Unit 9: Ecology Flashcards
A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected
commensalism
the group of organisms that live together and interact with each other within an environment or habitat
community
Interaction among organisms that vie for the same resource in an ecosystem
competition
Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment
ecology
describes a single environment and every living (biotic) organism and non-living (abiotic) factor that is contained within it or characterizes it.
ecosystem
a species which often forms the major structural portion of the habitat
foundation species
plant eater
herbivore
A relationship between individuals of two or more species in a community.
interspecific interaction
A species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem
keystone species
A relationship between two species in which both species benefit
mutualism
the practice of living in or on another organism.
parasitism
A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area
population
the ecological process by which energy is transferred from living animal to living animal based on the behavior of a predator that captures and kills a prey before eating it
predation
A close relationship between two species that benefits at least one of the species.
symbiosis
the circulation of substances through living organisms from or to the environment.
biochemical cycle
the series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment, involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels
carbon cycle
An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
consumer
An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms
decomposer
organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter
detrivores
A diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web
energy pyramid
the series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms, including nitrogen fixation and decomposition.
nitrogen cycle
An organism that can make its own food.
producer
They make up the second trophic level. They are also called herbivores. They eat primary producers—plants or algae—and nothing else. For example, a grasshopper living in the Everglades
primary consumer
Are largely carnivores that feed on the primary consumers or herbivores. They are heterotrophs, specifically carnivores and omnivores. Carnivores only eat other animals. Omnivores eat a combination of plants and animals.
secondary consumer
each step in a food chain or food web
trophic levels
the cycle of processes by which water circulates between the earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and land, involving precipitation as rain and snow, drainage in streams and rivers, and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.
water cycle
the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
biodiversity
refers to the range of different inherited traits within a species
genetic diversity
species richness
Species richness (S) is the number of species within a defined region.
ecosystem diversity
Ecosystem diversity
