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Ecology

QuestionAnswer
Ecology The scientific study of the interactions among organisms and their environment.
Biosphere The portion of the Earth that supports life. It is made up of all of the Biomes.
Abiotic Factors Nonliving parts of an organism's environment.
Biotic Factors All the living organisms that inhabit an environment.
Organism A single living thing.
Population A group of organisms of the same species which live in the same place at the same time.
Community A collection of interacting populations.
Ecosystem It is made up of the interactions among populations in a community and the physical surroundings of a local area.
Biome It is made up of the collection of similar ecosystems with the same climate.
Habitat The place where an organism lives out its life.
Niche The role or position a species has in its environment. This describes how it survives, meets its needs for food and shelter, reproduces, etc. Only one species can occupy a niche at a time.
Symbiosis A close and permanent association among organisms of different species. It means "living together".
Commensalism A type of symbiosis where one species benefits, but the other is neither harmed nor helped.
Mutualism A type of symbiosis in which both species benefit.
Parasitism A type of symbiosis in which one species benefits at the expense of the other.
Producers/Autotrophs Organisms that use energy from the sun or energy stored in chemical compounds to manufacture their own nutrients (food).
Consumers/Heterotrophs Organisms which cannot make their own food and feed on other organisms to survive.
Omnivore An organism that eats both autotrophs and heterotrophs.
Herbivore An organism that eats only autotrophs.
Carnivore An organism that eats other animals.
Scavenger An organism which eats animals which have already died.
Decomposer An organism that breaks down and absorbs nutrients from dead organisms/organic waste.
Food Chain A simple model used to show how matter and energy move through an ecosystem.
Trophic Level A feeding step in the passage of energy and materials. Many organisms occupy each trophic level in an ecosystem.
Food Web A model which expresses all possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a community.
Ecological Pyramid A model which shows how energy flows through an ecosystem. Each level possesses only 10% of the energy of the previous level.
Limiting Factors Environmental factors that affect an organism's ability to survive in its environment, such as food availability, predators, temperature, etc.
Tolerance The ability of an organism to withstand fluctuations in biotic and abiotic environmental factors.
Succession The orderly, natural changes and species replacement that takes place in the communities of an ecosystem.
Primary Succession The colonization of new sites by communities of organisms.
Pioneer Species The first species in a new area.
Climax Community A stable, mature community that undergoes little or no change in species.
Secondary Succession The sequence of community changes that takes place after a community is disrupted by natural disasters or human actions.
Exponential Growth As a population gets larger, it also grows faster; this results in a population explosion.
Carrying Capacity The number of organisms of one species that an environment can support.
Reproductive Pattern Unstable environments are optimal for small organisms that mature rapidly, have short lifespans, and have many offspring. Stable environments are optimal for larger organisms that mature slowly, have longer lifespans, and few offspring.
Density-Dependent Factors These limiting factors have an increasing effect as the population in an area increases.
Density-Independent Factors These limiting factors affect all populations, regardless of size.
Competition A density dependent factor where organisms compete for food, water, and territory.
Created by: Mwaites
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