Envisci

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nonliving factors that influence the life and activities of an organism

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abiotic factors

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any accumulation of organic material produced by living things

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biomass

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living portions of the environment

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biotic factors

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the cyclic flow of carbon from the atmosphere to living organisms and back to the atmospheric reservoir

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carbon cycle

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animals that eat other animals

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carnivore

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two or more species of organisms reciprocally influencing the evolutionary direction of the other

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coevolution

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the relationship between organisms in which one organism benefits while the other is not affected

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commensalism

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interacting groups of different species

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community

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an interaction between two organism in which both require the same limited resource, which results in harm to both

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competition

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which states that no two species can occupy the same ecological niche in the same place at the same time

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competitive exclusion principle

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organisms that use other organisms as food

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consumer

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small organisms, like bacteria and fungi, that cause the decay of dead organic matter and recycle nutrients

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decomposer

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bacteria that convert nitrogen compounds into nitrogen gas

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denitrifying bacteria

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tiny particles of organic material that result from fecal waste material or the decomposition of plants and animals

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detritus

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a branch of science that deals with the interrelationship between organisms and their environment

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ecology

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a group of interacting species along with their physical environment

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ecosystem

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a parasite that is adapted to live on the outside of its host

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ectoparasite

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a parasite that is adapted to live within a host

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endoparasite

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everything that affects an organism during its lifetime

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environment

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a change in structure, behavior, or physiology of a population of organisms as a result of some organisms with favorable characteristics having greater reproductive success than those organisms with less favorable characteristics

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evolution

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the death of a species; the elimination of all the individuals of a particular kind

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extinction

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the series of organisms involved in the passage of energy from one trophic level to the next

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food chain

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intersecting and overlapping food chains

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food web

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bacteria that live in the soil and can convert nitrogen gas in the atmosphere into forms that plants can use

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free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria

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the specific kind of place where a particular kind of organism lives

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habitat

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primary consumers; animals that eat plants

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herbivore

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the organism a parasite uses for its sources of food

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host

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competition between members of different species for a limited resource

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interspecific competition

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competition among members of the same species for a limited resource

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intraspecific competition

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one that has a critical role to play in the maintenance of specific ecosystems

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keystones species

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the one primary condition of the environment that determines population size of an organism

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limiting factor

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the association between organisms in which both benefit

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mutualism

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root-fungus associations

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mycorrhizae

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a process that determines which individuals within a species will reproduce more effectively and therefore results in changes in the characteristics within a species

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natural selection

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the total role an organism plays in its ecosystem

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niche

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The series of stages in the flow of nitrogen in ecosystems

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nitrogen cycle

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Bacteria that are able to convert ammonia to nitrate which can be converted to nitrate.

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nitrifying bacteria

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Bacteria that are able to convert the nitrogen gas in the atmosphere into forms that plants can use.

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nitrogen-fixing bacteria

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Animals that eat both plants and other animals.

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omnivore

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An organism adapted to survival by using other living organisms for nourishment.

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parasite

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A relationship between organisms in which one, known as the parasite, lives on or in the host and derives benefit from the relationship while the host is harmed.

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parasitism

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occurs when a predator kills and eats its prey

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predation

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An animal that kills and eats another organism

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predator

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An organism that is killed and eaten by a predator

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prey

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An animal that eats plants directly

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primary consumer

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An organism that can manufacture food from inorganic compounds and light energy

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producer

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The ability organisms have to succeed under a variety of environmental conditions. The breadth of this tolerance is an important ecological characteristic of a species.

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range of tolerance

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Animals that eats animals that have eaten plants

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secondary consumer

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A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce offspring capable A close, long-lasting physical relationship between members of two different species

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species

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Bacteria that grow within a plants root system and that can convert nitrogen gas from the atmosphere to nitrogen compounds that the plant can use.

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symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria

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A stage in the energy flow through ecosystems

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trophic level

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An organism that carries a disease from one host to another

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vector