Chapter 19 Part 2: Species Interactions / Food Webs & Energy Flow

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering species interactions, food webs, and energy flow concepts from Chapter 19 Part 2.

Abiotic

The non-living components of an ecosystem that influence living organisms.

Biomass

The total mass of organisms in a given area or volume.

Biome

A large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat.

Biotic

The living components or factors within an ecosystem.

Camouflage

A defense trait evolved by prey to protect against being eaten by blending into the environment.

Carnivore

An organism that primarily eats the flesh of other animals.

Coevolution

The process where two species evolve in response to changes in each other over time.

Commensalism

A symbiosis where one species benefits while the other is unaffected, such as the relationship between humans and the mites living on eyelashes.

Community

A collection of different species that live and interact within the same area.

Competition

An interaction where two species vie for an essential resource, potentially leading to competitive exclusion or resource partitioning.

Competitive Exclusion Principle

One of the possible outcomes of competition where one species is completely eliminated from a habitat because it cannot coexist while competing for the same resource.

Consumer

An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms or organic matter.

Decomposer/Decomposition

Organisms that break down dead organic material; they differ from autotrophs which produce their own food.

Detritus

Dead organic matter, including waste and remains of organisms, that serves as a food source for decomposers.

Ecosystem

A system characterized by two fundamental processes: the flow of energy and the cycling of nutrients.

Energy Flow

The movement of energy through an ecosystem, typically starting from an energy source and moving through various trophic levels.

Energy Pyramid

A graphical representation showing the distribution of energy among trophic levels, illustrating that energy decreases as it moves up the chain.

Food Chain

A linear sequence of organisms through which energy and nutrients pass as one is eaten by the next.

Food Web

A complex network of interconnecting food chains that more realistically describes energy flow in a community.

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

The total amount of energy captured by producers through photosynthesis over a specific period.

Herbivore

A consumer that primarily eats plants.

Herbivory

The interaction where an animal consumes plant tissues, leading plants to evolve protective traits.

Keystone Species

A species that is critical to the structure of a community and has a disproportionately large impact relative to its abundance.

Mimicry

A defense mechanism where a species evolves to resemble another species to protect itself from predation.

Mutualism

A type of symbiosis where both species involved in the interaction benefit.

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

The energy remaining after producers have used some for their own respiration; this is the energy available to consumers.

Omnivore

An organism that belongs to more than one trophic level because it eats both plants and animals.

Parasitism

A symbiotic interaction where one organism benefits at the expense of the other (the host).

Photoautotroph

An organism that uses light as an energy source to produce its own food.

Predation

An interaction where one species (the predator) eats another (the prey), affecting the fitness of the prey species.

Predator

An organism that hunts and eats other organisms.

Prey

An organism that is hunted and eaten by a predator.

Primary Consumer

An organism, usually a herbivore, that occupies the second trophic level by eating producers.

Producer

An organism, such as a plant or photoautotroph, that serves as the base of the food chain by converting solar energy into food.

Productivity

The rate at which energy is converted into organic matter by producers in an ecosystem.

Resource Partitioning

An outcome of competition where species divide resources to avoid direct conflict, allowing for coexistence.

Secondary Consumer

An organism that occupies the third trophic level by eating primary consumers.

Symbiosis

A close and long-term interaction between two different species, which includes parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism.

Tertiary Consumer

An organism that occupies the fourth trophic level by eating secondary consumers.

Trophic Level

The position an organism occupies in a food chain, relating back to the ecosystem's energy source.

Warning Coloration

Bright or conspicuous markings on an animal that serve as a defense trait to warn predators that it is toxic or unpalatable.

$10\%$ Rule

The principle that only approximately $10\%$ of the energy at one trophic level is passed on to the next, limiting the total number of trophic levels in a chain.