Ecology Vocabulary (Part A: Basics and Relationships) Make cards for the words you got wrong…. use the examples provided or think of your own!
Pertaining to the nonliving factors playing a role in environment
Abiotic factors
Makes own food (Ex) plants
autotroph (producer)
Pertaining to the living factors playing a role in environment
biotic factors
an organisms that eats meat only
carnivore
a complex community characterized by distinctive plants, animals and climate
biome
maximum population of a particular organism an environment can support
carrying capacity
A relationship in which one member benefits and the other is NOT harmed and does NOT benefit
commensalism
a group of living things interacting with one another in a specific region
population
the struggle among organisms both of the same and different species for food, mate and other vital requirements
competition
an organism, like an animal, that consumes or feeds on other animals
Consumer (heterotroph)
breaks down dead organisms and turns them into simpler substances (ex) bacteria
decomposer
branch of biology dealing with interactions between living and nonliving factors in an environment
ecology
system formed by the interactions of a community of organisms and their environment (living and non-living things)
show the amount of energy in each level of an ecosystem (bottom of pyramid is biggest - therefore has most energy)
series of organisms interrelated by their feeding habits series of organisms interrelated by their feeding habits. (arrows point from the MOST energy to the LEAST energy)
Made up of two or more food chains
the natural environment of an organism; place natural for food and other resources of an organism
an organism that eats plants only
an organism from which a parasite receives nutrition/resources
any variable that slows the growth or activities of an organism
A relationship in which each member benefits from the relationship
the role of an organism in the community
eats both plants and animals
organism that lives on or in another organism causing harm
a relationship in which one member benefits and the other is harmed
a single type of an organism in a given location
number of organisms per unit of area
an organism that captures and feeds on the other organism
the organism that IS captured and eaten for food by a carnivorous animal
feeds on dead animals (ex) vulture
a relationship between two or more species which are living in the same area, in which at least one organism benefits. (there are different kinds, for example, commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, predation)