Honors Bio Ecology Unit

Biosphere

the part of Earth where life exists

Biome

groups of ecosystems with similar climate

Ecosystem

all the living and non-living components of an area

Community

multiple species populations

Population

a group of the same species that interbreed

Species

Individual similar organisms which can interbreed and produce viable offspring

Abiotic

non-living

Biotic

living

biodiversity

the variety of organisms in an ecosystem

Habitat

place where an organism obtains food, shelter, moisture, and temperature that it needs

niche

the unique role or “job” of an organism

organism

any single living thing within an ecosystem

energy pyramid

traces the path of energy through an ecosystem

trophic level

energy pyrimid shows the direction that energy flows and each level on the pyramid is called….

producers

bottom of the pyramid, organisms that make their own food

consumers

need to consume other organisms for energy

decomposers

return nutrients to the soil by consuming wastes and dead organisms

symbiosis

organisms with close relationships with other orgainisms within an ecosystem

mutualism

both species benefit

parasitism

one organism is helped, the other is harmed

commensalism

one organism is benefits and there is no harm or benefit to the other

biomass

total mass of organisms

10% rule

as the energy is transfered from one trophic level to another, only about 10% of the energy is passed on to the next level, while the rest is lost as heat or used for metabolic processes.

dertritivores

eat dead organic material

scavengers

eat larger quantities of dead material

heterotrophs

an organism that obtains energy and nutrients by consuming other oganisms

autotrophs

an organism that produces its own food or energy

carnivore

an organism that primarily feeds on other animals, obtaining energy by consuming their flesh.

omnivore

an organism that feeds on both plants and animals, obtaining energy by consuming a variety of food sources.

herbivore

an organism that primarily feeds on plants, obtaining energy by consuming plant material.

food web

shows the flow of energy

Native

a group of organisms that normally lives and thrives in a particular ecosystem

Introduced

an organism that is native to the place or area where it has been accidentally or intentionally brought by humans

Invasive

an organism that is not indigenous or native to a particular ecosystem and can cause great economic or environmental harm to the new area