Ecology Flashcards
Food Chain
one possible path that energy and nutrients may take as they move through the ecosystem.
Food Web
consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem.
Producers
make their own food and do not depend on any other organism for nutrition.
Autotrophs
make their own food and do not depend on any other organism for nutrition.
Consumers
Eat other organisms for food.
Carnivore
animals that eat other animals
Omnivore
animals that eat both plants and animals
Trophic Levels
The grouping of organisms in a food web based on their role.
Primary Consumers
are herbivores. Eat plants, algae, and other producers.
Herbivores
Eat plants, algae, and other producers.
Secondary Consumers
eat the herbivores or primary consumers
Tertiary Consumers
eat the secondary consumers
Apex Predators
A top consumer or top predator.
Detritivores
organisms that eat non living plant and animal remains. (a scavenger)
Scavenger
organisms that eat non living plant and animal remains. (a scavenger)
Decomposers
turn organic wastes, such as decaying plants, into inorganic materials, such as nutrient-rich soil.
Ecosystem
All of the living and non living parts of the environment that interact with each other.
Ecology
The study of how organisms interact with their environment and with other organisms.
Dominant Species
A group of organisms that outnumber/dominates the other species in the area.
Environment
All the living and non living things that surround an organism.
Biosphere
That part of earth in which life can exist
Habitat
The location in which an organism lives.
Species
a group of organisms that share similar characteristics and can mate with each other to produce offspring
Population
the group of organisms of the same species living in the same area
Community
a group of different populations that live together and interact in an environment
Niche
the place or role that an organism has in its habitat
Competition
the interaction between organisms or species that use the same resources in which the health of one is negatively affected by the presence of the other
Biotic
all of the living parts of an ecosystem
Abiotic
all of the nonliving parts of an ecosystem
Predator
an animal that hunts and eats another animal
Prey
an animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal
Parasite
an organism that lives in or on another organism (the host) and obtains nourishment from the host but provides nothing back to that host
Host
organism that is parasitized or subject to attack by one or more parasites
Symbiosis
relationship between two species that interact in ways that influence each other’s evolution
Parasitism
a certain type of non-mutual relationship found between two different species in which one organism known as the parasite benefits at the expense of the other organism
Mutualism
a relationship between two species of a plant, animal, or fungus in which one lives off the other and both organisms benefit
Commensalism
a relationship between two species of a plant, animal, or fungus in which one lives with, on, or in the other without damage to either
