Unit 5 Flashcards
A system, or a group of interconnected elements, both living and nonliving, formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.
Ecosystem
Not associated with or derived from living organisms. Examples include sunlight, temperature, wind patterns, and precipitation.
Abiotic
All the living organisms that inhabit an environment.
Biotic
An environmental factor that tends to limit population size.
Limiting Factors
A series of organisms interrelated in their feeding habits, the smallest being fed upon by a larger one, which in turn feeds a still larger one, etc.
Food Chain
An organism, usually an animal, that feeds on plants or other animals.
Consumer
A relationship between two species of organisms in which both benefit from the association.
Mutualism
A relationship between two species of organisms in which the individuals of one species adversely affect those of the other and are unaffected themselves.
Amensalism
A relationship between organisms in which one lives as a parasite on the other.
Parasitism
An organism, usually a bacterium or fungus, that breaks down the cells of dead plants and animals into simpler substances.
Decomposer
The natural environment of an organism; place that is natural for the life and growth of an organism.
Habitat
An organism’s total way of life.
Niche
The living together of two dissimilar organisms, as in mutualism, commensalism, amensalism, or parasitism.
Symbiosis
The branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms.
Ecology
An organism, a plant, that is able to produce its own food from inorganic substances.
Producers
