The words needed to communicate about life on Earth. Ecology Terms The words needed to communicate about life on Earth.

Environment All the living & non-living parts of a place. It includes the air, rocks, soil, water, climate and all organisms. Ex: The tide pool environment of Southern California. The desert environment of North Africa. The tropical rainforest environment of the Amazon Basin.

Ecosystem The interactions of living & non-living parts of an environment. “You can’t pick a flower without jiggling a star”. It includes matter cycles & energy flows.

Community All the living organisms in an ecosystem. The collection of populations of living things.

Population The number of individuals of a species in an area. Ex: The # of 8th grade students @ RJHS. The deer population of Duchesne county. The population of mosquitoes at Pelican Lake in June.

Habitat The place where an organism finds everything it needs to survive. Some are very large (Bear) and some are very small (Tree Frog). Includes: food/nutrients, water, shelter, space, temperature, air, mates, etc.

Niche The way an organism makes a living, or how it finds the energy it needs to survive, grow & reproduce. That is an organisms place in the local food web. Ex: Producers, Consumers & Decomposers.

Trophic Level The level or degree, of a niche, an organism holds in a food web or chain. The lower the level, the greater the population and energy stored. The higher the level, the lower the population and energy stored. Ex: A rabbit is a 1° consumer, second level, it eats producers (herbivore). Ex: A coyote is a 2º consumer, third level, it eats rabbits (carnivore). Ex: A grass plant is a producer, first level, highest population (auto-troph).

Energy Transfer Refers to the amount of energy that is passed from one trophic level to the next level. For most organisms, the transfer is very inefficient, ≈10%. ≈ 90% of the energy is lost into space in the form of heat energy. This limits the length of food webs or chains.

Biodiversity The diversity of species living in an environment. Greater # of species = greater biodiversity. Higher biodiversity = more stable populations & lower chance of extinction. Ex: A jungle is very biodiverse. Ex: A farmer’s field with a single crop is not biodiverse.

Symbiosis A relationship between two species, where one lives on, in or next to the other and where at least one organism gets a benefit. Three types of Symbiosis