Ch. 18 Interactions of Living Things Flashcards
biotic
describes living factors in the enviroment
abiotic
describes the NONliving part of the enviroment, including water, rocks, light and temperature.
population
a group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific geographical area
community
all the populations of species that live in the same habitat and interact with each other.
ecosystem
a community of organisms and their abiotic enviroment
biosphere
the part of Earth where life exists
herbivore
an organism that eats only plants
carnivore
an organism that eats animals
omnivore
an organism that eats both plants and animals
food chain
the pathway of energy transfer through various stages as a result of the feeding patterns of a series of organisms
food web
a diagram that shows the feeding relathionships between organisms in an ecosystem
energy pyramid
a traingular diagram that shows an ecosystem’s loss of energy, which results as energy passes through the ecosystem’s food chain
carrying capacity
the largest population that an enviroment can support at any given time.
prey
an organism that is killed and eaten by another organism
predator
an organism that eats all of part of another organism
symbiosis
a relationship in which two different organisms live in close association with each other
mutualism
a relationship between two species in ehich both species benefit
commensalim
a relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the ther is unaffected
paratism
a realtionship in which one species, the parasite benefits and the other is harmed
coevolution
the evolution of two species that is due to mutual influence, foten in a way that makes the relationship more beneficial to both species
ecology
the study of the interactions of living organisms with one another and with their enviroment
