biota
All living organisms
Biota refers to all the living organisms—plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and other life forms—found in a particular region, habitat, or time period.
Scientists use the term to discuss ecosystems as a whole rather than individual species: The biota of the Amazon basin remains largely undocumented.
It often appears in environmental contexts when assessing the health or diversity of an area: Industrial runoff has devastated the river's biota.
Plants of a region
- faunaAnimal life collectively
- microorganismsMicroscopic living entities
- bacteriaNucleus-free single-celled organisms
- fungiSpore-reproducing decomposers
algae · protists · viruses · archaea · plankton · phytoplankton · zooplankton · lichens
Interconnected organisms and surroundings
- communityCollective of connected people
- populationAll inhabitants combined
- foodwebEcosystem's feeding relationships
- trophicRelating to feeding
niche · interactions · dynamics · succession · resilience · productivity · habitat · decomposers
Geographic species restriction
- genetic diversityAllelic variation within populations
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
- endangeredAt risk of extinction
invasive · native · conservation · phylogenetic · taxonomy · biogeography · hotspots · threatened
Water-inhabiting
- benthicOf the sea bottom
- pelagicOf the open sea
- endemicNative to one area
- indigenousOriginating in a region
Science of categorical arrangement
- classificationSystematic grouping by traits
- inventoryCatalog of held assets
- surveySystematic data collection
- samplingExtracting subset for study
flora
Plants of a region
- faunaAnimal life collectively
- microorganismsMicroscopic living entities
- bacteriaNucleus-free single-celled organisms
fungi · algae · protists · viruses · archaea · plankton · phytoplankton · zooplankton · lichens · invertebrates
ecosystem
Interconnected organisms and surroundings
- communityCollective of connected people
- populationAll inhabitants combined
- foodwebEcosystem's feeding relationships
trophic · niche · interactions · dynamics · succession · resilience · productivity · habitat · decomposers · producers
endemism
Geographic species restriction
- genetic diversityAllelic variation within populations
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
endangered · invasive · native · conservation · phylogenetic · taxonomy · biogeography · hotspots · threatened · endemic
aquatic
Water-inhabiting
indigenous · introduced · microfauna · macrofauna · megafauna
taxonomy
Science of categorical arrangement
- classificationSystematic grouping by traits
- inventoryCatalog of held assets
- surveySystematic data collection
- biodiversityspecies diversity, endemism, genetic diversity, fauna, flora
- microbiologybacteria, bacterium, microbe, microbes, microorganisms
- biogeographybioregion, species range, endemism, dispersal, native range
- Earth systemsatmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, geosphere, cryosphere
biotageology
Study of Earth's composition
geosphere · lithosphere · hydrosphere · atmosphere · climate
- biology lab
- biology class
- marine biologyStudy of sea organisms
- biology teacherEducator in life sciences
- molecular biologyStudy of cellular machinery
- biodiversity lossReduction in species variety
biology, antibiotic, symbiosis, symbiotic, antibiotics, biosphere, biodiversity, biochemical, biochemistry