Ecology
The study of the interactions between living things and their enviroments
Biosphere
The part of the earth containing living organisms
Ecosystem
A group of organisms that interacts with each other and with their environment
Habitat
Place where an organism lives
Abiotic Factors
Non-living features of the environment
Biotic Factors
Living factors
Climate
Weather over a long period of time
Edaphic Factors
Relate to soil
Aquatic Factors
Relate to organisms living in or near water-based environments
Food Chain
Sequence of organisms in which each organism is eaten by the next one in the chain
Producer
An organism that makes its own food
Consumer
An organism that takes its food from another organism
Herbivore
Organism that feeds on flora
Carnivore
An organism that eats meat
Trophic level
Feeding stage in the food chain
Niche
Functional role of an organism in an ecosystem or habitat
Population
All the members of a species in an area
Competition
When two or more organisms struggle for a resource which is in short supply
Contest competition
One organism gets all of a resource and the other organisms get none
Scramble competition
All of the competing organisms get some of the resource
Adaptation
Any alteration that improves an organism’s chances of survival
Predation
The catching, killing and eating of another organism for food
Parasite
A living thing that takes its food from another living thing
Symbiosis
Two organisms from different species live in close association and at least one of them benefits
Conservation
The wise management of our existing natural resources in order to maintain biodiversity