biotic potential
Maximum rate at which the population of a given species can increase when there are no limits on its rate of growth. See environmental resistance.
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Maximum rate at which the population of a given species can increase when there are no limits on its rate of growth. See environmental resistance.
Living organisms. Compare abiotic.
Zone of earth where life is found. It consists of parts of the atmosphere (the troposphere), hydrosphere (mostly surface water and groundwater), and lithosphere (mostly soil and surface rocks and sediments on the bottoms of oceans and other bodies of water) where life is found. Sometimes called the ecosphere.
Terrestrial regions inhabited by certain types of life, especially vegetation. Examples are various types of deserts, grasslands, and forests.
Organic matter produced by plants and other photosynthetic producers; total dry weight of all living organisms that can be supported at each trophic level in a food chain or web; dry weight of all organic matter in plants and animals in an ecosystem; plant materials and animal wastes used as fuel.
Increase in concentration of DDT, PCBs, and other slowly degradable, fat-soluble chemicals in organisms at successively higher trophic levels of a food chain or web. Also biological amplification can be used. Compare bioaccumulation.
Control of pest populations by natural predators, parasites, or disease-causing bacteria and viruses (pathogens).
Amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic decomposers to break down the organic materials in a given volume of water at a certain temperature over a specified time period. See dissolved oxygen content.
Change in the genetic makeup of a population of a species in successive generations. If continued long enough, it can lead to the formation of a new species. Note that populations--not individuals--evolve. Also used is evolution. See also adaptation, differential reproduction, natural selection, theory of evolution.
Applied science of managing, analyzing, and communicating biological information.
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