore: Organisms that eat both producers and consumers.
- Detritivore: A type of consumer that feeds on garbage.
- Decomposer: Organisms that break down complex molecules into simpler molecules.
Ecological Relationships
- Food chain: A single pathway of feeding relationships.
- Food web: A system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.
Biogeochemical Cycles
Biogeochemical cycle: The pathway by which a chemical substance moves through the living and non-living components on Earth.
- Groundwater: Water in the soil or in underground formations of porous rock.
- Water cycle: The movement of water between various reservoirs.
- Transpiration: The process by which water evaporates from the leaves of plants in terrestrial ecosystems.
- Carbon cycle: The biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere and atmosphere of the Earth.
- Nitrogen cycle: The complex pathway that nitrogen follows in an ecosystem.
- Ammonification: The process in which ammonia released by decomposers becomes ammonium in the soil.
- Nitrification: The process in which soil bacteria take up ammonium and oxidize it into nitrites.
- Denitrification: Occurs when anaerobic bacteria break down nitrates and release nitrogen gas into the atmosphere.
- Phosphorus cycle: The movement of phosphorus from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment.
Ecological Niche
Niche: A position or role taken by a kind of organism within its community.