Ecosystems

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts related to ecosystems.

Natural Selection

A theory proposed by Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace, stating that organisms adapt to survive in their environments and that all species branch off from common ancestors.

Adaptation

A change in an organism that helps it to survive in its environment.

Symbiosis

A close relationship between living things of different species.

Mutualism

A type of symbiosis where both species benefit.

Commensalism

A type of symbiosis where one organism benefits and the other is not impacted.

Parasitism

A type of symbiosis where one organism benefits while the other is harmed.

Limiting Factors

Abiotic and biotic factors that keep a population at a sustainable level.

Abiotic Factors

Non-living factors in an ecosystem such as sunlight, temperature, water, air, soil, minerals, wind, rocks, climate, fire, atmospheric pressure, and salinity.

Biotic Factors

Living factors in an ecosystem such as plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, protists, dead organisms, and waste products.

Carrying Capacity

The largest population that an environment can support at any given time.

Exponential Growth

A growth pattern where a population grows without any limitations.

Logistic Growth

A growth pattern where a population grows rapidly but slows as it approaches carrying capacity.

Herbivore

An animal that can only get energy from plants.

Carnivore

An animal that can only get energy from other animals.

Omnivore

An animal that can get energy from both plants and animals.

Producers

Organisms, typically plants, that can make their own energy.

Consumers

Organisms that do not make their own energy and rely on others for food.

Food Chain

A diagram that shows the flow of energy through an ecosystem.

Rule of 10%

In an energy pyramid, only 10% of the energy is passed on to the next group.