biology-HW#1
Terms
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- climax community
- a stable, mature community that undergoes little or no change in species
- biomass
- the total weight of living matter at each trophic level
- ecosystem
- the smaller parts the biosphere is divided into
- biotic factor
- living things in the biosphere
- mutualism
- a symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit
- parasitism
- a symbiotic relationship in which a member of one species derives benefit at the expense of another species
- population
- group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific area
- food web
- shows all the possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a comunity
- secondary succession
- the sequence of changes that takes place after an exiting community is severely disrupted in some way
- symbiosis
- the relationship in which there is a close and permanent association between organisms of different species
- food chain
- a simple model that scientists use to show how matter and energy move through an ecosystem
- limiting factor
- any biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the existence, numbers, reproduction, or distribution of organisms
- abiotic factor
- non-living things in the biosphere
- biological community
- made up of interacting populations in a certain area at a certain time
- tolerance
- the ability of an organism to withstand fluctuations in biotic and abiotic environmental factors
- ecology
- the study of relationships and the interactions between living things and their surroundings
- trophic level
- steps of passing energy from one organism to the next
- decomposer
- breaks down the complex compounds of dead and decaying plants and animals into simpler molecules that can be more easily absorbed
- primary succession
- the colonization of barren land by communities of organisms
- heterotroph
- an organism that cannot make its own food and feeds on other organisms; a consumer
- succession
- the orderly, natural changes and species replacements that take place in the communities of an ecosystem
- autotroph
- an organism that uses light energy or energy stored in chemical compounds to make energy-rich compounds; a producer.
- niche
- all strategies and adaptations a species uses in its environment
- biosphere
- thin layer on earth where life exists
- commensalism
- a symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other species is neither harmed nor benefited
- habitat
- the place here an organism lives out its life