1. Ecosystems Essential Question: How do organisms interact with and respond to components of their environment?

2. Vocabulary  SpeciesCompetition  PopulationCoexistence  CommunityCooperation  EcosystemSymbiosis  HabitatCommensalism  NicheParasitism  BioticMutualism  Abiotic

3. Concept  How populations are affected in ecosystems;  Relationships among populations.

4. Species  Group of organisms that share characteristics and can breed with one another.  Example: white-tailed deer.

5. Population  All the members of a species living in a certain area.  Example: white-tailed deer in a forest.

6. Community  All the populations of different species living in an area.  Example: white-tailed deer, chipmunks, trees, fungi, insects living in a forest.

7. Ecosystem  All the living AND nonliving parts of an environment, plus how they interact.  Terrestrial – land (forest, desert, grassland.)  NC’s main ecosystem – temperate deciduous forest.  Freshwater – rivers, lakes, wetlands.  Many are found in NC.  Marine – salty ocean water.

8. Habitat  The place/home where an organism lives.  Example: a rotting log is a habitat for insects, worms, and fungi.

9. Niche  How an organism acts (the role it plays) in an ecosystem.

10. Biotic Factor  The LIVING factors in an ecosystem.  Example: all the plants, fungi, and animals in a forest.

11. Abiotic Factor  All the NONliving factors in an ecosystem.  Example: light, temperature, weather, soil, water.

12. Competition  Members of a population & community compete for what they need to survive:  Water, space, sunlight, food.

13. Coexistence  Members of a community living together, but not affecting the other’s survival in the ecosystem.

14. Cooperation  Members of a population working together for survival.

15. Symbiosis  A close relationship between two species that benefits at least one of them.

16. Commensalism  One species benefits; the other is not affected.  Example: egret & cattle

17. Parasitism  One organism lives in/on another organism and harms it.  The parasite lives in/on the host.  Example: fleas, ticks, leeches.

18. Mutualism  Both species benefit from the interaction.