Homeostasis Module 1: Community

Trophic level

step in a food chain or food web.

Ecosystem

A specific environment and all the organisms who live there.

Community

All the different LIVING populations that live together in an ecosystem.

Producer

An organism that can make its own food.

phenomenon

A fact or event which can be observed and/or documented- sparks questions or ideas for experiments

Homeostasis

Maintaining a stable/balanced environment

Tropic Cascade

When a keystone species is removed from an ecosystem, the entire food web falls apart and all populations are affected

Ex. removing otter results in growth of urchins and decline of kelp

Abiotic Limiting Factor

Non-living factor which limits the size of a population

Biotic Limiting Factor

living factor which limits the size of a population

apex predator

the top predator in an ecosystem

food web

A community of organisms where there are several interrelated food chains

food web vs food chain

A food web consists of many food chains. A food chain follows just one path of energy flow from producer to top predator

keystone species

A species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem. If this species is removed, a trophic cascade is the result

primary consumer

consumer that feeds directly on producers- herbivores

secondary consumer

An organism that eats primary consumers- omnivores & carnivores

tertiary consumer

eats secondary consumer- typically carnivores

limiting factor

Any biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the numbers, reproduction, or distribution of organisms.

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