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Chapter 14 Living Things and the Environment

Terms in this set (39)

organism
A living thing
habitat
An environment that provides the things a specific organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce
biotic factor
A living or once living part of an organism's habitat
abiotic factor
A nonliving part of an organism's habitat
species
A group of similar organisms that can mate with each other and produce offspring that can also mate and reproduce
population
All members of one species living in the same area
community
All the different populations that live together in a particular area
ecosystem
The community of organisms that live in a particular area, along with their nonliving environment
ecology
The study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment
producer
An organism that can make its own food
consumer
An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
herbivore
A consumer that obtains energy by eating only plants
carnivore
A consumer that obtains energy by eating only animals
omnivore
A consumer that obtains energy by eating both plants and animals
scavenger
A carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead or decaying orgainisms
decomposer
An organism that gets energy by breaking down wastes and dead organisms, and returns raw materials to the soil and water
food chain
A series of events in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and by being eaten
food web
The pattern of overlapping feeding relationships or food chains among the various organisms in an ecosystem
energy pyramid
A diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web
natural selection
The process by which organisms that are best adapted to their environment are most likely to survive and reproduce
adaptation
An inherited behavior or physical characteristic that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment
niche
How an organism makes its living and interacts with the biotic and abiotic factors in its habitat
competition
The struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resources in the same place at the same time
predation
An interaction in which one organism kills another for food or nutrients
predator
The organism that does the killing in a predation interaction
prey
An organism that is killed and eaten by another organism in a predation interaction
symbiosis
Any relationship in which two species live closely together and that benefits at least one of the species
mutualism
A type of symbiosis in which both species benefit from living together
commensalism
A type of symbiosis between two species in which one species benefits and the other species is neither helped nor harmed
parasitism
A type of symbiosis in which one organism lives with, on, or in a host and harms it
parasite
The organism that benefits by living with, on, or in a host in a parasitism interaction
host
An organism that a parasite lives with, in, or on, and provides a source of energy or a suitable environment for the parasite to live
birth rate
The number of births per 1,000 individuals for a certain time period
death rate
The number of deaths per 1,000 individuals for a certain time period
immigration
Movement of individuals into a population's area
emigration
Movement of individuals out of a population's area
population density
The number of individuals in an area of a specific size
limiting factor
An environmental factor that causes a population to decrease in size
carrying capacity
The largest population that a particular environment can support
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