Unit 6 Ecology Flashcards
Abiotic
Nonliving. In ecosystems, this is used to refer to nonliving components such as sunlight, wind, nutrients, and minerals.
Biotic
Living. In ecosystems, biotic components include all living things.
Herbivore
An animal that feeds on plants.
Carnivore
An animal that feeds on meat.
Omnivore
An animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin.
Producer
Any organism that produces its own food using matter and energy from the nonliving world.
Primary consumer
An animal that feeds on plants (in the food chain). A herbivore.
Secondary consumer
A carnivore that feeds only upon herbivores.
Decomposer
An organism that breaks down the cells of dead plants and animals into simpler substances.
Biomass
The amount of living matter in a given habitat.
Energy pyramid
A graphic model used to show how the energy flows through a food chain.
Trophic level
Any class of organisms that occupy the same position in a food chain.
carrying capacity
maximum number of individuals of a certain species that a habitat can support
mutualism
interaction where both organisms benefit
parasitism
one organisms lives on or in another (host)
competition
organisms compete for resources such as food, space, sunlight, water, etc. This often limits population growth
limiting factor
anything that slows or limits population growth
population density
number of individuals in relation to the space a population occupies
exponential growth
rapid and steady increase in population under “ideal” conditions
logistic growth
population growth that is controlled by limited resources
immigration
movement into a population
emigration
movement out of a population
mortality
deaths (death rate)
natality
births (birthrate)
Nonliving. In ecosystems, this is used to refer to nonliving components such as sunlight, wind, nutrients, and minerals.
Abiotic
Living. In ecosystems, biotic components include all living things.
Biotic
An animal that feeds on plants.
Herbivore
An animal that feeds on meat.
Carnivore
An animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin.
Omnivore
Any organism that produces its own food using matter and energy from the nonliving world.
Producer
An animal that feeds on plants (in the food chain). A herbivore.
Primary consumer
A carnivore that feeds only upon herbivores.
Secondary consumer
An organism that breaks down the cells of dead plants and animals into simpler substances.
Decomposer
The amount of living matter in a given habitat.
Biomass
A graphic model used to show how the energy flows through a food chain.
Energy pyramid
Any class of organisms that occupy the same position in a food chain.
Trophic level
maximum number of individuals of a certain species that a habitat can support
carrying capacity
interaction where both organisms benefit
mutualism
one organisms lives on or in another (host)
parasitism
organisms compete for resources such as food, space, sunlight, water, etc. This often limits population growth
competition
anything that slows or limits population growth
limiting factor
number of individuals in relation to the space a population occupies
population density
rapid and steady increase in population under “ideal” conditions
exponential growth
population growth that is controlled by limited resources
logistic growth
movement into a population
immigration
movement out of a population
emigration
deaths (death rate)
mortality
births (birthrate)
natality
