Ecology Flashcards
Ecology
The study of the relationship between living things and their environments
Organisms get the materials they need from their enviornment
JP Dewey
Abiotic
Non-living
Rocks, water, light, temperatures
Biotic
Living things
Plants, cats, insects
Interact
Means the process of organisms acting upon one another or on the non living environment
Interactions can be direct or indirect
Direct- big fish
Ecosystem
Group of communities interacting with each other and the main living parts of their environments
All the squirrels, chipmunks and soil in Sidney
Predator
Consumer, consumes and hunts other animals to obtain energy
Eater
Prey
Organism being eaten by predator
The hunted
Ex. Squirrel being eaten by snake
Competition
Struggle for resources within a community/ecosystem
Ex. Finches lab
Symbiosis
Close relationship between different species
Types of symbiotic relationships: Mutualism, communalism, parasitism
Scavenger
Consumes dead animals
Ex. Vultures, worms
Parasitism
Organisms that attack other living organisms ( host ) and eventually kill them after developing inside of them
Ex. Caterpillar and wasp
One harmed one killed
Parasite
Organisms that attack other living organisms ( host ) and eventually kill them after developing inside of them
Ex. Caterpillar and wasp
Host
Organism that parasite harms in parasitism
Ex. Caterpillar in Caterpillar-wasp relationship
Mutualism
Symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit from the relationship
Ex. Flowers and bees
Commensalism
Symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is unaffected
Ex. Barnacles and whales
Decomposer
Organism that decomposes dead animals and recycles materials and receives energy from dead organisms
Ex. Worms, fungi
Community
All populations that live in a certain place and can interact with each other
Ex. All squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits in Sidney
Population
Group of the same kind of organisms in a certain place
Ex. All squirrels in Sidney
Habitat
Place where an organism lives
Ex. Forest is the habitat of the blue jay
Niche
The role or job of an organism in its habitat
Producer
Organism that makes its own food
Ex. Grass, plants
Consumer
Organism that eats other organisms
Ex. Lions
Herbivore
Consumer that eats only producers (plants)
Ex. Grasshopper