Ecosystem Dynamics and Biological Interactions

This flashcard set covers the definitions of ecosystem components, abiotic and biotic factors, types of biological relationships, and the principles of energy transfer in food chains.

Ecosystem

A self-supporting unit formed by the interactions between a community of organisms and their physical (non-living) environment.

Abiotic factors

Non-living components of the physical environment, such as light intensity, temperature, water, salinity, oxygen, and pH, which determine the types of organisms that can live there.

Biotic factors

The interactions and relationships between living organisms in their habitat, such as prey-predator, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

Organism

A living thing that usually adapts to its environment to carry out life processes.

Population

A group made up of the same species of organisms living in the same environment.

Community

A group made up of different populations and organisms that live and interact with one another in a particular environment.

Habitat

The specific place where an organism lives and carries out its life processes and activities.

Prey-Predator relationship

A short-term and temporary biotic interaction where one organism (the predator) consumes another organism (the prey).

Mutualism

A permanent interrelationship where two or more organisms benefit from each other, creating interdependence.

Lichens

A mutualistic relationship formed by algae, which makes food through photosynthesis, and fungus, which protects the algae from harsh climates.

Parasitism

A long-term interaction where one organism (the parasite) gains nutrients and benefits at the expense of another (the host) without killing it immediately.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship where one organism gains benefit from another while the other organism is usually unaffected.

Producer

An organism, such as green algae or plants, that is able to make its own food through photosynthesis by converting light energy into chemical potential energy.

Consumer

An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms.

Decomposer

An organism, like a mushroom or earthworm, that obtains energy by breaking down organic waste and dead organisms.

Food chain

A sequence of energy transfer between organisms in the form of food within an ecosystem.

Food web

An interlinked diagram of multiple food chains that describes the complex feeding relationships within an ecosystem.

Trophic level

The specific position or level an organism occupies in a food chain.

Energy Transfer Efficiency

The principle that each trophic level only receives $10\%$ of the energy from the previous level, while $90\%$ is lost as heat, respiration, or waste.

Non-cyclical energy flow

The one-way flow of energy through an ecosystem where energy is lost to the environment and not recycled back to the producers.