Prentice Hall Biology Chapter 4 Vocabulary – Flashcards

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Weather
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the day-to-day condition of earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place
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climate
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the average year-after-year conditions of temperature and precipitation in a particular region
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greenhouse effect
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the natural situation in which heat is retained by this layer of greenhouse gases
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Polar Zone
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cold areas where the sun's rays strike Earth at a very low angle located in the areas around the north and south poles
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temperate zones
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sit between the polar and tropic zones. temperate zones are more affected by the changing angle of the sun over a course of a year
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tropical zone
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near the equator receive direct or nearly direct sunlight year round
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biotic factors
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the biological influences on organisms within an ecosystem
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abiotic factors
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physical or nonliving factors that shape an ecosystem
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niche
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the full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those condition
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resource
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any necessity of life
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competitive exclusion principle
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a rule stating that no two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time
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predation
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an interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organism
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symbiosis
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any relationship in which two species live closely together
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mutualism
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both species benefit from one another
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commensalism
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one member of the association benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed
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parasitism
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one organism lives on or inside another harming it
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ecological succesion
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the series of predictable changes that occur in a community over time
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primary succesion
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succession that occurs on surfaces where no soil is present
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pioneer species
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when primary succession begins, there is no soil just ash and rock, the first species to populate the area
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secondary succesion
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when a disturbance is over, community interactions tend to restore the ecosystem to its original condition in this process
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biome
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a complex of terrestrial communities that cover a large area and is categorized by a certain soil and climate conditions and a particular assemblage of plants and animals
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tolerance
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ability to survive and reproduce under conditions that differ from their optimal conditions
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canopy
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dense covering formed by the leafy tops of tall rain forest trees
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understory
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a second layer of shorter trees and vines
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deciduous
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a tree that sheds its leaves during a particular season each year
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coniferous
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trees that produce seed-bearing cones and most have leaves shaped like needles
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humus
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a material formed from decaying leaves and organic matter that makes soil fertile
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taiga
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boreal forests
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permafrost
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a layer of permanently frozen subsoil
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Plankton
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tiny free-floating organisms that live in both freshwater and saltwater environments
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phytoplankton
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unicellular algae
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zooplankton
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planktonic animals
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wetland
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an ecosystem in which water either covers the soil or is present at or near the surface of the soil for at least part of the year
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Estuaries
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wetlands formed where rivers meet the sea
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detritus
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tiny pieces of organic material that provides food for organisms at the base of the estuary's food web
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salt marshes
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temperate zone estuaries dominated by slat tolerant grasses above the low tide line and by seagrasses underwater
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mangrove swamps
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are coastlands that are widespread across tropical regions including tropical southern florida and hawaii
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photic zone
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photosynthesis is limited to the well lit upper layer
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aphotic zone
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the layer below the photic layer that is permanently dark
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Zonation
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the prominent horizontal banding of organisms that live on a particular habitat
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coastal ocean
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extends form the low tide mark to the outer edge of the continental shelf
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kelp forests
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coastal ocean community named for its dominant organism-kelp, a giant brown alga
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coral reefs
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Prominent oceanic features composed of hard, limy skeletons produced by coral animals; usually formed along edges of shallow, submerged ocean banks or along shelves in warm, shallow, tropical seas
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benthos
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organisms that live attached to or near the bottom of the ocean floor
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