What is Ecology?

Question 1

abundance

Answer 1

the relative representation of a species in a particular ecosystem

Question 2

ecosystem

Answer 2

an environment including all the living organisms interacting within it, the cycling of nutrients and the physical and chemical environment in which the organisms are living

Question 3

habitat

Answer 3

the place where an organism lives

Question 4

microhabitat

Answer 4

a small area of a habitat

Question 5

population

Answer 5

a group of organisms of the same species, living and breeding together in a habitat

Question 6

community

Answer 6

all the populations of all the different species of organisms living in a habitat at any one time

Question 7

niche

Answer 7

the role of an organism within the habitat in which it lives

Question 8

predator

Answer 8

an organism which hunts and eats other organisms (prey)

Question 9

abiotic factors

Answer 9

the non-living elements of a habitat of an organism

Question 10

biotic factors

Answer 10

the living elements of a habitat that affect the ability of a group of organisms to survive there

Question 11

prey

Answer 11

an organism which is hunted and eaten by other organisms (predators)

Question 12

biosphere

Answer 12

all of the areas of the surface of the Earth where living organisms survive

Question 13

biomes

Answer 13

the major ecosystems of the world