This site is 100% ad supported. Please add an exception to adblock for this site.

APES Chapter 4 Vocab Words

Terms

undefined, object
copy deck
Biosphere
Portion of earch in which living (biotic) organisms exist and interact with one another and their nonliving (abiotic) environment
Population
Group of interacting individuals of the same species that occupy a specific area at a specific time
Community
A complex interacting network of plants, animals, and microorganisms
Ecosystem
A community of different species interacting with one another AND with their nonliving environment of matter and energy
Autotroph
An organism that can synthesize its own food
Heterotroph
Can't synthesize the nutrients that it needs to survive
Symbiotic relationship
A close, prolonged association between two or more different organisms of different species that may, but does not necessarily, benefit each member.
Mutualism
Both organisms benefit from each other
Commensalism
Two things that live together...one benefits and the other isn't affected
Parasitism
1 organisms benefits, one is harmed (tapeworm)
Habitat
The place where a population (or individual organism) normally lives
Niche
The "job" or "role" that an organism plays in an ecosystem
Producer
Use solar or chemical energy to make their own food
Consumer
Organisms that cannot synthesize the nutrients they need to survive (must get from some other source...heterotrophs)
Decomposer
An organism, often a bacterium or fungus, that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter, thus making organic nutrients available to the ecosystem.
Food Chain
Sequence of organisms, each of which is a source of food for the next. Determines how energy and nutrientes move from one organism to another through the ecosystem
Food Web
A complex network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem
Energy Pyramid
Pyramid that shows the relative energy available at each "level" in an ecosystem
Ecological Succession
Process where a natural community moves from simpler organisms to more complex ones
Carrying Capacity (K)
The maximum number of individuals that a given environment can support without detrimental effects (toatl NPP [Net Primary Productivity])

Deck Info

20

permalink