unit 3 vocabulary/ key concepts

Question 1

Ecology

Answer 1

the study of organisms interacting with their environment

Question 2

Ecologist

Answer 2

A person who studies relationships between organisms and their environments

Question 3

Organism

Answer 3

Any living thing; individual

Question 4

Population

Answer 4

A group of organisms of the same species living in the same area and interacting with each other

Question 5

Community

Answer 5

A group of organisms of different species living in the same area and interacting with each other

Question 6

Ecosystem

Answer 6

A community or geographic area of living organisms (biotic factors) interacting with their nonliving physical environment (abiotic factors)

Question 7

organisms

Answer 7

individual living things

Question 8

symbiosis/symbiotic relationship

Answer 8

a relationship between two species in which they live together and depend on each other for long periods of time

Question 9

mutualism (type of symbiotic relationship)

Answer 9

a relationship between two organisms of different species in which both organisms gain from the relationship

Question 10

commensalism (type of symbiotic relationship)

Answer 10

a symbiotic relationship between two organisms of different species in which one organism is helped while the other is neither helped nor harmed (neutral)

Question 11

predation

Answer 11

the act of one organism feeding on another living organism
› predator, an organism that feeds on another living organism
› prey, a living organism that is being eaten by another organism

Question 11

parasitism (type of symbiotic relationship)

Answer 11

a relationship between two organisms of different species in which one species infects or feeds on the other species
› ectoparasite, a parasite that attaches to the outside of its hosts body
› endoparasite, a parasite that lives within the body of its host

Question 12

herbivores

Answer 12

predators of plants

Question 13

carnivores

Answer 13

predators of animals

Question 14

competition

Answer 14

an interaction between individuals and groups of organisms

Question 14

scavenger

Answer 14

a carnivore that obtains its energy from animals that have died of natural causes or been killed by predators

Question 14

omnivores

Answer 14

are predators of animals and plants

Question 15

detritivores

Answer 15

an organism that obtains their energy and matter by eating dead plants and animals

Question 16

decomposers

Answer 16

an organism that breaks down dead plants and animals into simpler forms

Question 17

10% rule of energy transfer

Answer 17

states only about 10% of the energy available at one trophic level in a food chain/pyramid is passed on to the next trophic level

Question 17

interspecific competition

Answer 17

a form of competition in which individuals of different species struggle/compete for the same resources in an ecosystem, such as food, space, nesting sites, mates, etc.

Question 18

exploitation competition (type of interspecific competition)

Answer 18

occurs when organisms consume a shared resource, effectively reducing its availability for other species, without direct physical interaction

Question 19

interference competition

Answer 19

involves direct interactions where one organism actively prevents another from accessing a resource, such as through aggressive behavior or physical barriers

Question 20

interdependence

Answer 20

the mutual reliance of living things on one another

Question 21

detritus

Answer 21

loose organic material that consists of decaying pieces of dead organisms and the wastes of organisms

Question 22

food web

Answer 22

a diagram that uses food chains to show the feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem

Question 23

primary consumer

Answer 23

a consumer that obtains its energy and matter by eating plants (producers)

Question 24

secondary consumer

Answer 24

a consumer that obtains its energy and matter by eating primary consumers (herbivores)

Question 25

tertiary consumers

Answer 25

consumer that obtains its energy and matter by eating secondary consumers (carnivores)

Question 26

trophic level

Answer 26

the position of a species in a food chain, food web, or ecosystem based on the species’ main source of food

Question 27

ecological pyramid

Answer 27

any type of pyramid-shaped diagram that represents the feeding relationships among species in a biological community

Question 28

energy pyramid

Answer 28

a diagram that shows the flow of energy among organisms at different levels of feeding (trophic levels) in a community
› energy (kcal)

Question 29

pyramid of biomass

Answer 29

an ecological diagram that uses biomass to compare the amounts of matter in the different trophic levels of a food chain or food web
› biomass (g C/m^2)

Question 30

biomass

Answer 30

the organic matter produced by living organisms in a specific area; is measured in grams or kilograms of carbon

Question 31

mass

Answer 31

amount of matter in an object

Question 32

pyramid of numbers

Answer 32

an ecological diagram that compares the numbers of organisms in different trophic levels of a food chain or food web

Question 33

ecotone

Answer 33

an area along the boundary between two habitats with different biological communities

Question 34

edge effects

Answer 34

the changes in the structure of communities and their populations that occur in areas where two habitats meet