Studied by 4 peopleEcology
the scientific discipline in which the relationships among living organisms and the interaction the organisms have with their environments are studied
Biosphere
The portion of the Earth that supports life
Biotic Factors
The living factors in an organism's environment
Abiotic factors
The nonliving factors in an organism's environment
Population
individual organisms of a single species that share the same geographic location at the same time
Biological Community
A group of interacting populations that occupy the same geographic area at the same time
Ecosystem
A biological community and all the abiotic factors that affect it.
Biome
large group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of communities
Habitat
Place where an organism lives
Niche
The role or position that an organism has in its environment
Predation
When one organism consumes another for food
Symbiosis
The close relationship between two species that live together
Mutualism
A relationship between two species in which both species benefit
Commensalism
A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected
Parasitism
A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits and the other is harmed
Autotroph
An organism that makes it's own food (Often from the sunlight)
Heterotroph
An organism that cannot make its own food (Consumes other organisms)
Herbivore
Heterotroph that only eats plants
Carnivore
Heterotroph that preys on heterotrophs
Omnivores
Organisms that eat plants and animals
Detritivores
Organisms that eat dead organic matter
Trophic level
Each step in a food chain or food web
Food Chain
model that shows how energy flows through an ecosystem
Food web
Model showing interconnected food chains and pathways in which energy flows through organisms
Biomass
The total mass of living matter at each trophic level
Matter
Anything that has mass and takes up space
Nutrient
A chemical substance that an organism must obtain from its environment to sustain life
Biogeochemical Cycle
The exchange of matter through the biosphere
Nitrogen Fixation
the capture and conversion of nitrogen into a form that is useable by plants
Detrification
soil bacteria convert fixed nitrogen compounds back into nitrogen gas
Note 
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