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Ecology

Terms in this set (32)

Organism
One living thing.
Population
A group of the same species living in the same area.
Community
A group of populations in the same area.
Biotic Factor
Living factors in an ecosystem.
Abiotic Factor
Non-living factors in an ecosystem.
Ecosystem
All the living and non living things in a given area.
Producer (Autotroph)
An organism that make its own food from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.
Consumer (Heterotroph)
An organism that needs to eat other organisms to get energy.
Saprophytes
Organisms that obtain food by feeding on dead or decaying organisms.
Herbivore
A type of consumer that just eats producers.
Carnivore
A type of consumer that just eats other consumers.
Omnivore
A type of consumer that eats producers and consumers.
Primary Consumer
An organism that eats a producer.
Secondary Consumer
An organism that eats a primary consumer.
Tertiary Consumer
An organism that eats a secondary consumer.
Decomposer
A type of consumer that breaks down dead organisms and returns the nutrients back to the ecosystem.
Scavenger
A type of consumer that only eats dead animals.
Symbiotic
A close relationship of mutual dependence.
Parasitism
A type of symbiosis where one organism benefits and the other organism is harmed.
Commensalism
A type of symbiosis where one organism benefits and the other organism is unaffected.
Mutualism
A type of symbiosis where both organisms benefit.
Food Chain
Shows the path of energy from a producer, through consumers, and back to the producer using a decomposer.
Food Web
Shows how all organisms are connected and also shows how energy moves within a community. More complicated than a food chain.
Biomass
The amount of living things at an energy level.
Energy Pyramid
Shows that the most energy and biomass belongs to the producers, at the bottom of the pyramid. The least amount of energy and least biomass belongs to the consumers at the top.
Niche
Organism's role, or job, in its habitat.
Ecological Competition
Species competing for resources
Trophic Level
Each step in a food chain or food web.
Primary Succession
An ecological succession that begins in an area where no biotic community previously existed.
Secondary Succession
Succession following a disturbance that destroys a community without destroying the soil.
Pioneer Species
First species to populate an area during primary succession.
Climax Community
A stable, mature community that undergoes little or no change in species over time.
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