1. Final Exam Review Unit 3- Ecology

2. Environment Every living and nonliving thing that surrounds an organism

3. Biotic Factors Living Factors ex: plants, prey, predators, bacteria, fungus Abiotic Factors Nonliving Factors ex: water, temperature, sunlight, soil,

4. Population A group of one species living in an area

5. Community All of the different populations living in an area

6. Ecosystem All of the living and nonliving things and how they interact in an area

8. Biome Group of ecosystems that have the same climate and community

9. Habitat Where an organism lives

10. Trophic Levels

11. Autotrophs Organisms that produce their own food for energy, photosynthesis Ex: Producers: make their own food, through the process of photosynthesis, ex: plants, algae

12. Heterotrophs Organisms that cannot produce their own food for energy Consumers: Organisms that eat/consume other organisms Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore Scavenger Decomposer

13. Herbivore eats plants, primary consumers, ex: deer, cow

14. Carnivore eats meat/other consumers, ex: lion, tiger

15. Omnivore eats both plants and animals, ex: humans, raccoons, bears

16. Scavenger eats dead animals, ex: vultures

17. Decomposer breaks down dead matter and recycles the nutrients back to the soil, ex: fungus, bacteria

18. Food Chain shows the flow of energy in an ecosystem, simple

19. Food Web many food chains interconnected complex

20. Ecological Pyramids Energy Biomass Numbers decreases as you move up the pyramid, producers are always the largest and on the bottom.

21. Biological Magnification The concentration of a toxin increases as is moves through the food chain, highest concentrations at the top of the food chain, ex: DDT in bald eagles

22. Biodiversity The number of different species in an area, more biodiversity=more stable

23. Niche an organisms role/job in its environment, two species cannot occupy the same niche

24. Competitive Exclusion When two organisms try to occupy the same niche, they will compete. One will stay in that niche and the other will either die or have to occupy a different niche

25. The niche a species can ideally have, can be larger than the realized niche Realized Niche The niche a species actually occupies, can be smaller than the fundamental niche Fundamental Niche

26. Niche Diversity the number of different niches in an ecosystem due to abiotic factors fluctuating abiotic factors many niches (desert) constant abiotic factors=few niches (marsh)

27. Evolution a slow gradual change in a species over time

28. Adaptation A trait that an organism has that allows it to survive in a changing environment

29. Specialized species A species with a small niche, only one food source. Ex: koala bear and panda bear Generalized species A species with a large niche, many food sources. Ex: mice, roaches

30. Convergent evolution two species evolve separately to have similar traits because they have similar niches.

31. Coevolution When two species evolve to rely on each other for survival, mutualism ex: acacia tree and stinging ants

32. Predator-Prey predator- the hunter prey-the hunted

33. Parasitism one organisms feeds off of another organism for survival, one species benefits, the other is harmed. Ex: tapeworm, malaria, ringworm – Host: The organism the parasite is feeding off of

34. Mutualism two species rely on each other for survival, both benefit ex: Egyptian Plover and Nile Croccodile

35. Commensalism One species benefits, the other isn’t harmed or helped, ex: barnacles on a whale

36. Invasive Species A non-native species that causes harm to the environment Why are they dangerous? – They outcompete with native species for essential resources How do they get here? – Accidental (in wood), boats (mass transportation), intentional release (pets that get too big), tropical plants for garden

37. Endangered Species A species that is close to extinction Main reason for species endangerment? Habitat destruction