Chapter 1 Populations and Communities Flashcards
The place where an organism lives and that provides the things the organism needs
Habitat
All the living and nonliving things that interact in a particular area
Ecosystem
The living parts of an ecosystem
Biotic factor
The nonliving parts of an ecosystem
Abiotic factor
Organisms use water along with sunlight and carbon dioxide to make food in a process
Photosynthesis
A group of organisms that are physically similar and can reproduce with each other to produce fertile offspring
Species
All the members of one species in a particular area
Population
All the different populations that live together in an area
Community
The study of how living things interact with each other and with their environment
Ecology
The number of individuals in a specific area
Population density
An approximation of a number, based on reasonable assumptions
Estimate
The number of births in a population in a certain amount of time
Birth rate
The number of deaths in a population in a certain amount of time
Death rate
Moving into a population
Immigration
Leaving a population
Emigration
An environmental factor that prevents a population from increasing
Limiting factor
The largest population that an environment can support
Carrying capacity
The changes that make organisms better suited to their environment develop through a process
Natural selection
The behaviors and physical characteristics of species that allow them to live successfully in their environment
Adaptation
An organism’s particular role, or how it makes its living
Niche
The struggle between organisms to survive in a habitat with limited resources
Competition
An interaction in which one organism kills and eats another
Predation
The organism that does the killing
Predator
The organism that is killed
Prey
