Ecology

Ecology

Industry: Biology

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Contributors in Ecology

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Ecology

Metapopulation

Biology; Ecology

Local but geographically separated populations of a species that are linked only by organisms that migrate between them. Although local groups might die out, the migrants keep the species alive. ...

Supposed huge diversification of multicellular life forms in the Earth's oceans during the Cambrian Period 570 million years ago. All that's certain is that organisms living before the "explosion" ...

Pyramid of energy flow

Biology; Ecology

A diagram showing the flow of energy through the trophic levels of a food chain or web. About 10% of the usable energy at one trophic level makes it to the next. Many small organisms are needed to ...

Biome

Biology; Ecology

The largest ecological regions distinguishable by characteristic plants and animals. There are six: tundra, conifer, deciduous forest, grassland, tropical, and desert. Biomes are subdivided into ...

Obliquity

Biology; Ecology

The tilt of the Earth's axis (23. 5° at present). The tilt makes seasons possible because at any given position in the Earth's orbit around the Sun, half of the planet will lean toward the sun as the ...

Cover crop

Biology; Ecology

A crop grown to protect the soil from erosion and nearby food crops from weeds. Can be dug under to put nutrients back into the ground. Common cover crops include buckwheat, hairy vetch, Austrian ...

Impervious cover

Biology; Ecology

A surface that blocks water from going into the soil: highways, streets, parking lots. In urban areas the resulting storm runoffs spread pollution and waste, erode whatever soils they reach, and ...