1. Ecology & the Environment
Subject Here
Ecology & the Environment

2. Ecology
Study of the interactions that take place among organisms and their environment.
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3. Biotic
Living parts of the environment; plants animals & microorganisms
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4. Abiotic Non-living parts of the environment; water, air, light, rocks
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5. Consumer
 Organism that cannot create energy-rich molecules (glucose) but obtains its food by eating other organisms
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6. Producer
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
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7. Carnivore Animals who hunt and eat other animals; meat eater
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8. Omnivore
An organism that eats both plants and animals
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9. Herbivore
An animal that eats plants
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10. Food Chain
The relationship between plants and animals that shows who eats what. Energy is transferred from one organism to another through the food chain
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11. Food Web
A model of feeding relationships, describing the connections among all food chains within an ecosystem
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12. Energy Pyramid
A representation of the loss of useful energy at each step in a food chain
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13. Pyramid of Numbers
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.
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14. Symbiosis
An interactive association between two or more species living together; may be parasitic, commensal, or mutualistic. The relationship between two organisms
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15. Commensalism
A symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other is not affected
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16. Parasitism
A form of symbiosis in which the population of one species benefits at the expense of the population of another species
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17. Mutualism
A symbiotic interaction between two species in which both derive some benefit
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18. Competition
One of the biological interactions that can limit population growth; occurs when two species vie with each other for the same resource
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19. Population
All the organisms that belong to the same species living in a community
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20. Community
All the populations of different species that live in an ecosystem
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21. Habitat
Place where an organism lives and that provides the types of food, shelter, moisture, and temperature needed for survival
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22. Niche
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.
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23. Organism
Any living thing
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24. Biosphere
Part of Earth that supports life, including the top portion of Earth's crust, the atmosphere, and all the water on Earth's surface
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25. Ecosystem
All the living organisms that live in an area and the nonliving features of their environment
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26. Limiting Factor
Anything that can restrict the size of a population, including living and nonliving features of an ecosystem, such as predators or drought
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27. Carrying Capacity
Largest number of individuals of a particular species that an ecosystem can support over time
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28. Biotic Potential
The maximum reproductive rate of an organism, given unlimited resources and ideal environmental conditions
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29. Exponential Growth
Growth of a population without any constraints; therefore, the population will grow at an ever-increasing rate
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30. Photosynthesis
The chemical reaction in which green plants combine water and carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight to form glucose and oxygen
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31. Predator
An animal that kills and eats other animals
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32. Prey
An animal that is killed and eaten by another animal
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