Ecology & the Environment

Study of the interactions that take place among organisms and their environment. Chapter 20

Ecology

Living parts of the environment; plants animals & microorganisms Chapter 20

Biotic

Non-living parts of the environment; water, air, light, rocks Chapter 20

Abiotic

Organism that cannot create energy-rich molecules (glucose) but obtains its food by eating other organisms Chapter 20

Consumer

An organism, such as a plant or alga, which produces glucose from carbon dioxide by photosynthesis and is a source of food for other organisms Chapter 20

Producer

Animals who hunt and eat other animals; meat eater Chapter 20

Carnivore

An organism that eats both plants and animals Chapter 20

Omnivore

An animal that eats plants Chapter 20

Herbivore

The relationship between plants and animals that shows who eats what. Energy is transferred from one organism to another through the food chain Chapter 20

Food Chain

A model of feeding relationships, describing the connections among all food chains within an ecosystem Chapter 20

Food Web

A representation of the loss of useful energy at each step in a food chain Chapter 20

Energy Pyramid

Based on the number of organisms needed to make a simple food chain. Shows how large populations of certain organisms are needed to support very small populations of other organisms. Chapter 20

Pyramid of Numbers

An interactive association between two or more species living together; may be parasitic, commensal, or mutualistic. The relationship between two organisms Chapter 20

Symbiosis

A symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other is not affected Chapter 20

Commensalism

A form of symbiosis in which the population of one species benefits at the expense of the population of another species Chapter 20

Parasitism

A symbiotic interaction between two species in which both derive some benefit Chapter 20

Mutualism

One of the biological interactions that can limit population growth; occurs when two species vie with each other for the same resource Chapter 20

Competition

All the organisms that belong to the same species living in a community Chapter 20

Population

All the populations of different species that live in an ecosystem Chapter 20

Community

Place where an organism lives and that provides the types of food, shelter, moisture, and temperature needed for survival Chapter 20

Habitat

An organism’s place in the ecosystem: where it lives, what it consumes, what consumes it, and how it interacts with all biotic and abiotic factors. A unique ecological role of an organism in a community. Chapter 20

Niche

Any living thing Chapter 20

Organism

Part of Earth that supports life, including the top portion of Earth's crust, the atmosphere, and all the water on Earth's surface Chapter 20

Biosphere

All the living organisms that live in an area and the nonliving features of their environment Chapter 20

Ecosystem

Anything that can restrict the size of a population, including living and nonliving features of an ecosystem, such as predators or drought Chapter 20

Limiting Factor

Largest number of individuals of a particular species that an ecosystem can support over time Chapter 20

Carrying Capacity

The maximum reproductive rate of an organism, given unlimited resources and ideal environmental conditions Chapter 20

Biotic Potential

Growth of a population without any constraints; therefore, the population will grow at an ever-increasing rate Chapter 20

Exponential Growth

The chemical reaction in which green plants combine water and carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight to form glucose and oxygen Chapter 20

Photosynthesis

An animal that kills and eats other animals Chapter 20

Predator

An animal that is killed and eaten by another animal Chapter 20

Prey