Term | Definition |
carrying capacity | Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support |
cellular respiration | Process that releases energy by breaking down glucose and other food molecules in the presence of oxygen |
chemical equation | A representation of a chemical reaction that uses symbols to show the relationship between the reactants and the products |
climax community | A stable, mature community that undergoes little or no change in species over time |
commensalism | A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected |
consumer | An organism that eats other organisms |
cyclic growth | growth that happens in a repeated cycle over a period of time |
decomposer | An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms |
density-dependent factors | Limiting factors (such as competition, predation, parasitism, and disease) that are affected by the number of individuals in a given area |
density-independent factors | Any factor limiting the size of a population whose effect is not dependent on the number of individuals in the population |
ecological succession | Gradual change in living communities that follows a disturbance |
energy flow | Energy moves from the eaten to the eater. |
exponential growth | Growth pattern in which the individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate |
logistic growth | Growth pattern in which a population's growth rate slows or stops following a period of exponential growth |
mutualism | A relationship between two species in which both species benefit |
parasitism | A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits and the other is harmed |
photosynthesis | Plants use the sun's energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars and oxygen |
pioneer species | First species to populate an area during primary succession |
population | populations are groups of individuals belonging to the same species that live in the same region at the same time |
producer | An organism that can make its own food. |
product | Ending materials from a chemical reaction. |
pyramid of energy | Total amount of incoming energy at each level in an ecosystem. The area at the bottom represents the greatest amount of energy in an ecosystem. |
reactants | A starting material in a chemical reaction |
steady state | A state in which members of a population die as quickly as new members are born |
symbiosis | cooperation; mutual helpfulness |