Atmosphere

The mass of gases that surrounds the Earth.

Cyanobacteria

A group of prokaryotes that make food by photosynthesis.

Fossil

The remains or evidence of an organism that lived in past ages.

Adaption

Inherited characteristics, features or behavior of an organism that improves the organism's ability to survive & reproduce in its environment.

Antibiotic

A drug that is used to kill bacteria or slow their growth.

Evolution

Process of change in species & populations of organisms over time.

Fitness

An organism's ability to survive & reproduce.

Gene Pool

The total genetic information of all the organisms in a population.

Geographic Isolation

When a physical barrier such as water divides a population into 2 separate populations that can no longer reach each other to interbreed.

Immunity

The ability of an organism to fight disease.

Natural Selection

The process by which organisms best suited to their environment survive & reproduce.

Passive Immunity

Immunity produced by the transfer of antibodies made by one organism to another organism.

Resistance

An organism's ability to withstand the effects of a harmful agent.

Speciation

The evolution of a new species from an existing species.

Species

A group of organisms that share most characteristics & can interbreed to produce fertile offspring.

Analogous Structures

Body parts that have a similar function but not a similar structure.

Autotroph

An organism that makes its own food.

Binomial Nomenclature

A system of naming organisms in which each kind of organism is given a unique 2-part name.

Dichotomous Key

A tool that can be used to determine the identity of something by matching observations to a series of paired statements or questions.

Domain

The largest group of organisms in the modern classification system.

Embryo

An early stage in the development of an organism.

Embryology

The study of embryos.

Genus

(plural: Genera)

A classification group below family that includes related species.

Heterotroph

Organisms that cannot make their own food & obtains nutrition by feeding on other organisms.

Homologous Structures

Body parts of different organisms that have a similar structure but may have different functions.

Kingdom

The taxonomic group below the domain.

Phylogenetic Tree

A branching diagram that shows the development of groups of organisms from a common ancestor.

Phylogeny

The evolutionary history of a group of organisms.

Taxonomy

The field of biology that deals with classifying organisms.

Flow of Energy and Ecology Vocabulary

Ecosystem

Is the sum of all living and non living things in an area and the interactions among them.

Autotrophs/

Producers