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29 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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ECOSYSTEM
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division of the biosphere consisting of all the biotic and abiotic factors that surround organisms and affect their way of life
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BIOTIC
FACTORS |
living organisms
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ABIOTIC
FACTORS |
physical features such as:
water, sunlight, rainfall, temperature rocks, soil type, humidity, elevation |
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ECOLOGY
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the study of the interactionsof organism with one another and with their physical surroundings
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BIOSPHERE
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the part of the Earth in which life exists
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COMMUNITY
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organisms living together
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ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
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an existing community of orgaisms is replaced by a different comunity over periods of time
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BIOME
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an enviornment that has a characteristic climax community
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CLIMAX
COMMUNITY |
relatively stable collection of plants and animals that results from ecological succession
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POPULATION
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collection of individuals of the same species in a given area whose members can breed with one another
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PRODUCERS
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organisms that make their own food from inorganic substances through photosynthesis
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CONSUMERS
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get their energy either directly or indirectly from producers (they eat producers or organisms that eat the producers)
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ENERGY CYCLE
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energy flows through an ecosystem from the sun to producers to consumers
NOT RECYCLED |
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NUTRIENT CYCLE
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nutrients are recycled in an ecosytem
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DECOMPOSERS
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organisms that obtain their energy from non-living organic matter
examples: bacteria & fungi |
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ECOLOGICAL
PYRAMID |
represents the energy relationships amoung trophic levels
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LIMITING FACTOR
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something that limits the growth of a population of organisms
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FOOD CHAIN
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series of organisms through which food energy is passed in an ecosystem
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FOOD WEB
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complex relationship fromed by interconnecting and overlapping food chains
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DENSITY-
DEPENDENT LIMITING FACTORS |
factors that control population size in large populations
competition, predation, parasitism, crowding & stress |
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CROWDING
AND STRESS |
animals need a certain amount of space, when that is limited they may fight, have lower birth rates
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PARASITISM
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parasites live off their hosts, weakening them and causing disease
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PREDATION
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one animals eat another animal
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COMPETITION
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organisms compete, or struggle with one another for resources (food,space,water
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DENSITY-
INDPENDENT LIMITING FACTORS |
natural occurances, such as weather, which controls the growth of populations of organisms
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COMMENSALISM
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one organism benefits and the other is not harmed
example: barnacle & whale example: shrimp & sea anemone |
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MUTUALISM
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both organisms benefit from the relationship of living together
example: clownfish & sea anemone |
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PARSITISM
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one organism benefits at the expense of the other
example: roundworm & dog |
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CARRYING
CAPACITY |
size of a population during the steady rate portion of a logistic growth curve
maximum # of animals an ecosystem can support |
