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living things chapter 1

Terms in this set (24)

birth rate
the number of births in a population in a certain amount of time
death rate
The number of deaths in a population in a certain amount of time
immigration
moving into a population
Emigration
Leaving a population
population density
the number of individuals in an area of a specific size
limiting factor
an environmental factor that causes a population to stop growing or decrease in size
carrying capacity
the largest population that an area can support
natural selection
process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully; also called survival of the fittest
adaptation
inherited characteristic that improves an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment
niche
how an organism makes its living and interacts with biotic and abiotic factors in its habitat
competition
the struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resource
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
symbosis
relationship in which two sepcies 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 in which one species of the association benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed
parasitism
a type of symbiosis in which one organism lives with , on or in a host and harms the host
parasite
the organism that benifits by living on in or with another organism
host
a living thing that provides a source of energy for a virus or an organism
succession
the series of predictable changes that occur in a community over time
primary succession
the series of changes that occur in an area where no soil or organisms exist
pioneer species
first species to populate an area during primary succession
secondary succession
the series of changes that occur in an area where the ecosystem has been disturbed, but where soil and organisms still exist
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