Ecology Glossary

Glossary
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Ecology

The study of the inclusive nature society dealing with interactions of organisms with other organisms and with the physical environment.

Population

All the organism within an area belonging to the same species.

Population density

The number of individuals of a certain species per unit area or volume.

Population distribution

The pattern of dispersal of them within that area.

Population size

The number of individuals in a population.

Survivorship

The probability of newborn individuals of a cohort surviving to particular ages.

Community

All the various populations interacting in an area counted as a whole.

Composition of a community

A listing of the various species in the community.

Diversity of a community

More complex than the composition of a community in that it involves both species richness(the number of species) as well as evenness (the relative abundance of different species).

Habitat

An environment wherein an organism lives and reproduces.

Ecological niche

The functional role the organism plays in its community, including its habitat as well as the interactions with other organisms.

Interspecific competition

It occurs when members of different species try to utilize the same resource like light, space, or nutrients that is in limited supply, or when their niches overlap.

Predation

One organism, called the predator feeds on another, called the prey.

Symbiosis

One in which members of two populations interact very closely.

Parasitism

This indicates a situation wherein an organism called a parasite derives nourishment from another called the host.

Commensalism

One species is benefited and the other is neither benefited or harmed.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit

Ecosystem

An ecosystem extends a community by involving also the abiotic environment, that is, the physical and chemical environment.

Abiotic components

Such physical and chemical factors of an ecosystem as light, temperature, atmosphere gases(nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide are the most important), water, wind, soil.

Autotrophs

Organisms that produce their own organic nutrients for themselves and other members of the community

Heterotrophs

Consumers that are unable to produce, are constantly looking for source of organic nutrients from elsewhere.

Detritivores

Organisms that rely on detritus, the decomposing particles of organic matter, for food.

Primary productivity

The term used to describe the amount of organic matter an ecosystem produces from solar energy within a given area during a given period of time.

Gross primary productivity

The total amount of organic matter produced by all autotrophs in an ecosystem, including that used by themselves.

Net primary productivity

The total amount of energy fixed per unit of time minus the amount of energy expended by the metabolic activities of the photosynthetic organisms in the community, denoting the amount of organic matter produced by autotrophs that is available for heterotrophs.

Biomass

The net weight of all organisms living in an ecosystem, which, increases as a result of its net production.

Secondary productivity

The rate of biomass accumulation by heterotrophs (herbivores, carnivores and detritivores).

Food webs

The complicated feeding relationships that exist among organisms in natural ecosystem.

Trophic level

All the organisms that feed at a particular level in a food chain.