L.3 Ecosystems Flashcards
the non-living factors of the environment that an organism lives in.
Abiotic Factor
feed on other organisms (plant or animal) because they cannot make their own food, a heterotroph
Consumer
a community of different but interdependent species and their non-living environment.
Ecosystem
a hierarchy of food relationships from the simplest to most complex
Food Chain
animals
Fauna
plants
Flora
the immediate space where an animal or plant lives and has food, water and protection
Habitat
a living thing that produces its own food within itself, usually by using sunlight energy in photosynthesis; an autotroph
Producer
all the living factors that impact an organism ex. Disease, parasitism, predation
biotic factors
a division based on climate, plants and animals; an environment that has a characteristic type of climax community ex. Freshwater biome—all of the lake, pond, stream, & river communities on Earth
Biome
is the maximum number of organisms the resources of an ecosystem can support. The carrying capacity of the environment is limited by the available abiotic and biotic resources (limiting factors), as well as the ability of ecosystems to recycle the residue of dead organisms through the activities of bacteria and fungi
Carrying Capacity
a stable community that is in final stage of succession
Climax community
a form of symbiosis in which one organism benefits and the other is not harmed
Commensalism
the living part of an ecosystem composed of many species
Community
the type of interaction among organism s; the struggle to obtain needed resources of food, water, shelter
Competition
an organism that breaks down the bodies of dead organisms into simpler substances ex. Bacteria & fungi
Decomposer
the movement of living things from one place to another
Dispersal
in danger of becoming extinct
Endangered
all the living and nonliving things with which an organism may interact
Environment
an organism that can make its own food by synthesizing organic nutrients from inorganic materials, using energy from sunlight or a chemical source to drive the process
autotroph
exist at the same time or in the same place.
coexist
the preservation of a physical quantity during transformations or reactions
conservation
the state or process of rotting; decay.
decomposition
a group of food chains within an ecosystem
food web
an organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients
heterotroph (“different nutrition”)
an organism that is infected with or is fed upon by a parasitic or pathogenic organism
host
symbiosis that is beneficial to both organisms involved
mutualism
the role an organism plays in a community
niche
an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host
parasite
relationship between two species of plants or animals in which one benefits at the expense of the other, sometimes without killing the host organism
parasitism
the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar
photosynthesis
change in the environment caused by natural or artificial input of harmful contaminants into the environment
pollution
the total number of individuals of a given biological species found in one place at one time
population
an organism that primarily obtains food by the killing and consuming of other organisms
predators
organisms that predators kill for food
prey
a group of organisms that can reproduce naturally with one another and create fertile offspring
species
the position that an organism occupies in a food chain - what it eats, and what eats it
trophic level
