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
