APES 1.1: Ecosystems

basic vocab on APES 1.1 including Ecosystems, interactions, predation, symbiosis, & competition

individual

one single organism

population

a group of individuals of the same species living in a particular area

community

all living organisms in a given area

ecosystem

all living & nonliving things in an area (plants, animals, rocks, soils, water air, etc)

biome

large area with similar climate conditions that determine plant & animals species there

competition

organisms fighting over a resource like food or shelter; limits population size (negative negative)

predation

one organism using another for energy source; hunters, parasites, herbivores, etc (positive negative)

mutualism

relationship that benefits both organisms; coral reefs (positive positive)

commensalsim

relationship that benefits one organism and doesn’t impact the other; birds with trees (positive neutral)

herbivores

plant eaters; eat only plants for energy (giraffe to tree)

true predatoes

carnivores; kill and eat prey for energy (leopard to giraffe)

parasites

using a host organism for energy, often without killing the host & often living inside the host (mosquitoes, tapeworms, sea lamprey)

parasitoides

lay eggs inside a host organism; eggs hatch & larvae eat host for energy (parasitic wasps, bot fly)

symbiosis

any close & long-term interaction between two organisms of different species

resource partioning

different species using the same resource in different ways to reduce competition

temporal partitioning

using resources at different times, such as animals hunting at different times; day vs. night

spatial partitioning

using different areas of a shared habitat; different root lengths on trees

morphological partitioning

using different resources based on different evolved body features