Unit 4 Biology Final Review

Ecology

The scientific study of living things and how they interact with their environment.

Ecosystem

An interaction between living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) factors in an environment.

Key Tasks of Ecologists

Collect data on species populations, study relationships between organisms and their environments, monitor ecosystem health, and conduct fieldwork.

Interspecific Competition

Competition that occurs between different species for similar resources.

Intraspecific Competition

Competition that occurs within the same species for limited resources.

Niche

The unique living arrangements or 'lifestyle' of an organism, including its food source, nesting site, activity time, and interactions with other species.

Producers (Autotrophs)

Organisms that use sunlight as the main energy source and produce their own food through photosynthesis.

Consumers (Heterotrophs)

Organisms that must consume other organisms for energy.

Energy Pyramid

A representation that shows the energy loss between trophic levels in an ecosystem.

Food Chain

A linear sequence that shows one-way energy flow from producers to consumers.

Trophic Level

Each step in a food chain or web, with the 1st level being primary producers.