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ECOLOGY
Review for Ecology Test
Question | Answer |
---|---|
competition | the struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resources |
population | all the members of one species in a particular area |
biotic factors | the living parts of an ecosystem |
abiotic factors | the non-living parts of an ecosystem |
mutualism | a symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit |
carrying capacity | the largest population that an area can support |
ecosystem | all the living and nonliving things in a particular area |
species | group of organisms that are physically similar and can mate with each other and produce offspring that can also mate and reproduce |
limiting factors | environmental conditions that cause populations to decrease |
commensalism | symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other species is neither helped nor harmed |
community | all the different populations that live together in an area |
adaptations | the behaviors and physical characteristics that allow organisms to live successfully in their environments |
predation | an interaction in which one organism kills another for food or nutrients |
symbiosis | any relationship in which two species live closely together and at least one of the species benefits |
natural selection | A characteristic that makes an individual better suited to a specific environment may eventually become more common in that species |
biome | A group of land ecosystems with similar temperatures, amounts of precipitation and organisms. |
parasitism | a symbiotic relationship where one organism is harmed and the other organism benefits |
niche | the role of an organism in its environment. |
prey | organism that is killed and eaten |
predator | organism that does the killing |
ecology | The scientific study of how living things interact with each other and their environment |
primary consumer | eat the producers (herbivores) |
secondary consumer | eat the primary consumers (omnivores/carnivores) |
tertiary consumer | eat the secondary consumers (carnivores) |
food chain | a series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy |
food web | many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem |
producer | form base of food web; An organism that makes its own food |
consumer | An organism that eats plants/animals |
scavenger | organisms that eat dead or injured animals |
decomposer | organisms that decompose (eat) dead plants and animals; return nutrients to the soil |