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[Pages:2]Pearson: Evolution and Community Ecology--Chapter 5

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1. adaptation

inherited characteristic that increases an organism's chance of survival

2. artificial selection

process of selection conducted under human direction

3. behavioral adaptation

an inherited behavior that helps an organism survive

4. biodiversity

the number of different species in a given area

5. carnivore

organism that obtains energy by eating animals

6. chemosynthesis

primary producers use energy stored in the bonds of hydrogen sulfide to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars (energy from chemicals on ocean floor)

7. climax community

The last or final stage of succession in a community which is in equilibrium with its environment

8. coevolution

two species evolve in response to changes in each other

9. commensalism

symbiotic relationship in which one member of the association benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed

10. consumer

an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms

11. decomposer

organism that breaks down and obtains energy from dead organic matter

12. detritivores

cycle the nutrients of nonliving organic matter, including leaf litter, waste products, and the dead bodies of other community members

13. ecological succession

The gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought about by the progressive replacement of one community by another until a stable climax is established

14. endangered species

a species whose numbers are so small that the species is at risk of extinction

15. energy pyramid

diagram that shows the energy available to each trophic level in an ecosystem; 10% is passed on to upper levels, the rest is lost as heat

16. evolution

generation-to-generation change in the proportion of different inherited genes in a population that account for all of the changes that have transformed life over an immense time

17. extinct

no longer in existence

18. extinct species

a species that was once present on Earth but has died out

19. extirpated species that have disappeared from an area, but still exist elsewhere

20. fitness

describes how reproductively successful an organism is in its environment

21. food chain

series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten

22. food web

consists of the many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem

23. gene

a sequence of DNA that codes for a particular trait

24. genetic drift

biological evolution that occurs by chance

25. habitat loss

the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present; leading cause of species decline

26. herbivore

organism that obtains energy by eating only plants

27. instinct

a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned (migration)

28. invasive species

a nonnative organism that spreads widely in a community

29. keystone species

a species with a strong or wide-reaching impact on a community

30. mimicry

an adaptation that allows an animal to protect itself by looking like another kind of animal or like a plant

31. mutualism symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit from the relationship

32. natural selection

process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully

33. omnivore

organism that obtains energy by eating both plants and animals

34. parasitism

symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives in or on another organism (the host) and consequently harms it

35. pioneer species

first species to populate an area during primary succession

36. predator animal that hunts and eats other animals

37. prey

animal hunted or caught for food

38. primary

an ecological succession that begins in a an area

succession where no biotic community previously existed

39. producer an organism that makes its own food

40. reflex

41. resource partitioning

42. scavenger 43. secondary

consumer 44. secondary

succession 45. speciation 46. structural

adaptation 47. survival of the

fittest 48. sustainability

49. symbiosis 50. tertiary

consumer 51. threatened

species 52. tolerance 53. trophic level

an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus, an automatic response that occurs very rapidly and without conscious control (playing dead) species divide the resource they use in common by specializing in different ways

a detritivore that gets its energy by feeding on refuse and other decaying organic matter An organism that eats primary consumers

Sequence of community changes that take place after a community is disrupted by natural disasters or human actions

process by which new species are generated a physical feature of an organism's body having a specific function that contributes to the survival of the organism

a natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment

The concept of using the earth's resources in such they provide for people's needs in the present without diminishing ability to provide for future generations relationship in which two species live closely together over a long period of time An organism that eats secondary consumers

a species that could become endangered in the near future

the ability to survive and reproduce under changing environmental conditions Steps on a food/biomass pyramid that are defined by organisms within a community that are the same distance from the primary producers in a food web

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