APES Terms

Ecosystem

A community of living organisms with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting with each other

Biotic components

Living things, such as producers (plants, photosynthetic algae, phytoplankton, etc), herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, detritivores, and soil

Abiotic components

Nonliving factors, such as sunlight, temperature, precipitation, moisture/water, pH, and soil

Soil

Component that is both biotic and abiotic because it consists of both organisms (bacteria, roots, dead matter) and nonliving things (water, nutrients, and broken down rocks)

Predator-prey relationship

A symbiotic relationship between two species where one species consumes the species thing for food

Predator

In predator-prey relationships, these living things are the ones who hunt the other for food

Prey

In predator-prey relationships, these living things are the ones who get hunted by the other for food

Symbiosis

A close, long term interaction between two species in an ecosystem

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship between two species where both receive a benefit that results in an increased chance of survival and reproduction

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship between two species where one species receives a benefit, and the other species is unaffected by the interaction

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship between two species where one species lives on or inside of another, with the parasite receiving a benefit and the host getting harmed

Parasite

The species in a parasitic relationship that lives on or inside of the other species

Host

The species in a parasitic relationship that provides a living space on or inside itself for the other species

Competition

A symbiotic relationship that results when individuals from different species or within the same species struggle to obtain the same limiting resource

Limiting resource

Any resource, biotic or abiotic, that constrains a population’s size or could potentially stop a population from growing

Interspecific competition

Competition between different species, occurs when the species must fight over a shared, limiting resource

Intraspecific competition

Competition within a single species, occurs when individuals must fight for the same resource that all members of a species need to survive

Resource partitioning

Species use limiting resources in different ways, places, or at different times, in an attempt to reduce competition