Ecosystems and Energy Transfer

These flashcards are designed to help students memorize key concepts related to ecosystems, energy transfer, and ecological relationships.

Ecosystem

A system of living things that interact with each other and with the physical world.

Ecology

The study of relationships between living things and their environment.

Limiting Factors

Resources such as food, water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, space, and mates that affect living things in their environments.

Habitat

A place where an organism gets everything it needs for survival, including food, water, space, shelter, and mates.

Niche

The role an organism plays in its ecosystem, including what it does and provides.

Population

The number of individuals of the same species living in a specific area.

Community

All of the populations of different species that live in the same area and interact with one another.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum number of organisms that a community can sustain based on available resources.

Trophic Level

The position of an organism in a food chain, reflecting its feeding relationships.

Producer

An autotroph that produces energy and food for other organisms through processes like photosynthesis.

Consumer

A heterotroph that obtains its nutrition by eating other organisms.

Decomposer

An organism that breaks down dead organic matter into simpler substances, returning nutrients to the ecosystem.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is unaffected.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits at the expense of the other.

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants convert carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight into sugar and oxygen.

Cellular Respiration

The process by which animals use oxygen and glucose to produce carbon dioxide and water, releasing energy.

Water Cycle

The continuous movement of water within the Earth and atmosphere, driven by sunlight.

Carbon Cycle

The series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment.

Nitrogen Fixation

The process by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia by bacteria.

Bioaccumulation

The build-up of chemicals in an ecosystem due to their inability to break down easily.

Biomagnification

The process where chemicals become more concentrated at each trophic level of the food chain.