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ecology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ecology | The study of the interactions between organisms and their environment |
| Evolutionary adaptation | The genetic adaptation of a population to its environment through evolution |
| Parasitism | The type of symbiosis in which one partner, the parasite, derives benefit from the other, the host. |
| Abiotic | A non-living (physical or chemical) component of the environment. |
| Exponential growth | Unrestricted population growth where the population grows at a faster rate with each successive generation. |
| Limiting resource | An essential factor whose short supply limits the growth of a population |
| Coevolution | The process in which one species evolves in response to another |
| Mutualism | he type of symbiosis in which both partners benefit from the relationship. |
| Biotic | A living component of an environment |
| Competition | The interaction that results when a resource is in short supply, and one organism uses the resource at the expense of another |
| Ecological niche | The full range of ecological characteristics of a species, like its feeding habits, specific habitat, and reproductive strategy |
| Bentic | Organisms that live on the bottom |
| Subtidal zone | The bottom above the continental shelf |
| abyssal zone | The bottom from a depth of approximately 4,000 m to 6,000m. |
| Food chain | the steps of transfer of energy from primary producers through consumers. |
| Trophic pyramid | The pyramid-like relationship found in the pyramids of biomass, energy, and numbers of organisms in a food chain. |
| Trophic level | each of the steps in a food chain |
| Biomass | The total mass of living organisms |
| Food web | All of the interconnecting feeding relationships in a community |