Ecology, Biodiversity And Evolution-I

Abiotic Components
Abiotic components are non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment that affect ecosystems. Examples include water, light, radiation, temperature, humidity, atmosphere, acidity, and soil.

Acid Rain
Acid rain refers to precipitation that is unusually acidic, with elevated levels of hydrogen ions. It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure.

Adaptation
Adaptation is the evolutionary process by which an organism becomes better able to live in its habitat or habitats.

Adaptedness
Adaptedness refers to the state of being adapted: the degree to which an organism is able to live and reproduce in a given set of habitats.

Adaptive Radiation
Adaptive radiation is the relatively fast evolution of many species from a single common ancestor. This process generally occurs when an organism enters a new area where different traits affect its survival. For example, the development of mammals after the extinction of dinosaurs demonstrates adaptive radiation.

Aerobes
Aerobes are organisms that require an oxygenated environment to grow and survive.

Aestivation
Aestivation is a state of animal dormancy occurring in the summer rather than in the winter.

Air Pollution
Air pollution occurs when harmful or excessive substances are introduced into Earth’s atmosphere. Sources include gases, particulates, and biological molecules.

Algae
Algae are simple, chlorophyll-containing organisms ranging from microscopic, unicellular forms to large, multicellular ones.

Algal Bloom
Algal blooms are dense accumulations of microscopic algae or cyanobacteria within marine, brackish, and freshwater bodies, often causing visible discoloration.

Algivores
Algivores, also called algae eaters, are species that feed on algae.

Allele
An allele is one of two or more alternate forms of a gene.

Allopatric Speciation
Allopatric speciation, also known as geographic speciation, occurs when biological populations of the same species become isolated due to geographical changes such as mountain building or social changes like emigration.

Alternation of Generations
Alternation of generations is a life cycle found in terrestrial plants and some algae, where subsequent generations alternate between haploid and diploid organisms.

Altruistic Behavior
Altruism in biology refers to behavior by an individual that increases another individual’s fitness while decreasing the actor’s fitness.

Ambush Predators
Ambush predators, also called sit-and-wait predators, are carnivorous animals that capture prey by stealth or surprise, often from a concealed position.

Ammonification
Ammonification is the process through which organically bound nitrogen is recycled after the death of microbial, plant, and animal biomass.

Amoeba
Amoebae are eukaryotes consisting most often of a single cell capable of altering its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopods.

Amoeboid Movement
Amoeboid movement is a crawling-like type of locomotion accomplished by protruding cytoplasm to form pseudopodia.

Anaerobes
Anaerobes are organisms that do not require oxygen for metabolism. Some may react negatively or die if exposed to free oxygen.

Analogous Structures
Analogous structures are similar structures that evolved independently in different organisms to serve the same purpose. For instance, the wings of butterflies, bats, and birds are analogous structures used for flying.

Anatomy
Anatomy is the study of the structures of living organisms and a branch of biology and medicine.

Aneuploidy
Aneuploidy refers to the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell, such as a human cell having 45 or 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46.

Aposematism
Aposematism involves visual signals, such as bright colors or conspicuous markings, used by an animal to warn predators of its toxicity or distastefulness.

Asymmetry
Asymmetry is the absence of symmetry or deviation from the regular arrangement of similar parts in an organism. For example, sponges lack symmetry.

Atmosphere
Earth’s atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet, retained by Earth’s gravity.

ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)
ATP is an energy-carrying molecule found in the cells of all living organisms, serving as the main energy currency of the cell.

Autolysis
Autolysis refers to the destruction of cells or tissues by their own enzymes, particularly those released by lysosomes.

Autosome
An autosome is any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome. Humans, for example, have 22 pairs of autosomes.

Autotroph
Autotrophs are organisms that produce complex organic compounds using carbon dioxide, often deriving energy from light or inorganic chemical reactions. Examples include plants.

Choanocytes
These are flagellated cells lining the inner cavity of a sponge, having a collar of protoplasm encircling the base of the flagellum.

Chromatid
A chromatid is one of two strands of a copied chromosome. Chromatids that are joined together at their centromeres are called sister chromatids.

Chromatin
Chromatin is a complex of DNA and protein found in eukaryotic cells. Its primary function is packaging long DNA molecules into more compact, denser structures. It consists of the condensed structure of DNA for the purpose of packaging into the nucleus.

Chromosome
A chromosome consists of the highest condensed structure of the DNA double-helix for the proper separation of the genetic material between daughter cells.

Ciliophores
A phylum of the Protoctista containing ciliated protozoa – ciliates – (including Paramecium) that possess two types of nuclei, a micronucleus and macronucleus. The cilia are used for feeding and locomotion. Ciliates reproduce sexually by conjugation.

Cisternae
A cisterna is a flattened membrane disk of the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus.

Cladistics
A biological classification system that involves the categorization of organisms based on shared traits. Cladistics can be used to trace ancestry back to shared common ancestors and the evolution of various characteristics.

Climate
It is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular location over a long period of time; it is the long-term summation of the atmospheric elements (and their variations) that, over short time periods, constitute weather.

Cnidocyte
Cnidocytes are prey-capture and defensive cells unique to animals of the phylum Cnidaria.

Codominance
It occurs when two versions, or “alleles,” of the same gene are present in a living thing, and both are expressed. Instead of one trait being dominant over the other, both traits appear.

Coelom
A coelom is a body cavity present between the body wall and the gut wall. Coelom has a mesodermal lining. Animals having a true coelom are called coelomates.

Coevolution
The process of reciprocal evolutionary change that occurs between pairs of species or among groups of species as they interact with one another. It is the evolution of at least two species, which occurs in a mutually dependent manner.

Commensalism
An association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.

Community
It is a group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time.

Comparative Anatomy
Comparative anatomy is the study of the similarities and differences in the structures of different species.

Competition
It refers to the rivalry between or among living things for territory, resources, goods, mates, etc. It is one of the many symbiotic relationships occurring in nature.

Condensation
Condensation is the change of water from its gaseous form (water vapor) into liquid water. It generally occurs in the atmosphere when warm air rises, cools, and loses its capacity to hold water vapor. As a result, excess water vapor condenses to form cloud droplets.

Consumer
A consumer is an organism that feeds on plants or other animals for energy.

Continental Drift
Large-scale horizontal movement of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins during one or more episodes of geologic time.

Convection Current
A process involving the movement of energy from one place to another. It is also referred to as convection heat transfer. It tends to move a fluid or gas from one place to another.

Convergent Evolution
The process whereby organisms not closely related independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches.

Corpophagy
Coprophagia or coprophagy is the consumption of feces.

Counter-illumination
A method of active camouflage seen in marine animals such as firefly squid and midshipman fish, producing light to match their backgrounds in both brightness and wavelength.

Counter-shading
A method of camouflage in which an animal’s coloration is darker on the upper side and lighter on the underside of the body.

Crista
The internal compartments formed by the inner membrane of a mitochondrion, where many chemical reactions take place.

Crypsis
The ability of an organism to conceal itself, especially from a predator, by having a color, pattern, and shape that allows it to blend into the surrounding environment

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