Ecological Terms Flashcards
Biosphere
The part of the Earth and its atmosphere where living organisms live.
Abiotic Factors
Non-living factors within an environment.
Biotic Factors
An environmental factor to do with living organisms
Ecosystem
The interactions between living organisms and non-living organisms
Community
All the living organisms in a habitat
Population
A group of individuals from the same species living within the habitat.
Habitat
A particular place within an ecosystem where an organism lives.
Anthropogenic
Factors arising from the activities of humans.
Predation
Interaction between organism in which one kills and eats the other.
Competition
Interaction between organisms which seek the same limited resources.
Intraspecific
Competition between members of the same species
Interspecific
Competition between members of different species.
Niche
The role of a species in an ecosystem
Adaptations
Any feature of the structure of physiology of an organism that makes it well suited to its environment.
Herbivore
A plant eating animal.
Carnivore
An animal that eats other animals
Autotroph
An organism which makes complex organic molecules from simple inorganic ones.
Heterotroph
An organism which uses complex organic molecules made by other living organisms as its food source.
Density Independent
A factor which limits the size of a population but whose effect does not depend upon the population’s size.
Density Dependent
A factor which limits the size of a population but whose effect depends upon the population’s size.
Producer
The first member of a food chain which converts simple inorganic molecules into more complex ones.
Consumer
Members of a food chain which uses complex organic molecules made by other living organisms.
