Unit 8 bio vocab

Ecosystem

All the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact; one or more communities and the physical environment around them

Detritivore

A consumer that derives its energy and nutrients from nonliving organic materials like corpses, fallen plant material, and wastes of of living organisms; a decomposer

Ecological Niche

The sum of a species’ use of a biotic and abiotic resources in its environment

Predation

An interaction between species in which one species, the predator, eats the other, the prey

Mutualism

A +/+ ecological interaction that benefits each of the interacting species

Commensalism

A +/0 ecological interaction in which one organism benefits but the other is neither helped nor harmed

Symbiosis

An ecological interaction between organisms of two different species that live together in direct and intimate contact

Coevolution

Two or more species reciprocally affect each other’s evolution through the process of natural selection

Keystone Species

A species that is not necessarily abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche

Invasive Species

A species, often introduced by humans, that takes hold outside its native range

Migration

A regular, long-distance change in location

Imprinting

In animal behavior, the formation at a specific stage in life of a long-lasting behavioral response to a specific individual or object. See also genomic imprinting

Behavior

Individually, an action carried out by muscles or glands under control of the nervous system in response to a stimulus; collectively, the sum of an animal’s responses to external and internal stimuli