Glossary of Ecology - C

C

• community structure - a series of close knit groups that share common characteristics, they form a spider web pattern because of the natural divisions in the structure of the community
• camouflage - used to deceive or disguise from surroundings
• carbon cycle - is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth.
• carrying capacity - the maximum number of individuals an environment's resources can support, including the food and water available for the environment
• Charismatic megafauna - a species of large animal species with widespread popular appeal that environmental activists use to achieve conservation goals well beyond just those species. Examples include the Giant Panda, the Bengal Tiger, and the Blue Whale. See also: Flagship species
• Chemical ecology - which deals with the ecological role of biological chemicals used in a wide range of areas including defense against predators and attraction of mates
• climate - The long term average weather pattern in a particular place.
• climate change - change in weather conditions such as cloud cover wind speed, temperature, rainfall or humidity in a specific region.
• cohert - an individual in a population that is of the same species
• climax community - a biological community of plants and animals that has reached a constant state occurring when the species is best adapted to average conditions in that area
• climax-pattern model - a community is adapted to many environmental factors that vary in their influence over a region
• conservation biology - scientific study of the earths biodiversity and aimed at protecting habitats and species from extinction.
• conservation ecology - which studies how to reduce the risk of species extinction
• commensalism - A symbiotic relationship between two organisms of different species in which one attains some benefits while the other is unaffected
• communication display - a pattern of behavior that is a social signal, sending others a message through different displays of movement, and voice
• communication signal - instinctive and learned behaviors by which animals send and receive to each other in information laden cues, encoded in stimuli.
• community - a group of various organisms living in the same environment
• community assembly theory - explains how environmentally similar sites have different species or similar species because of the resources they need or "niche requirements"
• Community ecology (or synecology) - studies the interactions between species within an ecological community
• consumer - an organism, usually an animal, that feeds on plants or other animals.
• competition - when organisms from the same or different species compete against each other for food, better living conditions, better reproductive success, or any limited resource where the most fit or most adapted individual comes out on top and thus survives and reproduces
• competitive exclusion principle - states that two species can not both exist if they are competing for exactly the same resource. Therefore there is always one with a small advantage that will cause the other species in most cases to become extinct.
• composite signal - a signal used in order to communicate which has information within more than a single cue.
• coniferous forest - is a land biome, or large section of land
• cooperation - is the process of working or acting together, intentionally or not. It encompasses working in harmony, side by side, while also involving something as complex as the inner workings of a human being or even the social patterns of a nation.
• courtship display - Ritual social behavior between possible mates