ecology/animal behavior
Terms
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- biosphere
- part of the earth that supports living organisms
- ecology
- study of the interactions between living and nonliving factors in the environment
- abiotic factors
- nonliving, physical features
- biotic factors
- living organisms
- populations
- individual organisms of the same species that live in the same place and can produce young
- ecosystem
- biotic community and abiotic factors
- population density
- the number of individuals per unit of living space
- limiting factor
- any biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the number of individuals in a population
- carrying capacity
- the largest number of individuals that an environment can support and maintain over time
- biotic potential
- the number of individuals each female of a population can produce under the best possible conditions
- predation
- the feeding of one organism on another
- symbiosis
- any close relationship between two or more different species
- mutualism
- a symbiotic relationship that benefits both species
- commensalism
- symbiotic relationship that benefits one partner but does not help or hurt the other partner
- parasitism
- symbiotic relationship that benefits the parasite and does definite harm to the parasite's host
- habitat
- physical location where an organism lives
- niche
- role of an organism in an ecosystem
- producers
- use the sun's energy to make food
- consumers
- obtain energy by eating producers or consumers
- decomposers
- break down the dead bodies to obtain energy
- food chain
- a simple way of showing how food passes from one organism to another
- food web
- overlapping food chains
- energy pyramid
- compares the energy available at each level of the food chain
- competition
- a struggle between organisms for the limited resources in an environment
- social hierarchy
- use of aggression to form a social order where higher level organisms have better access to food, mates, nests, etc...
- territoriality
- defense of an area from other members of the same species
- adaptation
- characteristic of an organim that makes it better able to survive in its environment
- cooperation
- a population of oranisms working together for survival
- imprinting
- a social attachment to another organism soon after birth or hatching
- mimicry
- close outward resemblance of an animal or plant to its surroundings or to some other animal or plant
- courtship
- behaviors that help males and females of a species to recognize each other and prepare for mating
- aggression
- a forceful act used to dominate or control another animal