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| the study of interrelationships among organisms and their surrounding environments. |
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| Organism that interferes with people's management of a resource, whether it is a crop or animal grown for food, a forest, or an ornamental plant in the landscape |
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| first level of ecological organization |
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| the process where some individuals carrying alternative inherited traits survive and reproduce under stressful conditions |
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| a set of genes that an organism carries |
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| the interaction between the genotype and the environment produces an individual's atributes |
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| environment where an individual lives |
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| all the components of the habitat with which the organism or population interacts |
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| group of individuals of the same species that occupies a distinct space and possesses characteristics that are unique to the group |
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| the number of individual species in a defined area; it is a variable that is population size increases and decreases over time |
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| population consist of individuals of different ages. the proportion of individuals in each age group defines a population's age distribution |
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| occurs when birth rates exceed death rates or immigration exceeds emigration |
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| the movement of individuals or their offspring into or out of an area |
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| locally adapted population of a species; generally determined and evolved through natural selection |
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| consists of all the populations of plants, animals, and microorganisms that share the same habitat and interact directly or indirectly with one another. They can be any size and are often defined by the environment in which they occur or by the dominant species in the community |
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| a measure of the number of different species found in a community; it is often higher in a biologically controlled (natural) ecosystem and lower in physically controlled (managed) ecosystems |
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| a transitional zone between communities. Support organisms from each community and often contain habitats and organisms not found in either community. |
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| the tendency for the variety of species to increase in an ecotone |
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| consists of a community of interacting and interdependent populations of plants, animals, and microorganisms and their physical environments. |
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| the process by which green plants use energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates |
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| nonliving, factors in ecosystems influence the growth or development and ability of organisms to survive. They also influence the interactions between organisms. Abiotic components consist of; minerals, soil, water, temperature, climate, light, and gasses |
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| inorganic chemicals and compounds which include, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, circulate through the ecosystem from the nonliving to the living and back to the nonliving parts of the bioshere |
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| composed of a mixture of inorganic minerals, organic matter, soil organisms, and microorganisms, gases and water |
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| made up of microbial products and the residue of decaying organic matter found mainly in the top soil |
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| major factor in weathering, leaching, and erosion, and it controls to a great extent the introduction and loss of nutrients from the ecosystem. Continuously recycled throughout the ecosystem, entering the atmosphere through evaporation and returning to the earth through condensation and precipitation |
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| the development rate of plants, microorganisms, and cold-blooded animals directly related to ambient temperatures |
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| provides the predominant source of energy to an ecosystem |
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| refers to temperature, humidity, and other atmospheric conditions over a long period of time and can refer to local, regional, or global conditions |
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| oxygen and other gases required for respiration of all living organisms. the concentration of atmospheric gases can limit growth and development of organisms in the ecosystem |
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| living organisms found in an ecosystem |
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| the transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next |
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| feed on both plants and animals |
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| feed on dead plant or animal matter |
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| feed on living organisms as predators, parasites, or herbivores may also be capable of surviving as saprophytes when food is scarce |
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| when two organisms vie for the use of the same limited resource whether it is food, water, space, or light. can occur within the species (intraspecific) or between two or more species (interspecific) |
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| occurs when two different species develop a positive reciprocal relationship in which each has developed a dependency on the other and both populations benefit from the association |
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| when basic requirements for life are scarce; example, light, soil moisture, temperature, food sources |
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| each specie exhibits a typical population level determined by its ecological niche |
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| limiting factors such as food, shelter, or natural enemies enforce characteristic abundance within certain upper and lower levels, which fluctuate around a mean level |
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| species that have high reproductive rates and rapid growth. rapidly colonize new areas and thrive when competition is not severe |
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| include larger size, longer life cycles, and higher survival rates of offspring but lower reproductive rates |
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| refers to the number of different species of plants, animals, and microorganisms in an ecosystem |
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