L4: Food Chain

E. Goodman

Pyramid Representation

Graphic representation of the flow of energy between trophic levels in an ecosystem.

Biomass

The total amount of living matter (mass of organisms) within a specific area or volume of an ecosystem.

Symbiosis

Interaction between two different organisms living in close physical proximity; the “art of living together”

Competition

Can be within species or between species vying for limited resources. The driving force for natural selection.

Predation

An interaction where one organism, the predator, hunts and kills another organism, the prey, and consumes it in order to have that energy intake.

Mutualism

An interaction or relationship that benefits both organisms.

Commensalism

A relationship where one organism benefit and the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Parasitism

A relationship where one organism, the parasite, benefits by living on or in another organism, the host, which is harmed by the relationship.