vocab Flashcards
(32 cards)
carrying capacity
The limit of how many individuals in a population the environment can sustain.
community
all living organisms in an area
ecosystems
all living & nonliving things in an area
biome
large area with similar climate conditions that determine plant & animal species there
Trophic cascade
removal or addition of a top predator has a ripple effect down through lower troph levels
mutualism
relationship that benefits both organisms
commensalism
relationship that benefits one organism & doesn’t impact the other
competition
organisms fighting over a resource like food or shelter; limits pop. size
predation
one organism using another for energy source
herbivores
eat plants for energy
true predators
kill and eat prey for energy
parasites
use a host organism for energy, often without killing the host & often living inside host
parasitoids
lay eggs inside a host organism; eggs hatch & larvae eat host for energy
mutualism
Organisms of diff. species living close together in a way that benefits both
coral (animals)
provide reef structure & CO2 for algae; algae provide sugars for coral to use as energy
lichen
composite organism of fungi living with algae; algae provide sugars (energy) & fungi provides nutrients
resource partitioning
different species using the same resource in diff. ways to reduce competition
temporal partitioning
using resource at different times, such as wolves & coyotes hunting at different times
spatial partitioning
using different areas of a shared habitat
Morphological partitioning
using different resources based on differently evolved body features
10% rule
in trophic pyramids, only about 10% of the energy from one level makes it to the next level; the other 90% is used by the organism & lost as heat
Tertiary Consumers
animals that eat secondary consumers or carnivores & omnivores
Secondary Consumers
animals that eat primary consumers or herbivores
Primary Consumers
animals that eat plants
