Ecology and Human Impact Flashcards
Grade 8 · Science · Flashcards
Key vocabulary and concepts for understanding ecosystems, energy flow, and the effects of human activity on the environment.
Flashcards
- Ecology
- The scientific study of how organisms interact with each other and with their physical environment.
- Ecosystem
- A system formed by the interactions of all living organisms with each other and their nonliving environment in a given area.
- Biotic factors
- Living components of an ecosystem, including plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria.
- Abiotic factors
- Nonliving components of an ecosystem, such as sunlight, temperature, water, and soil minerals.
- Producer (autotroph)
- An organism that makes its own food using sunlight (photosynthesis) or chemicals; the energy base of ecosystems.
- Consumer (heterotroph)
- An organism that gets energy by consuming other organisms; includes herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.
- Decomposer
- Organisms (fungi, bacteria) that break down dead matter into simpler substances, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.
- Food web
- A model showing the complex network of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem.
- Biodiversity
- The variety of life in an area, including species diversity, genetic diversity, and ecosystem diversity.
- Climate change
- Long-term shifts in global temperatures and weather patterns, accelerated by human release of greenhouse gases.
- Greenhouse gas
- A gas (CO₂, methane, water vapor) that absorbs and re-emits heat in the atmosphere, warming Earth's surface.
- Invasive species
- A species introduced outside its native range that spreads aggressively and disrupts the local ecosystem.
- Sustainability
- Managing natural resources so they can continue to provide for future generations without being depleted.
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