1. Ecology

2. Ecology Biosphere- the part of Earth that supports life
Ecosystem- all organisms living in an area and the nonliving parts of their environment
Ecology- study of interactions that occur among organisms and their environment
Population- made up of all organisms in an ecosystem that belong to the same species
Community- all the populations in an ecosystem

3. Habitat Place where an organism lives
Provides food, safe temperatures, moisture organism needs to live
Competition- two or more organisms seek the same resource at the same time

4. Populations
Population size- indicates whether a population is healthy and growing
Measured by trap-mark-release or sample count
Limiting factor- any living or nonliving feature that restricts the number of individuals in a population
Carrying capacity- largest number of individuals of one species that an ecosystem can support
Exponential growth- the larger a populations becomes, the faster it grows

5. Symbiosis Any close relationship between species
Mutualism- a symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit
Commensalism- a symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is not affected
Parasitism- a symbiotic relationship in which one organisms benefits and the other is harmed

6. Niche
An organism’s role in its environment, including its habitat, food, how it avoids danger, finds a mate, cares for young
Predator- animal that captures and eats other consumers
Prey- organism that is captured by the predator
Predators limit the size of prey populations, increasing the number of different species that can live in an ecosystem

7. Abiotic Factors
Atmosphere (air)
Water
Soil
Sunlight
climate

8. Water Cycle
How water moves from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back to the surface again
Evaporation- when liquid water changes into water vapor and enters the atmosphere
Condensation- the process of changing water from a gas to a liquid

9. Other Cycles
Nitrogen cycle- the transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to atmosphere
Carbon cycle- how carbon molecules move between the living and nonliving world

10. Energy flow
Matter recycled over and over, but energy is converted from one form to another
Chemosynthesis- production of energy rich nutrient molecules from chemicals
Energy stored in the molecules of one organism is transferred to another when one organism becomes food for another organism

11. Food chain
Simple wat of showing how matter and energy pass from one organism to another

12. Food web
Shows all possible feeding relationships among the organisms in a community

13. Energy Pyramid
Shows the amount of energy available at each feeding level in an ecosystem

14. Ecological succession
Normal, gradual changes that occur in types of species that live in an area
Climax community- stable stage of ecological diversity and balance