Unit 1

Front 1

Ecosystem

Back 1

describes the interrelationship between the organisms in a community and their physical environments

Front 2

Biotic factors

Back 2

are the living things that shape an ecosystem. Ex: producers, consumers

Front 3

Abiotic factors

Back 3

are the non living things that shape an ecosystem. Ex: temperature, the pH of soil, light,

Front 4

Food Chain

Back 4

is a linear system that shows how energy moves in an ecosystem: beginning with a producer and ending with an apex consumer.

Front 5

Food Web

Back 5

is composed of all of the interconnected and overlapping food chains in an ecosystem. It shows the transfer of energy and other relationships in an ecosystem.

Front 6

Trophic structure

Back 6

is the pattern of feeding relationships consisting of several different levels. It determines the flow of energy and routes of elements that are cycled.

Front 7

Producer

Back 7

is an organism that uses energy (typically solar energy) to create nutrients (typically through photosynthesis).

Ex:Plants are producers.

Front 8

primary consumer

Back 8

is an organism that eats a producer

Front 9

secondary consumer

Back 9

is an organism that eats a primary consumer

Front 10

tertiary consumer

Back 10

is organism that eats secondary consumer.

Front 11

Herbivores

Back 11

Only eats plants.

Front 12

Omnivores

Back 12

both eats plants and meats.

Front 13

Carnivores

Back 13

Only eat meats.

Front 14

Mutualism

Back 14

(+/+): both species benefit.

Front 15

Commensalism

Back 15

(+ / 0 ): one species benefits, the other is neither

Front 16

Parasitism

Back 16

( + / - ): one species benefits, the other species is harmed. A parasite lives off of its host. It needs its host to stay alive while it is feeding.

Front 17

energy pyramid

Back 17

shows the amount of energy in each trophic level (in energy units of J and Kcal).

Front 18

biomass pyramid

Back 18

shows the mass of organisms in each trophic level (in units of kg).

Front 19

10% Rule

Back 19

Only 10% of the energy is passed on from one trophic level to the next!

The shapes of these pyramids show that as you go up trophic levels, the amount of available energy and total biomass in each level decreases.

When energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next [the level above it], some energy is lost along the way.

Front 20

carrying capacity

Back 20

is the maximum number of individuals of a population that can be sustained by a particular habitat. Carrying capacity changes depending on available resources

Front 21

Limiting factors

Back 21

are the things that prevent a population from growing as fast as it can

Front 22

Population density

Back 22

is the number of individuals living in a given area.

Front 23

Density dependent factors

Back 23

are those that depend on population density. Ex: resources like food, water, and shelter, how fast disease spreads, competitive species, etc.

Front 24

Density-independent factors

Back 24

occur independently of the density of the population

Ex: a natural disaster.