Ecology Vocab Flashcards
Ecology
The study of organisms and their interactions with the environment.
Biosphere
Life supporting region of the Earth; all land, water, and air in which organisms live.
Biotic Factors
All of the living parts of an ecosystem.
Abiotic Factors
All of the nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
Organism
An individual member of a species within a population.
Population
All of the organisms in an ecosystem that belong to the same species.
Community
All of the populations in an ecosystem.
Ecosystem
All of the organisms living in an area and the nonliving features of their environment.
Habitat
The place in which an organism lives.
Niche
How an organism survives, how it obtains food and shelter, how it finds a mate and cares for its offspring, and how it avoids danger.
Carrying Capacity
The largest number of individuals of one species that an ecosystem can support over time.
Limiting Factors
Anything that restricts the number of individuals in a population.
Predator
Consumers that capture and eat other consumers.
Prey
The organism that is captured and consumed by the predator.
Producers/Autotrophs
Organisms such as plants and algae, which through the process of photosynthesis create energy-rich food.
Consumers/Heterotrophs
An organism that cannot make its own food and feeds on other organisms.
Herbivore
A consumer that only eats plants.
Carnivore
A consumer that feeds only on other animals.
Omnivore
A consumer that feeds on plants and animals.
Scavengers
A consumer that eats organisms that have already died.
Decomposers
A consumer that breaks down the complex compounds of dead and decaying plants and animals into simpler molecules that can be more easily absorbed.
Food Chain
A diagram that shows the flow of energy and matter between animals in a community.
Food Web
Shows all the possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a community.
Trophic Level
A feeding step in a food chain, or ecological energy pyramid.
Ecological Energy Pyramid
Shows how energy flows through an ecosystem.
Symbiosis
A relationship of dependence or mutual benefit between organisms of the same ecosystem.
Mutualism
A relationship where both organisms benefit.
Commensalism
A relationship where one organism benefits and the other organism is not affected.
Parasitism
A relationship where one organism benefits and the other organism is harmed.
Ecological Succession
Natural, gradual changes in the types of species that live in an area; can be primary or secondary.
Primary Succession
Begins in an area where NO SOIL is present. The development of an ecosystem in an area that has never had a community living within it.
Secondary Succession
The process of restabilization that follows a disturbance in an area where life has formed an ecosystem. SOIL IS ALREADY PRESENT.
Climax Community
A mature, stable community that is the final stage of ecological succession. Conditions, biotic and abiotic factors, including resources, are suitable for an ecosystem to exist. (End result of succession.)
