Since Biology involves so many new terms, it is worth your while to figure out what they mean. The regularities in the use of the word roots (e.g., cyto- ) that are used in scientific terminology will help you to understand new terms as they come along (e.g., "cytoskeleton"). They can also help you remember their meanings as new vocabulary starts to accumulate. Below are some word derivations, along with some definitions of terms. In some cases I have not included the definitions if I thought you would profit more from looking them up yourselves...
population: a group of individuals in a particular area of a single species
community: a group of populations in a particular area
ecosystem: the entire biotic community plus the abiotic environment
dispersion
uniform
random
clumped
life history: the traits that affect an organism's schedule of reproduction and death
principle of allocation: the idea that an organism has a limited amount of resources (especially energy) to draw from, and must make tradeoffs in allocating them to its different life functions
r strategist
K strategist
survivorship curves (types I, II & III)
population density (N): the size of a population
per capita birth rate (b): the proportion of the population giving birth over a time interval
per capita death rate (d): the proportion of the population dying over a time interval
per capita population growth rate (r): b-d
rmax: the maximum possible value for r, based only on life history characteristics, and without regard for environmental factors, such as crowding
exponential growth
J-shaped curve
density independent
logistic growth
S-shaped curve
density dependent
carrying capacity (K): the limit on N imposed by crowding and limited resources; the maximum sustainable population density
predation
parasitism
herbivory
mutualism
competition
coevolution
warning coloration
cryptic coloration
mimicry
Batesian mimicry
Mullerian mimicry
secondary compounds
interspecific competition
limiting resource
competitive exclusion principle
competitive exclusion
resource partitioning
character displacement
species diversity
species richness
species evenness
keystone predator
keystone species
primary succession
pioneer community
secondary succession
disturbance
trophic level
primary producer
primary consumer
secondary consumer
decomposer
detritus
food chain
food web
gross primary productivity
net primary productivity
ecological efficiency
pyramid of productivity
biomass pyramid
pyramid of numbers
biological magnification
limiting nutrient
nutrient cycle
pool
flux
phosphate
eutrophication
biome: a major type of terrestrial plant community
climate
tundra
taiga
temperate rain forest
temperate deciduous forest
temperate grassland
chaparral
desert
savanna
tropical dry forest
tropical rain forest
oceanic province
nekton
plankton
benthos
neritic province
kelp forest
coral reef
intertidal zone
mangrove forest
salt marsh
swamp
marsh
estuary
biodiversity
exotic or introduced species
greenhouse effect
greenhouse gas
global warming
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