Interdependencies between species Flashcards
detritivore
an animal that feeds on dead organic matter
decomposer
an organsm that breaks down dead or decaying organisms
distribution
the spread or orientation of the members of a population in an area
what is an ecosystem
when populations assemble into communities interacting with each other and their local environment
symbiosis
how two organisms lving close to each other interact
mutualism
a relationship where both individuals benefit from interacting with each other
commensalism
one benefits from the other without any positive or negative impacts made on the other individuals
predation
when one organism hunts and kills another organism for food
paraitism
one organism obtains nutrients at the expense of the other organism (host)
ectoparasites
lives on the exterior of the host
endoparasites
lives inside the host
ammensalism
one organism experineces a negative effect and the other experiuences neither a beneficial or negative effect
competetion
two or more organisms rivalling for the same pool of resources
intraspecific competetion
competetion for resources within a species
interspecific competition
competition for resources between different species
primary consumers
herbivores that directly eat producers
secondary consumers
feed on first order consumers
tertiary consumers
feed on second order consumers
quaternary consumers
feed on tertiary consumers
what is a keystone species
a species whose effects on an ecosystem are greater than expected relative to its population size
what are the two types of keystone species
apex predator and ecosystem engineer
what is an ecosytem engineer
species that create, modify or destroy habitats and bring together abiotic and biotic factors in an ecosystem
what is a seed predator
eats the entire seed, killing the plant
micropredation
animals which eats another species but does does kill it
