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Life Science
Ecology & the Environment
Ecology
Study of the interactions that take place among organisms and their environment.
Biotic
Living parts of the environment; plants animals & microorganisms
Abiotic
Non-living parts of the environment; water, air, light, rocks
Consumer
Organism that cannot create energy-rich molecules (glucose) but obtains its food by eating other organisms
Producer
An organism, such as a plant or alga, which produces glucose from carbon dioxide by photosynthesis and is a source of food for other organisms
Carnivore
Animals who hunt and eat other animals; meat eater
Omnivore
An organism that eats both plants and animals
Herbivore
An animal that eats plants
Food Chain
The relationship between plants and animals that shows who eats what. Energy is transferred from one organism to another through the food chain
Food Web
A model of feeding relationships, describing the connections among all food chains within an ecosystem
Energy Pyramid
A representation of the loss of useful energy at each step in a food chain
Pyramid of Numbers
Based on the number of organisms needed to make a simple food chain. Shows how large populations of certain organisms are needed to support very small populations of other organisms.
Symbiosis
An interactive association between two or more species living together; may be parasitic, commensal, or mutualistic. The relationship between two organisms
Commensalism
A symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other is not affected
Parasitism
A form of symbiosis in which the population of one species benefits at the expense of the population of another species
Mutualism
A symbiotic interaction between two species in which both derive some benefit
Competition
One of the biological interactions that can limit population growth; occurs when two species vie with each other for the same resource
Population
All the organisms that belong to the same species living in a community
Community
All the populations of different species that live in an ecosystem
Habitat
Place where an organism lives and that provides the types of food, shelter, moisture, and temperature needed for survival
NicheAn organism’s place in the ecosystem: where
it lives, what it consumes, what consumes it, and how it interacts with all biotic and abiotic factors. A unique ecological role of an organism in a community.
Organism
Any living thing
Biosphere
Part of Earth that supports life, including the top portion of Earth's crust, the atmosphere, and all the water on Earth's surface
Ecosystem
All the living organisms that live in an area and the nonliving features of their environment
Limiting Factor
Anything that can restrict the size of a population, including living and nonliving features of an ecosystem, such as predators or drought
Carrying Capacity
Largest number of individuals of a particular species that an ecosystem can support over time
Biotic Potential
The maximum reproductive rate of an organism, given unlimited resources and ideal environmental conditions
Exponential Growth
Growth of a population without any constraints; therefore, the population will grow at an ever-increasing rate
Photosynthesis
The chemical reaction in which green plants combine water and carbon dioxide in the presence of sunlight to form glucose and oxygen
Predator
An animal that kills and eats other animals
Prey
An animal that is killed and eaten by another animal