Ecology terms to know in Csec biology. Good to know so that you can be up to speed with your classmates, and is that you can successfully answer questions on your external exam to the best of your ability. Ecology is one of the first sections of the syllabus that you will touch on so it it pertinent that you immerse yourself in the different terms that your teacher will introduce to you in the lesson.

1. ECOLOGY
GLOSSARY

2. AWESOME
WORDS

3. A
Aerobic
A chemical process in which oxygen is used to make energy from carbohydrates (sugars).
Anaerobic
Anaerobic respiration is the process of creating energy without the presence of oxygen.
Autotroph
An autotroph is an organism that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals.
B
Benthic
The term benthic refers to anything associated with or occurring on the bottom of a body of water. The animals
and plants that live on or in the bottom are known as the benthos.
Boreal
A boreal ecosystem is an ecosystem with a subarctic climate located in the Northern Hemisphere, approximately
between 50° to 70°N latitude.

4. C
Carnivore
A carnivore, or meat-eater, is an animal or plant whose food and energy
requirements derive from animal tissues whether through hunting or
scavenging.
Consumer
Organisms that feed either directly or indirectly on producers,
plants that convert solar energy into complex organic molecules.
D
Decomposition
Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are
broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon
dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts.
Detritus
Accumulated organic debris from dead organisms, often an
important source of nutrients in a food web.

5. E
Ecosystem
An ecosystem consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic
components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows.
Environment
The environment, is the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors that act upon an organism or an
ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival.
F
Food Chain
A food chain outlines who eats whom, it is all of the food chains in an ecosystem and each organism in an ecosystem
occupies a specific trophic level.
Frugivore
A Frugivore Is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as
roots, shoots, nuts and seeds.

6. G
Generalist
Species that can live in many different types of environments, and have a varied diet are considered generalists.
Grasslands
The grassland biome is made up of large open areas of grasses. They are maintained by grazing animals and
frequent fires. Types of grasslands include savannas and temperate grasslands.
H
Habitat
A habitat is a place where an organism makes its home. A habitat meets all the environmental conditions an
organism needs to survive.
Halophile
The halophiles, named after the Greek word for "salt-loving", are extremophiles that thrive in high salt concentrations.

7. I
Ingestion
Ingestion is the consumption of a substance by an organism.
Intertidal
On the shore between high and low tide lies the intertidal zone, where land and sea
meet.
K
Kelp forest
Kelp Forests are underwater ecosystems formed in shallow water by the dense
growth of several different species known as kelps.
L
Limnology
Limnology is the study of inland waters - lakes (both freshwater and saline),
reservoirs, rivers, streams, wetlands, and groundwater - as ecological systems
interacting with their drainage basins and the atmosphere.

8. M
Morphology
the study of the size, shape, and structure of animals, plants, and microorganisms
and of the relationships of their constituent parts.
N
Niche
The portion of the environment which a species occupies, defined in terms of the conditions
under which an organism can survive, and may be affected by the presence of other competing
organisms.
Nocturnal
An animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping
during the day.
O
Omnivore
An omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter.

9. P
Pathogenic
Any organism that causing or capable of causing disease.
Photic Zone
Photic Zone is the top layer, nearest the surface of the ocean and is also called the sunlight layer.
R
Rain Shadow
A rain shadow is a patch of land that has been forced to become a desert because mountain ranges
blocked all plant-growing, rainy weather.
Riparian
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream.
S
Saprophyte
Saprophytes are the living organisms that live and feed on dead and decaying organisms.

10. WHOA!!
WE’RE ALMOST
DONE!

11. T
Terrestrial
Living on land, as opposed to marine or aquatic.
Tundra
A tundra is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons.
U
Upwelling
The raising of benthic nutrients to the surface waters. This occurs in regions where the flow of water brings currents of
differing temperatures together, and increases productivity of the ecosystem.
Z
Zooplankton
Tiny, free-floating organisms in aquatic systems. Unlike phytoplankton, zooplankton cannot produce their own food, and
so are consumers.

12. AMAZING!!