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chapter 8
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Population | A group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific geographical area and interbreed |
| Density | The number of individuals of the same species that live in a given unit of area |
| Dispersion | In Ecology the pattern of distribution of organisms in a population |
| Growth Rate | An expression of the increase in the size of an organism or population over a given period of time |
| Reproductive Potential | The maximum number of offspring that a given organism can produce |
| Exponential Growth | Logarithmic growth, or growth in which numbers increase by a certain factor in each successive time period |
| Carrying Capacity | The largest population that an environment can support at any given time |
| Niche | The unique position occupied by a species, both in terms of its physical use of its habitat and its functions within an ecological community |
| Competition | The relationship between two species ( or individuals) in which both species ( or individuals) attempt to use the same limited resource such that both are negatively affected by the relationship |
| Predation | An interaction between two organisms in which one organism, the predator, kills and feeds on the other organism, the prey |
| Parasitism | A relationship between two species in which one species, the parasite, benefits from the other species, the host, which is harmed |
| Mutualism | A relationship between two species in which both species benefit |
| Commensalism | A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected |
| Symbiosis | A relationship in which two different organisms live in close association with each other |