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Ecology
Levels of Ecology and Food Chains
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| biotic fators | Living parts (organisms) of the environment |
| abiotic factors | nonliving parts of the environment |
| organism | one living thing |
| population | a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same place at the same time |
| community | includes all of the populations of different species that live and interact in an area |
| ecosystem | a community of organisms and their nonliving environment |
| biosphere | includes all of the ecosystems |
| producer | uses energy to make food |
| consumer | an organism that gets it energy by eating other organisms |
| decomposer | an organism that gets energy and nutrients by breaking down the remains of other organisms |
| herbivore | a consumer that eats only plants |
| carnivore | a consumer that eats only other animals |
| omnivore | a consumer that eats both plants and animals |
| carrying capacity | the maximum number of individuals of one species that the environment can support |
| limiting factor | a part of the environment that keep's the population's size below its full potential |
| competition | when two or more individuals or populations try to use the same limited resources |
| cooperation | individuals working together |
| Sun | the source of energy for all living organisms |
| food chain | the path of energy transfer through living organisms |
| photosynthesis | converting water, carbon dioxide and sunlight into sugars and oxygen |